Dominic sat in the car and waited for Vivian. She just called him and asked if he could pick her up. Although he felt a little bothered by this request, he still did it.
He waited in the car for a while but still did not see Vivian appear, the procession was still extremely lively. Based on Vivian's wish, he brought her here to travel. Her crippled leg worried him, but she said she was going to see a friend and didn't like being accompanied by bodyguards, so he agreed.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash in the front of his car.
Dominic frowned, and got out of the car. His Bentley supercar is very expensive, so people do not dare to approach. He was curious as to who bumped into his car.
When he looked down at the ground, he discovered it was a boy.
The boy fell, he stood up by himself, brushed the dirt off his clothes and looked up at him.
"Sorry." The boy spoke shyly, but his eyes didn't seem afraid to talk to adults.
When he saw the boy, Dominic suddenly had a strange feeling. This boy he had just met for the first time but felt something very familiar, like there was a connection between them. He guessed the boy might be the son of a partner he once met.
"Your leg is bleeding." Dominic reminded the boy.
He looked at the wound on his knee along with the torn jeans and looked distressed.
"Mom will scold me again." The boy muttered.
When Dominic heard that, he laughed.
"Do you need me to help you? If the wound is bandaged, your mother won't be angry anymore."
The boy thought for a moment, then nodded. So Dominic took the boy to a nearby pharmacy to buy rubbing alcohol and bandages.
When he bandaged the boy's wound, he didn't cry or complain like other children, which impressed Dominic.
"What's your name?"
"Mom said you shouldn't tell strangers my name." The boy frowned and replied.
"But you went with a stranger to the pharmacy and the stranger was helping you up." Dominic laughed.
"...Kenelm Vincent."
"Vincent?" Dominic's movements stopped. "Is that your father's last name?"
"I don't have a father."
Finding out that the boy had no father made Dominic a little startled. It turned out that he was a bit sensitive when he heard of the name Vincent. Anyway, it's a well-known surname that many people use, even women.
They don't talk much, but they don't mind being around each other, which is strange. Dominic himself could not explain why there was such a miracle.
"Oh Kenelm, here you are. Your mother has been looking for you everywhere. She almost fainted when she couldn't find you."
Vivian suddenly appeared here. She seemed to be helping in the search for Kenelm, and when she found him, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is your friend this boy's mother?" Dominic asked with surprise.
"That's right. She's the knitter I told you about. She sent me the wool dress today, and then we went to the parade. Unexpectedly, Kenelm suddenly got lost and we had to go find him."
Dominic nodded to show that he understood, so this is the reason why Vivian never showed up and kept him waiting in the car for so long.
"But why are you staying with Kenelm?"
"He fell right in front of my car."
"Oh, so many coincidences today. Okay, let me take him to his mother. She must be nervous and impatient."
Kenelm obediently accompanied Vivian, before leaving the boy turned his head and waved to goodbye to Dominic. For some reason he also raised his hand to say goodbye, he was not inherently child-friendly, but Kenelm seemed to be an exception.
The boy's mother and a tall man were in the far distance, from Dominic's position they could faintly be seen. The mother hugged Kenelm and said something to Vivian, then they left and Vivian went back to where Dominic parked the car.
When he looked at the figure of the woman in the pink dress in the distance, for some reason, his heart skipped a beat. The shape of her back was really familiar, like he'd seen it many times in the past. Every movement of hers made him unable to control himself but to look closely, suddenly he had a strong desire to see what the woman's face was like. But she didn't turn around.
That left him a little disappointed. He shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed, telling himself that he was hoping again. The figure of the other woman was indeed very similar to Esther. Whenever he was driving down the street, whenever he saw a woman like Esther, he couldn't help but look back. It was just to prove to his faint hope that maybe she was still alive. But time and time again, he was disappointed.
Those women were not his beloved Esther. He himself witnessed her death, her grave is still there. Even if he fooled himself, it wouldn't change that painful truth.
Maybe it was the same this time, the woman in the pink dress was probably only similar in appearance to Esther but not her. Furthermore, that woman had a son, she couldn't be Esther.
He brought Vivian back, and along the way, she was always happy to tell him stories. Many times Vivian also mentioned the single mother. But he wasn't too focused on listening.
"Dominic, it's my birthday in a few days, do you mind if I invite her over?"
"It's up to you." Dominic didn't really mind. Originally, he didn't want to celebrate his birthday, but Vivian insisted on doing so, so he complied.
"Thank you." Vivian happily turned to look at Dominic and saw that he was completely focused on driving, not paying any attention to her. That made her smile fade.
"I need to go to this place tomorrow. If you want to go out, you can ask Ethan to take you."
"Did you visit her grave?" Vivian lowered her head and said. "It's been four years. Why haven't you forgotten her? Can you look at me just once?"
The car suddenly swerved to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes. Dominic frowned at Vivian, he was about to say something, but ended up just sighing and trying to speak softly to her.
"Don't compare yourself to her. You can't replace her."
Vivian looked at him in dismay, she bit her lip and tears welled in her eyes. She liked him for so long, she made it clear that she loved him, but he always ignored her. Just because a girl died that the man she loved sealed his heart. Too bad she had no way to get into his heart.
At first, she thought that he treated her very gently and spoiled, different from his cold attitude to other women, which proved that he had feelings for her. But she seems to be overconfident, if it weren't for the events of that year, he probably wouldn't even have paid attention to her. She should have been grateful when he allowed her to be with him, but she was greedy for his affections.
For now, she just had to be patient and continue to be with him.
Seeing Vivian say nothing, Dominic continued to drive and drove her home. They also didn't talk for the rest of the time.