The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 254

Everyone fell silent.

Especially Scott and Timothy Brooks.

Scott was the head of the Brooks family, and Timothy was also seen as a leader by the youngsters, yet they were both helpless against Paula. Paula, on the other hand, was rather intimidated by Baron. As soon as she saw him, she would immediately shy away and keep quiet.

Baron, however, had no intention of letting her off lightly. "I heard you wanted Vivienne to give the stone she acquired to the family." He asked.

On his way here, Baron had already made a phone call to one of their servants, getting a full rundown of the situation.

Paula flinched and tried to explain. "Dad, I just..."

"Answer me! Is it true or not?" Baron, a veteran of the business battlefield, possessed an aura of unyielding authority. His words alone were enough to make Paula tremble.

"Yes." Paula confessed, her voice barely a whisper.

"Good!" Baron nodded, then suddenly slapped Paula across the face. "When did you get the right to interfere in our family's affairs? Just because I've been in a nursing home these past years and haven't been able to deal with you, you think you can do whatever you want?"

Paula clutched her slapped cheek as her face reddened with anger.

Today, she'd been slapped three times. She was about to explode with rage.

But when Baron hit her, she could not say a word.

"Pack your bags and leave! Without my permission, you're not allowed to return to here ever again!" Baron ordered her to leave in a stern voice.

His wife was too soft-hearted. Every time Paula caused trouble, she turned a blind eye. It was all because Paula had lost a child.

He, however, wouldn't be as lenient.

Especially with Old Richard glaring at him from the sidelines. He had to give the Ellington family an explanation.

"Dad, yo... you're kicking me out?" Paula's face was a mask of shock.

Baron cast her a cold glance. "If you won't leave on your own, I'll have you thrown out! Choose!"

Paula recoiled. She knew her father was capable of carrying out his threat.

Ignoring Paula, Baron turned to Richard. "Get out of here! I'll handle my family's business myself! You're not taking my granddaughter away!"

Richard snorted. "Try and kick me out! I'll make sure you regret it!"

"Come on! Show me how you'll make me regret it!" Baron pushed his face closer to Richard's. "If you dare to harm me, I'll make sure your grandson will never see my granddaughter again!" Richard was speechless.

The old man had become smarter.

Once Richard fell silent, Baron laughed triumphantly. "If you dare mess with me again, I'll call off my granddaughter's wedding. If I say no, you can only dream of your grandson marrying my granddaughter!" Richard was speechless.

Cecilia and Percival were also speechless.

Richard, fuming, glared at Baron. "Don't get too cocky! Whether or not she leaves with me is up to Vivienne!"

After all, Vivienne was still a part of the Brooks family. They had to consider her feelings.

Baron raised an eyebrow at Richard, then beckoned Vivienne. "Come here, girl."

Vivienne walked over, and Baron spoke to her in the softest voice he could manage. "Today's events were unfair to you, but don't worry. From now on, I won't be going back to the nursing home. I'll live here, and Paula won't come back. No one will bother you again. You can stay here in peace."

"Don't try to butter her up!" Richard glared at Baron, then turned to Vivienne with a smile. "Vivienne, tell us. Do you want to come back to the Ellington Mansion with me?"

Vivienne felt a warm feeling in her heart at Richard's affectionate words.

She gave him a small smile. "Grandpa, I won't be going back for now. I'll visit you in a few days."

She had more important matters to attend to here. She couldn't leave before she figured everything out.

As if he had expected her answer, Richard nodded in agreement. "Alright, you can stay here. But remember, the Ellington family has your back. If anyone dares to bother you again, just come to me! I'll make sure they regret it!"

Vivienne gave him a small smile again. "Thank you, Grandpa."

After a pause, she added, "I was planning to use that stone to make accessories for you and Percival's parents."

Richard's eyes lit up, and he laughed heartily. "Ha! That's my granddaughter-in-law!"

He gave a smug glance at Baron.

See? What did it matter if she was your granddaughter? She didn't care about you.

Cecilia's eyes also sparkled. Vivienne was a designer, and although she wasn't sure about Vivienne's jewelry design skills, she was confident that Vivienne would do a good job, given how well she designed clothes.

She could now show off in front of her snobby friends.

Paula, who had just packed her bags and was about to leave, heard what Vivienne said and scoffed. "Just as I thought, you don't know how to be grateful. Your grandmother loves you so much, but you don't care about her. Instead, you're eager to please outsiders instead! Do you really think that once you marry into the Ellington family, they'll spoil you forever? Don't forget, our family is your support!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Judith scolded her sharply. "Shut up! It's Vivienne's choice who she wants to give the stone to. I have plenty of jewelry, and I don't need it!" Even after being kicked out by her father, Paula still wouldn't keep quiet.

Paula's face turned an ugly shade of red. She wanted to say something, but Baron's chilling voice cut her off. "Aren't you leaving yet? Are you waiting for me to throw you out?" Paula was furious, but she couldn't do anything about it. She had no choice but to leave with Eddy, dragging her luggage behind her.

Just as she reached the door, however, Vivienne called out to her. "Wait!"

Paula turned around and glared at Vivienne. "What now? You want to see me humiliated? Don't think that just because you have my father's support, you can just do whatever you want!"

Vivienne's eyes subtly lifted as her gaze landed on Eddy. With a face that could only be called a beautiful masterpiece and an unreadable expression, she said, "Eddy Miller, it's time you honored our bet." Paula furrowed her brows and looked back at Eddy. "What bet?"

Darren, who had been silent for a while, whistled. "Paula, you didn't know? My cousin bet our little... well, cousin, that if she could obtain a gemstone more valuable than his, he'd do a handstand and shit himself on a live stream."

Eddy's face turned a ghastly shade of green. He gazed at Vivienne with malice as he gritted his teeth. "I will honor my word, but not right now."

Paula frowned even more. "A family jest, and you take it seriously?"

Vivienne raised an eyebrow. "What? Trying to skip out on a debt?"

"Skip what debt?" Paula fired back. "You take a casual joke seriously? You really are a small-town girl. You're always looking out for your own interests!"

"Hmm." Vivienne chuckled, and a cold, insincere smile appeared on her face. "No one can owe me anything."

Paula shot her a glare. "You're insane!"

With that, she tried to pull Eddy away, but as they took a step, Eddy collapsed to his knees.

Paula's face went pale. "Eddy, what's wrong?"

Eddy felt a sharp pain in his legs, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't move. He grumbled, "I can't move."

"What's happened?" Paula panicked.

Vivienne took a step forward, slowly approaching them. While looking down at Eddy, she said, "Since you're refusing to honor our bet, I'll just have to help you out." "Thomas," she called out, "take off his pants and set up the live stream. Let's see this handstand performance."