The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 271

Richard, upon witnessing this, strode forward to stand opposite Baron as he gazed at him with a burning fury.

"What's the matter?!" He roared. "My grandson wants to visit his fiancée, and you have a problem with that?! They are engaged, so it's reasonable and legal." This damn old codger was always causing trouble for his precious grandson.

He had even driven his grandson out of the Brooks Mansion, leaving Richard simmering with rage and resentment. Now he dared to challenge him again?

Now that Richard was around, how could he let this old curmudgeon have his way?

Baron let out a scoff. "How old is Vivienne? The games of children do not count."

"Baron, my engagement to Vivienne was agreed upon by her mother and my grandfather." Percival shot back. His thick eyebrows began to knit together in anger, and his voice became cold and unyielding. Baron had been giving him trouble for days, and now he wanted to deny his engagement to Vivienne?

Did the Brooks family really think they held a high place in Vivienne's heart? Or did they believe he was courteous to them out of fear?

Baron was taken aback. He menacingly glared at Percival but remained silent.

Scott then gestured to Richard. "Richard, would you please join us in the drawing room for some coffee and pastries? We can discuss this matter properly tomorrow. What do you say?"

Scott spoke earnestly, like a loving father trying to make amends.

Richard grunted in response and then remained silent.

Percival glanced at him with profound eyes as the corners of his mouth curled into a cool and indifferent smile.

Scott led them to the drawing room to be seated before rushing off with Baron to attend to more of their guests.

In the hallway outside the lounge, Eddy Miller was quietly lurking in a corner. He was watching a video on his phone that showed what was going on inside the lounge.

He saw Vivienne in a T-shirt and jeans, engrossed in her phone. In front of her hung a dress specially designed for her by a renowned international designer. This dress was specially commissioned for her by the Brooks family.

The pastel-colored chiffon layers created a lavish skirt, which was adorned with diamonds. The top had a simple strapless design, accentuated with a matching belt that cinched her waist, which was topped off with a three-carat diamond embellishment. It was the epitome of luxury.

Compared to the second-hand starry skirt Arabella wore at her reunion banquet, the Brooks family's regard for Vivienne was evidently higher.

However, Vivienne seemed uninterested. She showed no inclination to try on the dress.

Not only was she not wearing the dress, but she also sent away the makeup artist and hairstylist. She sat in the lounge, barefaced and natural, refusing to doll herself up.

"Why hasn't that wench changed into her dress yet?" Eddy muttered as he began growing impatient.

Eddy's mother, Paula, installed a small camera in the lounge and tampered with the luxurious dress.

Paula had bought a colorless and odorless aphrodisiac from the black market that would cause anyone who came into contact with it to lose control and become lustful. As soon as Vivienne wore the dress, she would lose her senses and seek a man to vent her desires.

At that moment, the man he had arranged would stage a drama with Vivienne. This would be broadcast live through Stardust's account, the streamer Paula had met at the Pendleton Hospital, known for exposing the scandalous private lives of the wealthy.

Vivienne had humiliated Eddy by live-streaming him doing a headstand while relieving himself. Now, it was his turn to give her a taste of her own medicine. He would let everyone see her in a lustful and promiscuous state, absolutely ruining her reputation forever.

Originally, he had wondered how to dismiss the makeup artist and hairstylist accompanying Vivienne. But Vivienne herself had sent them away, leaving her alone in the lounge.

However, what frustrated him was that Vivienne, despite not doing her makeup or styling her hair, did not even try on the dress. She didn't even touch it.

In the surveillance footage, she remained motionless, barely moving an inch.

"Is she even a woman?" Eddy grumbled impatiently. "It's such a gorgeous and luxurious dress that even I, a man, am tempted to wear it. Yet she doesn't want to?" "Oh? Why don't you try it on?"

A cold voice echoed in Eddy's ear from behind him.

He stiffened. The surveillance footage on his phone flickered, and Vivienne, who had been sitting on the sofa looking at her phone, disappeared from the lounge.

...

In the banquet hall.

Ashley wasn't helping to entertain the guests as she did at Arabella's reunion banquet in Havenwood.

Given the attention the Brooks family was showering on Vivienne, her mother, Melissa, and grandmother, Judith, were busy mingling with the guests, leaving no room for her to assist.

She was at ease and was leisurely enjoying food and drinks with a group of friends, casually discussing the recent interesting happenings in Rivenwood.

"Ashley, your newly recognized cousin seems to be more favored than the last one." One of her friends teased. "I was at the Havenwood banquet as well, and in terms of scale, arrangement, or the attitude of your family, Arabella's banquet can't compare to this one. Vivienne is so favored, aren't you jealous?"

Ashley just laughed off her friend's sarcastic remark. Perhaps due to the guilt of initially recognizing the wrong person, the Brooks family was really doting on Vivienne.

But at least Vivienne didn't play innocent to win favor or plot against her out of jealousy, like Arabella did.

Well, even if Vivienne didn't voice it out, she could tell from the way Vivienne usually treated the Hawthorn clan that she seemed to have no regard for the benefits of being a part of the Brooks family. "Wow! Her dress is amazing." Another girl said as she showed a picture on her phone to the others. It was from the Instagram page of the designer who had created Vivienne's gown.

"The Brooks really know how to splurge, don't they? Not only did they manage to get such a high-end designer, but they also ensured that a dress that would normally take a month to create was made in just a few days."

Ashley glanced at the photo of the luxurious gown, feeling a twinge of envy. Among their generation, only Vivienne was treated this way. When the dress was delivered this morning, she couldn't resist trying it on surreptitiously, only for Vivienne to catch her in the act.

Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment then, but to her surprise, Vivienne didn't seem to mind. She even suggested that they should swap dresses.

Whether Vivienne was sincere or not, Ashley couldn't possibly do something so thoughtless. Of course, she declined politely.

"Hey, isn't that Percival?" The girl admiring the gown suddenly nudged Ashley, pointing towards the buffet section where the pastries were.

"I always thought he was rather handsome, even when he was in a wheelchair. Now that he's up and about, he's so dashing that it makes your knees weak!"