The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 6

Beatrice was lounging on the living room couch, watching Dorian and the girls pack up.

Dorian glanced at Beatrice without saying a word, then led Cordelia and Vivienne to the bedroom to pack their things. Just as they entered the room, they realized Arabella had tagged along.

She looked at the simple bedroom, and a hint of discontent flashed in her eyes. However, she quickly masked her emotions and softly said, "Dad, are you really moving out? You don't earn a whole lot every month. How're you going to support the family? Where are you guys gonna live? Why not just listen to my grandma's advice?"

Dorian turned his gaze to her without uttering a word.

Seeing his silence, Arabella turned to Vivienne, "Dad's made a lot of sacrifices looking for you over the years. Now that you're back, you're just gonna let him live on the streets?" Vivienne looked up, a mocking smile forming on her indifferent face.

"Why not marry Mr. Ellington? At least you'd have a secure future. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't let dad wreck his relations with his own family because of me," Arabella rambled on.

Vivienne flashed a faint smile, crossed her arms and replied, "You sure have a way with words, so why don't you marry him? The Hawthorn family has taken care of you all these years. Shouldn't you repay them?"

Arabella's expression darkened, and while she mentally cursed Vivienne, she maintained a smile, "Too bad you're the one engaged to Mr. Ellington."

Vivienne's smile widened. For some reason, Arabella felt a pang of anxiety. Without waiting for Vivienne to say anything, she quickly added, "If you guys are so set on this, I won't say anything more. But Dad, grandma said if you don't finish packing within an hour, she'll have someone throw your stuff out."

"I got it." Dorian responded, not bothering to say anything more.

Seeing this, Arabella had no choice but to return to the living room. Once she left, Dorian looked around the room full of stuff, and felt a bit worried, "With so much stuff, we definitely won't finish packing in an hour. Should I call some movers to help?"

Cordelia nodded, "Yes, that'd be faster."

Watching them busily packing, Vivienne felt a warmth in her heart. Aside from her mother and Finnian, only they would protect her like this. Vivienne bit her lip and slowly suggested, "Just pack the essentials. I have some money, we can buy a fully furnished house later, and get the rest of the stuff once we've moved to the new place."

"How can we do that?" Cordelia immediately retorted, "You just got back. We can't use your money. Even though Havenwood isn't as expensive as the bigger cities, house prices are still high. Don't worry abou the house. We'll rent one for now and figure out the rest later."

"Yeah, Vivienne, save your money for yourself. Don't worry about the rest," Dorian felt a sense of relief.

Vivienne had endured a lot since childhood, earning some money through part-time jobs, but she was still willing to offer it to help them now. This warmed his heart.

"The money for the house..."

Vivienne wanted to say she had already saved enough for a house, but Dorian cut her off, "But what Vivienne just said make sense. We just need to take our clothes and identification. Leave everything else. We can just rent a furnished house."

"Alright." Without another word, Vivienne went to her own room to pack. She didn't have much stuff, just a few sets of clothes, her laptop and phone. She packed quickly. After a glance at Dorian and Cordelia's room next door, she composed her countenance, took out her phone and sent out a text.

In the living room.

Beatrice was waiting for Dorian's family to admit their mistakes to her, but to her surprise, after a long wait, they walked out with their luggage. Each of them carried a suitcase, leaving behind everything else, and left without a backward glance.

Beatrice stood up abruptly, her face turning green with rage, "Fine, just fine. You guys are really something. I want to see how you're going to survive in this city without me."

Dorian only turned to look at her once without saying anything, and walked away.

Once they left the neighborhood, Dorian looked at the bustling streets and sighed, "Let's replace a hotel to stay in for the night, and I'll go house hunting."

Vivienne nodded, and they checked into a nearby hotel.

Three hours later, Dorian returned looking disappointed. Cordelia immediately went over, "How'd it go? Did you replace a place?"

Dorian shook his head, "I found a few suitable places that we could afford, but when it came to signing the lease, the landlords wouldn't rent to me after seeing my ID. I asked for the reason, and it turns out my mom said some things. She told people that if they rented a house to me, they'd be going against our family."

Beatrice had some sway in this city. With her words hanging in the air, naturally no one would rent to him.

Dorian slapped the table in frustration, "My mom's really pushing me into a corner."

Cordelia didn't expect Beatrice to be so ruthless and was at a loss for words.

Vivienne poured Dorian a glass of water, "Drink some water first. Don't worry. Someone will be willing to rent to us."

Dorian sighed, "I guess we have no other choice. I'm really sorry."

After resting for a while, Dorian still didn't give up and was about to check again when someone knocked on the door.

He got up to open the door and was surprised to see Jacob, "Jacob?"

Wasn't this the real estate agent? How did he replace them here?

"Mr. Hawthorn, good evening." Jacob greeted with a cheerful smile, "I saw the address you left on the form was here, so I came over."

Dorian was confused, he left an address? He didn't remember doing that. But he didn't ask further, instead, he asked, "What can I do for you?"

"So here's the deal. Tranquil Estates has a beautifully furnished house available, with four bedrooms and two living rooms, for a monthly rent of five hundred dollars. Sounds perfect for you guys. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Dorian and Cordelia were completely gobsmacked.

Tranquil Estates? A lavish four-bedroom house? Get out of here! That was one of the poshest neighborhoods in town. It was full of loaded folks.

Buying a small two-bedroom one already cost half a million dollars, let alone a four-bedroom. That was over a million dollars.

Cordelia was the first to snap back to reality, and she quickly dragged Dorian aside, "How are we so lucky to bag this sweet deal? You don't think it's a trap set by your mom, do you?"

Hearing her suspicion, Jacob hurriedly clarified, "You've got it all wrong. The owner is moving abroad and wants someone tidy to look after the place. He checked out your family profile and was super impressed, that's why he's offering this bargain. If you guys don't want it, I'll just have to..."

"We want it." Before Jacob could finish his sentence, Dorian jumped in. "We'll sign the contract right now."