The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 76

Dorian and Cordelia looked pretty peeved.

Their outfits were freshly bought and cost them a grand. Splurging a thousand bucks on clothes was a bit much for them, but for their daughter Vivienne, they bit the bullet and paid up. They didn't expect even that to earn them the stink eye.

Today was the engagement party, and the whole Hawthorn clan was there. They were all dolled up to the nines.

If you didn't know better, you'd think the Hawthorns were hosting the show.

Dorian was a bit miffed, but hey, it was Vivienne's party, so he kept his trap shut.

There were four tables set for the party.

Three were hogged by the Hawthorns.

The Ellingtons took up one table. Aside from Richard, the rest of the Ellington crew was there too.

Their group wasn't big. They were just enough to fill one table.

The party was supposed to kick off at noon, but as the clock ticked closer, Vivienne was still a no-show.

Cordelia and Dorian had been blowing up Vivienne's phone, but she never answered.

"What's Vivienne's deal? She's late for her own engagement party and is keeping all these elders waiting. What gives?" Joseph Hawthorn was still sore from Vivienne's previous scheme, and he hadn't been able to smooth things over with Octavia yet, so seeing Vivienne playing hooky didn't do him any favors.

"Joseph, Vivienne's just a country bumpkin. She wouldn't know manners if they hit her in the face. She's probably trying to embarrass us on purpose now that she's engaged to Mr. Ellington." Alisa Hawthorn grumbled, sounding as sour as a lemon.

The engagement party was hosted by Dorian's family. It wasn't a big to-do, but the Ellingtons all showed up in million-dollar luxury cars.

That alone had drawn the attention of all of Havenwood.

Vivienne had snatched away the glory that should have belonged to Arabella, and that didn't sit right with Alisa.

"Hmph, who does she think she is? She's embarrassing us! She should look in the mirror before she acts high and mighty!" Joseph sneered.

The Ellingtons had already shuffled into the private room, while the Hawthorns were still milling about outside, so Percival didn't catch Joseph's snide remark.

Vivienne's phone was still sending every call to voicemail, so Dorian was climbing the walls. Joseph's grumbling was the last straw.

"Joseph, enough! Ever since Vivienne came back, you've been on her case. What did she ever do to you? And by the way, you weren't even invited to this party. If you can't wait, feel free to leave."

Joseph didn't expect Dorian to snap back at him like that, and he got all huffy. "I'm your brother. How dare you talk to me like that? Don't you know your place?"

"You might be my brother, but you're not my dad!" Dorian shot back, fuming. "If you dare badmouth my daughter again, I'll kick you out! I don't need a brother like you!"

Michael, standing nearby, frowned. "Dorian, that's out of line."

"Out of line?" Dorian retorted. "Who among the whole lot of you here today genuinely wishes well for my daughter? Have any of you given her any gifts? And now you're blaming her for not following the rules? Shouldn't you, as her relatives, be more concerned about her safety? You all seriously lack manners!"

Dorian was truly pissed off now.

He knew Vivienne well. She was a level-headed kid. If she said she'd be back before the engagement party, she'd be back.

But now, the party had been underway for ten minutes, and she was still MIA. Something must have gone wrong.

He was freaking out, but these people were still blabbering on about how Vivienne was rude and ill-mannered. Did they think he was a pushover?

"You!" Michael was ticked off too, but found himself at a loss for words.

"Enough, stop bickering!" Beatrice cut in sharply. "The Ellingtons are all in the private room, and we're out here squabbling. How disgraceful is that?"

At Beatrice's command, Michael and Joseph clammed up.

Beatrice shot them a glare and then turned to Dorian. "Don't blame your brothers for speaking harshly. It's an important day, and Vivienne's tardiness is unacceptable. The Ellingtons are waiting, and if she's late, people will say the Hawthorns have no manners."

"Mom!" Dorian tried to say something, but Beatrice cut him off. "Go replace Vivienne. Enough talk!"

Did he really think she wanted to be here? If it weren't for the Ellingtons' bridal gift, she wouldn't even bother.

Cordelia tugged at Dorian and whispered, "Don't argue with them. Let's try to reach Vivienne first."

"We've tried calling her many times, but she's not picking up. I'm really worried something might have happened to her." Dorian voiced his concerns.

"We were able to get in touch with Vivienne last night. It hasn't been 24 hours yet, so even if we report to the police, they can't do anything." Cordelia thought for a moment before suggesting, "Let's ask Richard for help. He has a wide network. Maybe he can help us replace Vivienne."

Dorian thought for a moment and then nodded. "Alright, let's ask Richard for help."

Just as they were about to approach Richard, they saw Thomas wheeling Percival out.

"Hello." Percival greeted them. "My grandpa sent me to ask when's the shindig starting?"

"We can't reach Vivienne," said Dorian with a heavy tone. "I'm worried something's happened to her. We were going to ask your grandpa if he could help locate her."

Percival frowned. "Since when?"

"We were able to reach her last night. About an hour ago, we tried to call her, but she's not answering." Worry was evident in Dorian's voice.

After pulling out his phone, Percival dialed Vivienne's number, but no one picked up.

He turned to Thomas seriously. "Track Vivienne's phone."

Thomas nodded and went off to do just that.

About five minutes later, Thomas came back.

"The location shows Ms. Hawthorn is in North Shire."

North Shire was on the way to Havenwood.

Percival was silent for a moment and then told Dorian, "I'll go replace her."

"Okay, thanks for that." Dorian wanted to go himself, but as the host of the banquet, he couldn't leave.

Percival, being pushed by Thomas, headed towards the private rooms.

"Sorry guys, the engagement party needs to be delayed a bit. Vivienne's run into some trouble; I gotta go fetch her." Percival explained.

"What happened? Why'd she suddenly go AWOL?" Richard asked, looking worried.

"I'm not sure. I'm going to replace her now."

Percival and Leopold left.

After they left, Percival's mother, Cecilia, frowned at Richard. "Dad, I've been saying that Vivienne's background doesn't match up with Percival's. You insisted on their engagement, and look at what's happening now. She's nowhere to be found at such an important event."

Richard's face turned stern. "What do you mean 'doesn't match up'? We, the Ellington family, don't have such class distinctions. Don't forget that Vivienne's mother once saved your husband, my son. Their marriage was agreed upon long ago. You have no place to nitpick. Besides, I've known Vivienne for a while; she's not someone who's tardy. Something must have held her up; let's just wait."

"But..." Cecilia tried to argue, but Richard glared at her.

"If you can't wait, you can leave."