Kicked Out, Flash-Married, and Now He Won't Let Me Go

Vivian Lowell’s expression grew a shade graver at the thought of Sylvia Drake.

Over the past couple of days, aside from Eleanor Rhodes’s situation, another piece of gossip had been circulating within Aethelburg’s high society.

It was about the incident that occurred the other night when Vivian and Joy Drake were playing the piano together.

Inside the room, a doctor had found a needle hidden in Joy’s clothes, and Sylvia had suddenly popped up to sling mud at Vivian.

The night had ended on a sour note. Sylvia stormed off in a huff, and Joy apologized to Vivian.

Vivian had initially assumed the matter was settled. After analyzing the situation, she realized it was highly likely that Joy had planted the needle herself.

Joy’s motive for doing so was simple: she wanted to intentionally provoke a conflict between Sylvia and Vivian, exposing to everyone just how brainless Sylvia truly was.

At the same time, it goaded Sylvia into targeting Vivian.

It was a strategy that killed two birds with one stone. All Joy had to do was sit back and wait for Sylvia to explode.

However, the reality wasn’t that simple.

When Vivian met Mrs. Sterling the other day, the older woman had mentioned that everyone in Aethelburg’s elite circles was discussing that night.

Even though Sylvia’s behavior that evening had been abysmal, people seemed to think her words held some truth.

After all, the banquet was incredibly important. As the representative of the Drake family, playing the piano was a matter of pride for Joy; she surely wouldn’t sabotage herself.

Therefore, nine times out of ten, the culprit had to be Vivian Lowell!

The rumor mill claimed Vivian wanted to steal the spotlight, cement her status as Mrs. Faulkner, and deal a blow to her romantic rival, Sylvia Drake!

All of this actually sounded quite plausible.

Mrs. Sterling had expressed her concerns that day. "If you ask me, Sylvia most likely leaked this information herself!

"She’s unwilling to accept her ruined reputation and the prospect of being ostracized from our social circles, so she can only resort to continuously slandering you!

"Don’t worry, Vivian. We were all there that night, and we’ll help clear your name."

Although Vivian received Mrs. Sterling’s promise, she still felt a sense of bitterness. While others were in the dark about what truly transpired that night, she and Julian Faulkner knew exactly what had happened.

The mastermind behind the entire incident was Joy.

Joy wanted to bring Sylvia down and pit her against Vivian. That was the real two-birds-with-one-stone scheme.

After some thought, however, Vivian decided against telling Mrs. Sterling. The Drake family was too complicated, and it wasn’t yet time to confront them directly.

"Vivian, what’s wrong?"

Perhaps Vivian had been lost in thought for too long, because Eleanor noticed. She tilted her head, curiously tugging at Vivian’s sleeve. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Hearing this, Vivian snapped back to reality. She shook her head and said, "It’s nothing. I just didn’t expect so many things to happen out of the blue. Eleanor, the movie has already been playing for ten minutes..."

She looked a little regretful.

Eleanor scratched her head, completely unbothered. She pulled Vivian along and said cheerfully, "It’s fine! It’s just ten minutes. If you want to catch what we missed, we can just watch it again later!"

Vivian hadn’t expected Eleanor to be so entirely unaffected by the earlier events. Seeing her friend’s smiling face as she tugged her along, Vivian decided to put those unpleasant thoughts on hold for now.

"Mmm... There’s no need to watch it again. Let’s just go in. If we don’t understand something, we can always catch the first ten minutes online when it’s released."

"Yeah!"

Eleanor agreed. Just as the two were about to enter the cinema, someone approached Vivian from behind and called out, "Vivian."

The voice was familiar. Vivian turned around and discovered it was Julian Faulkner.

Julian’s sudden appearance took her slightly by surprise. Before she could even ask why he was here, he had already stepped right up to her.

"Vivian!"

Julian seemed somewhat anxious. He scrutinized her earnestly, looking her up and down as if to confirm she was completely unharmed.

Flustered by his reaction, she asked, "I... What’s wrong?"

"I’m fine. Vance Wyatt told me there was an incident in the mall downstairs—someone attacking people with a weapon. I wanted to come down and see what was going on..."

His tone relaxed toward the end of his sentence, clearly relieved after seeing that she was perfectly safe.

Finding his demeanor slightly amusing, Vivian reassured him, "I’m fine, I’m perfectly fine. Don’t worry, Eleanor and I were just about to watch a movie."

"As long as you’re okay."

Julian nodded, then cast a glance at Eleanor.

At that moment, Eleanor’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen, her expression shifting slightly, and immediately rejected the call.

Vivian was standing in front of Eleanor with her back turned, so she missed this exchange entirely. Julian’s attention was solely focused on Vivian, leaving him oblivious as well.

By the time Vivian turned back around, Eleanor had already switched her phone to silent mode.

"Let’s go, Eleanor."

With that, the two finally entered the cinema.

The film was long, running a full two and a half hours, but it was incredibly captivating. Packed with action sequences, it was exactly the kind of thrilling sci-fi movie Vivian loved.

By the time the credits rolled, she still wanted more. The post-credits scene left her giddy with excitement. She grabbed Eleanor’s arm and exclaimed, "It looks like the Avengers are going to assemble again in the next movie!"

Eleanor nodded in agreement. As they walked out of the theater, Vivian kept chatting enthusiastically with her best friend about the film.

As she talked, however, she noticed that Eleanor seemed to lack enthusiasm and appeared somewhat distracted.

"Eleanor?"

Vivian called out to her. Snapping back to the present, Eleanor offered a slightly sheepish smile. "Vivian, what were you just saying?

"The AC in there was turned down a bit too low, and it gave me a headache. I’m sorry, I wasn’t really paying attention to what you were saying."

She wondered if the AC had really been that cold. Vivian hadn’t felt it at all. Her attention had been so absorbed by the movie that she hadn’t noticed the temperature.

Well, since Eleanor wasn’t feeling well...

Vivian thought for a moment before asking, "Should we head back and rest now? Are we still eating out tonight?"

"Let’s eat," Eleanor replied, looking up at Vivian. "Let’s walk around for a bit first. It’s not as cold out here, so a little stroll might make me feel better."

She recalled how she’d craved bubble tea when they first arrived today. Vivian had spotted her longing gaze instantly and bought her one without a second thought.

She also remembered that Vivian had been wanting hotpot all day.

Knowing this, Eleanor wanted to return the favor. Even though she was dealing with some unpleasant issues of her own, she still wanted to keep her best friend company for a hotpot dinner!

As the saying goes, there’s no problem a good hotpot meal can’t fix!

It was already five o’clock by the time they finished the movie. The mall was gradually filling up with crowds, and hostesses were standing outside the hotpot restaurants on the fifth floor, ushering in customers.

Vivian picked out a Sichuan-style hotpot place she really liked, and they walked in. Along the way, she sent Julian a text message.

"The movie’s over. If you want some hotpot, come up to the fifth floor of the mall. Eleanor and I have already grabbed a table!"

Julian didn’t reply immediately; perhaps he was still busy with work. At that moment, Vivian sensed a commotion outside the restaurant. To her shock, several reporters carrying cameras and microphones barged into the hotpot place, heading straight toward her and Eleanor.

Reporters? Vivian was taken aback, and so was Eleanor. The two furrowed their brows as they watched the crowd approach. A reporter’s camera was already shoved right in Vivian’s face.

Vivian used her bag to block the lens. "Are you aware that I am not a public figure?" she demanded. "Filming me like this is a violation of my privacy and portrait rights.

"Please leave and delete whatever footage you’ve already taken. If you don’t, I will sue you and your entire company!"

The reporter seemed to possess an incredibly thick skin.

She flashed Vivian a sweet smile and said, "Mrs. Faulkner, my apologies. We accidentally caught you on camera, but we’ll edit and delete those clips later.

"However, I would actually like to interview Miss Eleanor Rhodes. As the director of Eleanor’s Pet Hospital, Miss Rhodes has been heavily involved in cat rescue activities for quite some time.

"In my eyes, she’s essentially a public figure. Her influence is quite substantial, isn’t it?"

Vivian remained noncommittal but continued her warning. "That may be true, but it hardly makes her a public figure, does it?

"Having influence is one thing; being a public figure is another. Even if she were a celebrity, she would still have the right to demand that paparazzi delete unauthorized photos.

"We do not consent to you filming Eleanor like this. Please stop this harassment and leave immediately, or else... I will call security."

The reporter glanced toward the door and motioned for her two colleagues to stand guard. Unwilling to waste any more time, she turned to Eleanor and asked, "I heard Miss Wendy Wynn contacted you.

"Yet you refused to answer her calls. Could it be that you’re feeling guilty?

"Recently, there have been online leaks suggesting that Miss Wynn is involved in some debt issues abroad. May I ask if you are the one behind these leaks, Miss Rhodes?

"What is your motive? Are you trying to expose these matters to Henry Sterling? Or do you plan to use this leverage to force Miss Wynn and Mr. Sterling into a permanent breakup?

"Miss Rhodes. As of now, you still haven’t made a public appearance or issued a rebuttal. May I ask why?"