The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Lennox just could not stand it any longer. He snatched the broom from Percival’s grasp, and with a gentle tug, he swept the dust into the pan.

Crack! The broom head snapped off.

Percival furrowed his brow in annoyance. “That’s the sixth time that’s happened. Are your things always this flimsy?”

Lennox replied with a slight hesitation, “Is it possible you’re just too strong and snapped it yourself?”

“It’s this piece of junk that’s the problem,” Percival grumbled, casting a disdainful glance at the broom before turning to Quentin. “I had someone buy you a new racing car model and a desktop PC. They’ll be delivered soon.”

Quentin, for his part, was not too fussed. He looked around at the further disarray. “It’s a knock-off anyway. Got it for ten bucks. But… Percival, maybe you should just stop cleaning.”

Despite being older than Vivienne, Quentin and the others respected her technical expertise and would often follow Aaron’s lead in calling her by her nickname. And since Percival was Vivienne’s fiancé, they naturally called him by his first name.

Vivienne held back laughter, her delicate face turning a shade of red from the effort to conceal her laughter.

This must have been the first time Percival had been “rejected”!

Yet, he seemed filled with joy, and his mood visibly brightened.

Aaron’s expression darkened slightly, though he said nothing, silently unplugging the computer to prevent the imminent explosion.

As he began to repair the broom, he asked Mark coldly, “What brings you here?”

Mark finally said, “I’m here to take you home.”

“I’ll be heading back tomorrow; we’re celebrating here tonight. You go on ahead.”

Mark knew Aaron well enough to understand his temperament. Today, Aaron had announced his retirement, which meant he would return to the Miller family fold tomorrow.

He had come to see if there was anything he could do to help, feeling the weight of his many debts to his son.

Before he could say anything else, the door to the training room burst open.

supplies are here. Why on earth are you buying all this stuff and sending it here? Aren’t you worried Kenneth will give you an earful? Ah, there’s Vivienne! No wonder Hawk won today, with you coaching them!” Leopold remarked as

sip of her Coke. “Why

models and placing them on the table. He could not help but blurt out, “How did this place get so messy? Don’t

after the cleaning. Can you believe

gave Leopold a nudge with his foot. “Enough with the chatter. Change out the

muttered, “Fine, fine, I’m the

Thomas, Leopold called him

and the others, feeling a

the entire setup—desk, chair, the works—leaving the room far

the limited-edition racing models. “These… these

the sake that you’re Vivienne’s players, I’ll throw in a few more. My place

a bombshell that sent chills

The usually composed Bennett exclaimed, turning to Vivienne. “Coach, please, we still need this space. We’ve got the new cleaning bots. They’re fully automated. No need for

but Percival, sitting steadily, insisted,

I still have to

who don’t understand E-sports don’t belong in our training room.

nearly choked on

you couldn’t be more naive.”

lips curved into a smirk as he approached the computer, his gaze steady but icy, “Care for

in his own domain. “Let’s do this. Lose, and you stay away

paying little mind to Aaron. “I made a bet with Vivienne to clean your training room for a week if you won. So, if you lose, I won’t bother you again. How

and

his eyes,

to the side, eyes never

seen Percival play, but she knew Aaron was

perked up with interest, even getting Bennett and

chose his best character

blink of an eye, Aaron’s screen went dark, his character

Hawk team was stunned. How

just score first

be killed again and again, eight times in a