The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Aaron had barely taken a few steps when he caught sight of Vivienne on Percival’s arm, accompanied by her family and Richard, heading in the opposite direction.

Frustration bubbled within him. “Weren’t we supposed to split them up from the get-go? What now?”

Equally taken aback by his grandfather’s intervention, Kenneth sighed. “The first step of the plan is a bust. What else?”

The two young men exchanged a look of mutual disdain before parting ways.

From a distance, Vivienne was surprised to see Aaron and Kenneth together.

“Are those two playing nice again?” She asked.

Percival found Aaron’s presence irritating, but he could not show it too openly, given that Aaron was a friend of Vivienne’s. Thus, he said calmly, “Who knows? Let them be.”

Vivienne did not press any further.

Richard followed the rehearsed plan to the letter, entering with Vivienne at his side, ensuring she was the center of attention.

Vivienne, albeit reluctantly, complied. After all, the birthday boy calls the shots.

While they waited, Fiona approached them.

“Grandpa, Vivienne,” she said, holding a box that contained her latest jewelry design. “Grandpa, after your speech, I hope Vivienne can wear this set to showcase it. What do you think?”

Richard’s displeasure was evident, though he remained silent.

He intended for Vivienne to be seen purely as part of his entourage, to underscore his status, not as a billboard for the company.

Fiona hastily added, “I just think the jewels would look stunning on Vivienne. That’s all.”

for the company’s good, Richard could not bring himself to reprimand her. “Vivienne will simply accompany me for the entrance. You can wear the

Fiona had no

hoped to leverage Vivienne’s identity as Master Charles, combining it with her jewelry concept

eye-catching at first, but she knew it lacked staying power and could quickly become

Vivienne,” Richard said, leading her into the

mocking gaze on Fiona. “How did that go? Got shot

turned icy as she warned, “Don’t you dare mess up my jewelry debut, or

gala was supposed to be an excellent opportunity that could have been used

was confident that any move she made during the gala would end in utter

this time, her focus was not on taking Percival down. Instead, she aimed to cement her position in her grandfather’s heart and lower

snorted. “With your tacky jewelry, you think you can win Grandpa’s favor for our family branch? You spend your days fiddling with those trinkets; it’s messed with your brain.

was deemed a ‘lost cause,’ Jeffrey had not taken him

battling Paul, which had left both of

Paul was now released, he had lost his standing in their

Jeffrey, compromised by the art exhibition debacle, had to bite his

within the Ellington family had given

lost cause? It

to pit him against Paul, to reap the benefits of their

happen. If he did not

he could not miss. He had to drag Percival down. At

with malice before she turned away. “This is your last warning. If you ruin my plans, you’ll get it from

then walked away, leaving Jeffrey to spit after her in disdain.

was

the master of ceremonies delivered

only Vivienne by his side, signaling the importance he placed on her,

speech, Vivienne’s standing in Rivenwood’s high society

knew she was Percival’s

thinking of crossing Vivienne would now have to weigh their