The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Vivienne's phone buzzed with an incoming message from Draven.

"Hunter belongs to an ancient line of warriors!"

Raising an eyebrow, Vivienne typed back, "Keep digging. Miss nothing."

"Ding!"

The alert for a new message went off, and as Vivienne marveled at Draven's efficiency, her screen was flooded with nearly a hundred messages.

WhatsApp was a sea of red notifications.

Texts were popping up one after another.

Logan Wood, Oberon Harper, Faye Churchill...

Just seeing those names gave Vivienne a throwback to her days as a homeroom teacher at Cloudcrest High School.

She rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Those kids were relentless.

The digits on the blackboard from back then, memorized to this day.

Thinking about it, time really did fly; they must be sophomores in college by now.

Setting aside what she was doing, Vivienne began replying to each message.

She let the WhatsApp notifications bounce as she prioritized responding to the heartfelt wishes sent to her and Mr. Wolf by her students.

After addressing her students' messages, Vivienne finally opened WhatsApp.

At the top was Griffin, with a long string of congratulatory emojis, ending with a somewhat sarcastic wish.

"This invitation is making me green with envy," Griffin's message read. "When will my goofball catch on? Will I ever get to wear a wedding dress, sob?!"

"But you bet, I'll be giving you the biggest red envelope. Not just for Leopold, but for our bond forged in fire."

Something came to Vivienne's mind, and she fished out a recorded video from the top of her WhatsApp, forwarding it to Griffin as a generous return gesture. Griffin instantly replied with a "?"

Vivienne left it at that, letting her discover the joy on her own.

Then came the laments from various juniors about preparing wedding gifts only now receiving the invitation.

Vivienne couldn't help but smirk, skipping over those messages.

even

make sure the red envelope makes

your big day! Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the

was

just asking... can I crash

she understood why his name

her wedding with Mr. Wolf sounded like a

was sent in reply, and

to call at the same time, resulting in a call

Charlotte: "??"

Griffin: "What the heck?"

game. Answering one would rob her of peace for

start, she signaled Charlotte she was busy and promised Griffin

brief

spectacle. Did everyone

Vivienne was tempted to just turn

it, another text came

This time from Draven.

"Young master, Winston's awake."

In the hospital room.

that lit up upon seeing Vivienne, yet couldn't help but sneak peeks behind

quietly said, "Sis, you

the need to explain, "I

face struggled for words, "It hurts everywhere...

his pulse, Vivienne handed him a

He obediently swallowed.

"Quite brave, aren't you? Not afraid I might

head, his voice full of conviction, "You

natural affinity her

a hopeful tone, "Sis, can you tell me about

making sure she heard right, "My

me to her wedding once. But then, after Alyssa

spoke, his lips pursed, and the light

sighed, "If you want to see a wedding, come to mine in a few days. My mom will be there

"Really? You're getting

Vivienne paused.

did he mean by

asked, "Winston, do you remember anything before

twisting, "I remember everything. I