Chapter 132

The luxurious car's interior gradually filled with warmth, carrying the subtle scent of sandalwood from Adrian's cologne. Vivian turned her face toward the window, watching the city lights blur past. His sharp profile reflected against the glass, close yet impossibly distant.

As the vehicle halted before Seabreeze Villa's grand gates, Vivian didn't wait for Ethan's assistance. She pushed the door open herself, her heels clicking against the cobblestone driveway.

She'd barely taken three steps when the villa's ornate doors flew open. Gwendolyn stood frozen in the doorway, her welcoming smile twisting into a grimace. "You?" The single word dripped with venomous surprise.

Only moments earlier, the driver had returned with a team of foreign specialists. Gwendolyn had been certain Adrian would bring Serena home. Now faced with Vivian's unexpected appearance, her mind jumped to worst-case scenarios.

Adrian's arrival cut through the tension like winter wind. Ethan immediately stepped forward, his voice laced with warning. "Mind your manners when addressing Mrs. Blackwood."

Gwendolyn's hands trembled as she forced a curtsy. "My apologies, Mr. Blackwood. I was simply... overwhelmed with joy at Mrs. Blackwood's return."

Adrian's glacial stare made the autumn air feel warm by comparison. "If you cannot conduct yourself appropriately, consider this your final warning."

Gwendolyn's throat constricted. Positions like this—with their generous salaries and elite social circles—were nearly impossible to obtain. A dismissal would ruin her reputation among high society employers.

Panic turned her movements jerky. Before anyone could react, she dropped to her knees before Vivian, striking her own cheeks with sharp slaps that echoed across the courtyard. Crimson handprints bloomed across her pale skin.

"Mrs. Blackwood!" she begged between gasps. "Please forgive this foolish woman! I spoke without thinking—I was just so shocked to see you here!" Her fingers clutched at Vivian's coat hem. "Have mercy on someone as ignorant as myself!"

Vivian recoiled, stepping neatly out of reach. "Your employment isn't my concern." Her voice remained cool, detached. She'd long exhausted any sympathy for this woman. Their divorce had severed any obligation to intervene in household affairs.

Misreading Vivian's indifference as tacit approval, Gwendolyn turned pleading eyes toward Adrian. "Mr. Blackwood, Mrs. Blackwood has forgiven me! Please—"

Adrian's jaw tightened. "See that it never happens again."

Gwendolyn scrambled upright, smoothing her wrinkled uniform with shaking hands. "Thank you, Mr. Blackwood! Thank you, Mrs. Blackwood!" Her smile stretched too wide, her eyes glinting with something darker than gratitude as they flicked toward Vivian.

This humiliation would not go unanswered. Vivian's sudden reappearance threatened everything Gwendolyn had worked for. As long as the Blackwoods remained connected, her position would never be secure.

The seeds of vengeance took root in her heart, watered by wounded pride. She would ensure this marriage stayed buried—no matter the cost.