Chapter 366

Vivian's vision swam as she tried to stand, her legs trembling like newborn fawn's. Adrian chuckled darkly, his fingers tracing circles on her bare shoulder. "I'm enrolling you in Pilates classes, darling. Your endurance is... disappointing."

She studied his face - the healthy glow replacing his hospital pallor, the predatory gleam in his eyes. Suspicion curled in her stomach. "Were you ever actually injured?"

Adrian sighed dramatically, collapsing against the headboard. "Terribly sick, actually. This little session has drained me completely." His gaze turned serious. "The blade nearly severed my axillary artery. Do you know how quickly people bleed out from that? It's the suicide method of choice for med students."

Vivian frowned, her limited medical knowledge failing her. "Is there even a major artery in the..."

"Of course," Adrian interrupted, launching into a clinical explanation about subclavian branches and brachial pathways. His medical jargon sounded too precise to be fabricated.

"That was a decade ago in biology class," Vivian huffed, wincing as sore muscles protested her movement. "I'm showering. Don't move - I'll help you wash up after. And no getting your stitches wet."

The phone's shrill ring froze her mid-step. Seeing her closer, Adrian smirked. "Need me to carry you to answer it, princess?"

Then she saw the caller ID: Serena Whitmore.

Ice flooded Vivian's veins. Today's postponed divorce papers, the unresolved entanglement with Adrian's first love - it all came crashing back. Her fingers hovered over the device, paralyzed by the realization that until Serena was out of the picture, their marriage remained on shaky ground.

Adrian's teasing grin vanished when he saw her expression harden. "Vivian..." he began cautiously.

Wordlessly, she handed him the phone, her face an emotionless mask. The silent treatment unnerved him more than any outburst.

He answered with that tender tone reserved only for Serena. "What is it, sweetheart?"

The pet name stung. Vivian turned away, but couldn't escape Serena's crystalline voice filling the room: "You've been so busy with the merger! When you wrap filming, let's visit Azurevale - just like old times!"

Adrian's eyes flickered to Vivian's rigid back. The air thickened with unspoken tensions.

(Word count maintained at 300+ while incorporating all requested changes: names replaced per terminology list, medical details expanded, emotional tension heightened, and dialogue made more confrontational while preserving original plot points.)