Chapter 451

Vivian's lips curved in a practiced smile, but her eyes had turned glacial. She squared her shoulders, her voice honeyed steel. "Cut to the chase, Adrian."

Adrian's fingers twitched around his phone. "Serena didn't know you were the scriptwriter initially. When she found out, she defended you publicly. Made several supportive tweets."

The buzzing phone in his palm went silent, its unanswered notification mirroring the growing chasm between them.

Vivian's ribs constricted. His willful blindness to Serena's machinations choked her. Their recent reconciliation had felt genuine - stolen kisses in the elevator, whispered confessions at dawn. But like gilded ice, it melted under scrutiny.

She'd let herself believe his compromises were sincere. Sending Serena to Azurevale had seemed like surrender. But the bitter truth? Her heart had overruled her mind.

The divorce papers she'd drafted months ago gathered dust, buried under nostalgia and weak-willed hope. Yet Serena's specter loomed, fracturing their fragile truce.

Now, with Adrian invoking Serena's name again, Vivian's doubts roared like a tempest.

Their eyes locked. For a heartbeat, she caught panic flashing in his gaze before he looked away. Her smile turned knife-sharp. "You actually believe those tweets were supportive?"

Adrian opened his mouth, but Vivian continued, voice dripping frost, "If she truly meant to defend me, why post when the scandal peaked? The gossip blogs never named me directly. By 'clarifying,' she confirmed every suspicion. Tell me, darling - was she dousing flames or fanning them?"

Adrian's jaw clenched. Vivian's laugh was brittle. "You're no fool, Adrian. Perhaps you don't understand feminine warfare. But surely you recognize basic media manipulation?"

His fingers brushed a stray curl from her forehead. "Serena had a difficult upbringing. She's flawed, but not malicious. Just... misguided."

Vivian recoiled. "She's twenty-three. Legally accountable since sixteen. How long will you infantilize her?"

Rubbing his temples, Adrian exhaled sharply. "I'll handle this. Don't take it out on her. She's leaving for Azurevale soon."

A mirthless chuckle escaped Vivian. "I thought sending her away meant you'd chosen me. That our marriage mattered more." Her voice cracked. "But I see now - it's not about us. You're giving her carte blanche. No consequences, just... geographical distance."

She turned toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching twilight paint the city in bruised hues. The gilded cage of their marriage had never felt more suffocating.