Chapter 456

Adrian's lips curled into a sardonic smile as he drawled, "Trying to hide it again?"

"Do you really think that'll make it disappear?"

As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly, his piercing gaze sweeping over the ruined carpet behind Vivian's trembling form.

Stumbling to maintain her balance, Vivian braced herself against the plush sofa, her voice dripping with defiance. "It's just a damn carpet. I'll replace it."

Her mind flashed to the hefty sum Adrian had recently transferred for that limited-edition fountain pen. Compared to that, replacing a million-Sterling rug seemed trivial.

Adrian instantly deciphered her thoughts as he settled beside her. "Planning to use the pen money for this little mishap?"

Vivian collapsed onto the couch beside him, her alcohol-laced breath hot with irritation. "Must you always calculate profit margins? Can't you stop being a corporate shark for five minutes with your own wife?"

With effortless grace, Adrian shrugged off his tailored jacket. "A million Sterling isn't worth scheming over. Feel free to try swindling that amount. I won't stop you."

Vivian's face twisted in frustration as she mentally calculated where she could possibly procure such funds.

As if reading her mind, Adrian's smirk deepened. "Realistically speaking, darling, I'm the only one you could possibly con out of a million Sterling."

Vivian stared at Adrian, her gaze burning with unspoken retorts, but the alcohol fogging her brain rendered her speechless.

Their tense silence was shattered when Dominic burst through the slightly ajar living room door. "Adrian, you wanted me to pick up—" His sentence died as his eyes landed on Audrey, sprawled unconscious across the coffee table.

In three swift strides, Dominic was kneeling beside her, gently shaking her shoulder. "Sweetheart, what are you doing here? Let's get you home."

Audrey stirred groggily, her movements sluggish as she attempted to stand. Dominic reached to steady her, his elbow knocking over a half-empty beer bottle that cascaded across the pristine carpet.

Vivian's eyes sharpened instantly as she pointed an accusatory finger. "You've ruined an imported two-million-Sterling carpet. Pay up."

Dominic recoiled in shock, only to send three more bottles tumbling, creating a foamy river of alcohol across the floor.

He turned desperate eyes toward Adrian. "Adrian—"

Without glancing up from his phone, Adrian murmured, "Make it two and a half million."

Dominic's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious! What kind of carpet costs that much?"

Adrian's response was glacial. "Bank transfer?"

Vivian's hand shot to her pocket for her phone—only to find it missing.