Chapter 465

Adrian's brows knitted together in a slight frown. "Which friend? Audrey?"

Vivian didn't answer right away, focusing on her meal without glancing his way. After deliberately chewing her food, she finally spoke. "The real problem here is Serena. If you want to play pretend, be my guest. But don't drag others into this mess—it's pathetic. These rumors didn't appear out of thin air. Where there's smoke, there's fire. Instead of damage control, you should be fixing the actual problem."

With deliberate slowness, she picked up the piece of steak Adrian had placed in her bowl and dropped it back onto his plate.

Adrian's lips quirked in amusement at her defiance as he ate the rejected morsel himself.

Turning to his grandparents with exaggerated exasperation, he joked, "Grandpa, Grandma, see how she treats me? Her temper's getting worse by the day."

Beatrice, ever the peacemaker, chuckled. "If your wife has a temper, it's your duty to indulge her. Real men pamper their wives. Only weaklings try to rule their households like tyrants."

Though her tone was light, Beatrice's eyes held concern. The fragile peace between Adrian and Vivian felt like the calm before a storm. Serena's continued presence loomed over them like a dark cloud threatening to burst.

After dinner, Leonard and Beatrice retired to the guest suite. Vivian personally arranged for Beatrice's maid to stay in Gwendolyn's old room. While cleaning, the maid discovered a suspicious package tucked beneath the bed. Recognizing it as the same herbal supplement Margaret had once prepared for Vivian at the Blackwood estate, she assumed it had been forgotten during their last visit.

Thinking nothing of it, the maid carried the package to the kitchen.

As Vivian passed by, the maid stopped her. "Mrs. Blackwood, should this tonic be taken before bed?"

Vivian's eyes flickered to the familiar packaging, assuming Beatrice's maid had brought it from the main house. "Yes, warm it up and bring it to my room before I retire," she instructed absently.

Neither woman questioned the package's sudden appearance. The previous batch Vivian brought had already been consumed by Gwendolyn. If this was new, where had it come from?

Turning from the maid, Vivian found Adrian leaning against the hallway wall, watching her with an unreadable expression. His lips curved when their eyes met. "The Sinclairs treat you like their own granddaughter, while I feel like a guest in my own home."

Vivian responded with a noncommittal hum, her disinterest palpable.

Unwilling to let it go, Adrian pushed off the wall. "Still upset about Serena? We've been over this. Her project isn't finished, and her current treatment won't extend her stay. I'm not keeping her here deliberately."

Vivian's irritation showed as she wondered if their disconnect stemmed from gender differences or simply stubbornness. "Is that all?"

He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "I'm investigating those rumors about you. If Serena's behind them, she won't get special treatment."

After a weighted pause, he added, "But it's all in the past now. Whatever the truth, we should move forward." His protective tone regarding Serena made his priorities painfully clear.