In the office, the unpredictable Vivian had Hayden, Ethan's secretary, pinned to the table, rendering him immobile.
"Vivian! What are you doing! Let go of Hayden!" Ethan's face paled with alarm as he rushed forward to intervene.
Noticing his movement, Vivian hoisted Hayden's upper body, her arm tightening around his neck as she threatened, "Stay back. I just need to ask him something. If he answers honestly, he won't be harmed. But if you interfere, I can't guarantee his safety."
Was this how one questioned someone? Ethan stared at Vivian in disbelief, her actions surpassing his comprehension.
Vivian released her grip momentarily, mirroring her previous action by partially removing Hayden's suit jacket and deftly tying his arms behind him, her knee pressing into his back, forcing him into a contorted kneeling position beside the coffee table. The scene resembled a cinematic interrogation of a suspect.
Taking advantage of Vivian's momentary distraction, Ethan discreetly reached for the desk phone to call security, repeatedly pressing the emergency button, only to realize it was dead silent. Bewildered, he looked up at Vivian.
"I cut the emergency lines before you came in. We won't be disturbed here. Relax," Vivian said with a glance and a chilling smile, her knee digging in harder, eliciting a pained groan from Hayden that made Ethan's grip on the phone falter.
Relax? Hardly!
Ethan sensed a chilling cruelty in Vivian's expression.
"What do you want to know?" Hayden managed to ask, struggling to turn his head. Vivian's pressure on his back made breathing laborious.
He couldn't comprehend how Vivian possessed such strength to immobilize him.
"On our wedding day, were you genuinely unaware of the bride switch, or were you acting on someone's orders?" Vivian leaned in, pressing her arm against the back of Hayden's neck, forcing his head back onto the cold coffee table. The pressure momentarily choked him.
Hayden shook his head strenuously, gasping out, "I... didn't... know."
"As Ethan's secretary, responsible for overseeing the wedding arrangements, you couldn't have only learned about the Shaw family's switch on the day, could you? Their invitations and the event itself all carried Vivian's name," Vivian pressed, her playful demeanor gone, replaced by a piercing gaze.
Ethan was stunned. He never imagined Vivian would confront this issue.
He had pondered how meticulous Hayden could have fallen for the Shaw family's crude substitution. He was occupied abroad negotiating a crucial deal when the wedding preparations were ongoing, trusting Hayden implicitly after years of camaraderie. He didn't want to doubt Hayden, his brother-like figure who stood by him through thick and thin, as possibly complicit in the deception.
Yet, it was Vivian who was tearing this veil apart.
"You could have stopped it but chose not to. I need to know why," Vivian persisted.
Hayden remained stubbornly silent, his face a mask of defiance.
Ethan's heart trembled, a chill creeping up from his toes. Vivian was asking the questions he dared not, and while he craved answers, he wasn't sure he could bear the truth.
He and Hayden grew up together, studied abroad togather, and when his parents passed, amidst relatives turning greedy and conniving, it was Hayden and his father who stood steadfastly by his side. Hayden was like a brother, his most trusted confidant. Ethan couldn't bring himself to question or accept the possibility of Hayden's betrayal. He feared... feared finding himself utterly alone if the truth proved unbearable.
"This is clearly... Clearly the fault of your Shaw family! Why blame Hayden?" Ethan's words stumbled out before he could fully process them, a defense mechanism kicking in.
Both Hayden and Vivian looked at Ethan in surprise.
Unwavering, Ethan continued, "It was my oversight that allowed you the chance to succeed. Regardless of the facts, you are now my wife, and I won't pursue the truth either. How dare you question my secretary?"
Ethan clenched his fists, determined to trust Hayden, to believe in him, even if it meant turning a blind eye.
Hayden dropped his gaze, avoiding Ethan's eyes.
"Because I will be staying here," Vivian responded, a hint of dominance in her smile. "While I don't know why you didn't annul the marriage upon discovering the fraud, there's no reason for divorce now. We're bound together for a while longer..."
Vivian glanced at Ethan, her eyes betraying a softness unseen. Though she claimed ignorance, Vivian could guess at the reasons—reasons Ethan would never admit to.
Reasons rooted in a fleeting moment of compassion, where he couldn't bring himself to publicly humiliate a woman with a canceled wedding.
Ethan felt exposed, as though Vivian had peeled back all his layers. He instinctively hardened his expression, but his heart pounded uncontrollably.
She was terrifying, this woman... Too terrifying.
