"So, who are you really?"
That night, after Ethan and Vivian returned home, in the privacy of their shared space, Ethan couldn't help but pose the same question to Vivian again.
"It's impossible for you to be the original Vivian that married me. If she had your abilities, she wouldn't have been forced by the Shaw family to marry me."
"I've told you before, I'm from another world, but you didn't believe me back then," Vivian said candidly, sprawling on the sofa, offering a different answer compared to her earlier jest.
Ethan was momentarily taken aback, remembering there was indeed such a conversation, the day after they had slept together, when he had questioned her in a similar vein.
"Do you believe me now?" Vivian arched an eyebrow.
Ethan hesitated, unsure whether to nod or noy. The truth was too surreal to easily accept, yet no other explanation seemed as plausible.
Reflecting on it, Vivian's drastic change in personality seemed to coincide with the day they had been intimate. Afterwards, Vivian suddenly displayed skills that allowed her to restrain him and...
Ethan’s face flushed red.
Noticing his reaction, Vivian guessed his thoughts and chuckled. "Thinking about that day? That was the day I arrived here."
The heat in Ethan's cheeks intensified, and he recalled that if Vivian had been this capable before, she wouldn't have allowed him to take advantage of her. Though, his actions were under the influence of the drug... So, did Vivian's switch occur after they finish their sexual encounter?
"What about the original Vivian then?"
"I don't know," Vivian shrugged.
Ethan suddenly felt a wave of discomfort. Did this mean the original Vivian died after being with him, allowing the current Vivian to take over her body?
Vivian, seeing Ethan's twisted expression, patted his back. "Don't think too much about it. It's fate, and it has nothing to do with you."
Having witnessed countless deaths and irreversible losses in war, Vivian had come to accept that sometimes, death could only be explained as destiny's will.
Ethan stared into Vivian's eyes, which seemed far older than her actual age, as though they had seen through everything. He couldn't help but inquire, "How exactly did you travel here?"
"Maybe I died, I'm not sure. One moment I was on the battlefield, and the next, I opened my eyes and found myself in bed with you, after... you know." Vivian chuckled playfully.
Ethan blushed again, averting his gaze awkwardly but unable to suppress his curiosity. "What did you do... before coming here, I mean?"
"I was a secret agent in S Country."
"Eh?" Isn't S Country where we are? Was she an agent from their own country? Could they verify her past life?
Seeming to read his mind, Vivian shook her head. "I checked. Remember when I hacked into S Country's intelligence network and showed you a few targets our intelligence units were monitoring? I was actually trying to find information about myself. I wanted to know if I was dead or what had happened... But there was nothing. This world is similar to the one I came from, but it's different... It is much more peaceful here."
Vivian's smile seemed ethereal, tinged with loneliness and solitude, a stark contrast to her usual mischievous grin. Perhaps it was the realization that the world showed no signs of her ever having existed. Ethan felt a pang in his heart, uncomfortable with this side of her.
He tried to empathize with Vivian's situation: a seasoned international agent suddenly transplanted into someone else's life, living in a foreign world where her past deeds didn't exist. Just thinking about it made him feel uneasy, and he was at a loss for comforting words.
Perhaps driven by loneliness, Vivian had divulged to him what Director Smith had tried hard to uncover. Was it because he was the first person she met in this world? Or was it due to their unique relationship? Or maybe... for some other reason... something like she trust him...
Ethan shook his head to dispel these unwarranted thoughts.
"What are you thinking about?" Vivian chuckled, finding his troubled expression endearing, like a cat tangled in yarn.
Her warm and radiant smile broke through his gloomy thoughts, making Ethan realize that Vivian wasn't as daunting as he initially perceived.
"Then... you wanted to join the security department because you miss your old work?"
"No, it's because your security measures are simply inadequate..." On the topic of her expertise, Vivian suddenly turned serious, launching into a detailed critique of the shortcomings.
Ethan found himself involuntarily listening to nearly twenty minutes of securit defection reporting.
...
Finally, Vivian added, "As the CEO, you should consider increasing the security budget!"
...Was she already lobbying for a budget increase on her first day in the job?
