The Billionaire's Bought Bride and Instant Mom Chapter 210

Aveline

The private room was softly lit, with warm wood paneling and furnishings that looked more like a luxury hotel than a medical facility. Vivian lay propped up against pristine white pillows, her hair loose around her shoulders and a small bandage visible on her cheek.

The sound of the door opening caused her to stir. When her eyes found mine, they widened with surprise, and she immediately tried to sit up straighter, wincing slightly from the effort.

"Hey," I said softly, moving toward her instinctively. "Don't strain yourself. You need to rest."

She quickly pulled back from my outstretched hand, and I let it fall to my side, feeling suddenly awkward.

For a long moment, we simply looked at each other. Her expression was a complex tapestry of emotions—shame, defiance, hurt pride, and something that might have been hope. It was the most unguarded I'd ever seen her.

"Well," I finally said, settling carefully into the chair beside her bed, "I have to give you credit for consistency. You did exactly what you promised—you drugged me a third time."

Vivian's face flushed deep red, and she opened her mouth as if to speak, then seemed to think better of it. Her fingers plucked nervously at the hospital blanket.

"I suppose I can't really blame you," I continued, keeping my voice gentle. "You warned me exactly what you were planning, and I was foolish enough to drink it anyway. But seeing you here now..." I gestured at her bandaged face, the exhaustion in her eyes. "I really wish I had listened to my instincts."

She turned her face away from me, and I caught a glimpse of the stubborn pride that had probably kept her alive through whatever ordeal she'd endured.

"I shouldn't have done it," she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Drugging you, I mean. It nearly got me killed."

My heart clenched at the pain in her voice. "Vivian, when you say 'nearly'..." I reached out hesitantly and touched her hand. "What exactly did Dwayne do to you? I thought you two had some kind of... connection."

Her head snapped back toward me, and her eyes blazed with a fury so intense it was almost frightening.

"He can go fuck himself," she spat, her voice shaking with rage. "Him and his psychotic father both."

Despite everything, I found myself smiling. "Well, at least he didn't manage to break your spirit."

I noticed the thin cut on her cheek more clearly now and gently traced the air above it without quite touching. "Though it looks like you paid a price for that spirit."

She pushed my hand away, but not as harshly as before. "What I'm going to do to him and his fucking father will be a thousand times worse. They threatened our grandmother. They actually had the audacity to think I would sell out my own family... that they could use her to make me—" Her voice cracked on the last word, the cold fury giving way to pain.

Ice flooded my veins. "They actually threatened her?" I suddenly remembered the missed calls on my phone, and panic spiked through me. "Oh God, I need to get home. I need to make sure she's okay."

"You should go," Vivian said, but there was something deeply resigned in her voice. "I probably don't have the courage to face her anyway, after everything I've done."

I turned to study her profile, seeing something in her expression that I'd never noticed before—genuine vulnerability.

"Vivian," I said carefully, "I think you're wrong about that. I think you're exactly the person she's most worried about right now. Once you're feeling better, you need to come home. Don't make that sweet old woman lose sleep over you."

I watched her face soften at the mention of Grandmother's worry, and something warm unfurled in my chest.

"You can tell her everything," Vivian said with forced bravado, though her voice wavered slightly. "Every terrible thing I did. Don't hide any of it for my sake."

"I won't lie about what happened," I said, choosing my words carefully. "But I'm also not going to give an elderly woman with a heart condition unnecessary stress. Besides," I added with a slight smile, "based on how much you clearly despise Dwayne now, I don't think you have any reason left to want to hurt me."

She looked at me with surprise, as if this possibility had never occurred to her.

"I've been thinking," I continued, "and I've decided you should come back to live with us permanently."

"What gives you the right to decide where I live?" she asked, though her tone was more curious than angry. "And aren't you afraid I'll just find another way to betray you?"

I leaned forward slightly, meeting her eyes directly. "Two very good reasons. First, Grandmother can keep an eye on you—she's better at managing you than anyone else I know. Second, right now you hate Dwayne and Devan as much as I do. Until we make sure they pay for what they've done, I think we can work as allies."

"Allies?" She looked genuinely perplexed. "How could I possibly help you? I'm completely useless. I couldn't even save myself."

I reached for her hand again, and this time she didn't immediately pull away.

"Useless? Vivian, are you even listening to yourself?" I said, my voice thick with emotion. "The most important thing is, you didn't betray Grandmother. When they put you to the ultimate test, you chose her. You chose us."

For the first time, I saw a spark of something like pride in her eyes.

I looked at her, at the bruises and the exhaustion, and felt a wave of profound admiration. "I honestly don't know if I could have been that brave in your position. I don't think many people could. What you did... that's not useless. That's heroic."

Vivian's eyes filled with tears she was clearly trying not to shed. She gripped my hand tighter, as if anchoring herself.

"I want to be clear about something," she said, her voice growing stronger. "Everything I did—calling for help, warning Grandmother, refusing to cooperate with them—I did it for her sake, not to help you."

I squeezed her hand gently, feeling something that might have been genuine affection for this stubborn, complicated woman.

"I know," I said softly. "And that's exactly why I trust you now. Your love for her is real, and it's stronger than your resentment of me. That's something I can count on."