Chapter 42: Remember Your Identity Clearly

Gazing at the flamboyant signature of "Vivian Hale" on the document, Adrian Cross's eyes turned crimson with fury, desperately wishing he could tear the contract to absolute shreds on the spot.

Did this woman actually intend to sell even this house now?

Just how enraged was she to completely discard even the memories shared between them?

In the end, they were kicked out of the property in a thoroughly wretched manner.

Eleanor Cross was still completely incapable of accepting this staggering drop in status.

In the past, Vivian had been virtually obedient to her and Adrian in every possible way, so how could she act out of line time and again like she did today?

"What on earth is going on here? Has that little tramp completely lost her mind? How dare she do this! Selling my commercial storefront properties, and now she even sold your villa? Adrian, she is your wife after all, you ought to discipline her properly and teach her a lesson!"

She was still entirely unaware of the divorce!

A flash of intense humiliation passed across Adrian’s face. He rubbed his forehead, speaking with distinct impatience.

"Vivian is likely just throwing a tantrum with me. She discovered my infidelity and her anger is hard to extinguish. As long as I go coax her a bit, she will always change her mind."

After all, they shared so many years of affection.

Vivian was merely acting on impulse; she wouldn't truly be that heartless.

After all, he was currently her only living relative. Now that she was throwing a tantrum, everything would be fine as long as he coaxed her more.

Only, if he wanted to coax her, he currently had absolutely zero clues as to where to find her.

After sending his mother away, Adrian returned to the company. Having processed the employees' resignations, he pondered for a moment before instructing Charles.

"Go investigate where Vivian Hale is right now."

Hiding in the shadows, Tiffany Rose had a face full of burning rage.

Even at a time like this, Adrian was actually still thinking about Vivian Hale?

Clearly, at a difficult juncture like this, the absolute sole person accompanying his side was her.

They had glaringly already divorced, yet how could he still be unable to forget her!

The mere thought of this filled her with a deadly wave of jealousy.

No, she couldn't abandon Adrian’s thigh just yet; as the saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.

Even if the company went bankrupt, the assets under his name added together were still more than enough for her to squander.

After being calculated against this time, she reflected on it meticulously. The person who would hate her this much and intentionally set up a trap to harm her to this depth could only possibly be Vivian Hale.

Perhaps she was the one orchestrating everything behind the scenes.

She never expected that woman to be this venomous!!

It just so happened that she had obtained a piece of inside word from her best friend some time ago, claiming that Vivian had been spotted together with a man at a high-end apartment building.

She was going to investigate the truth!

...

On the other side.

Vivian Hale's mood could be described as incomparably light and refreshing.

She returned to her own flat in a crisp and efficient manner.

In the very next second, however, her eyes caught sight of a familiar silhouette standing right by her apartment doorway.

Hearing the noise, the man standing by the door happened to turn his head over.

Their twin eyes met, and catching sight of the dark undercurrents swirling in the depths of his eyes, Vivian raised an eyebrow. "Why did you come here?"

This man hadn't shown his face for such a long period that she initially assumed he had vanished completely.

To her surprise, the man spoke up first.

"You divorced him?"

Hearing this, a flash of impatience at having her privacy pried into passed through Vivian’s eyes.

The hand opening the door paused, and she turned her head to look at him.

"Does that have anything to do with you? Do I possess an obligation to tell you this? Remember your identity clearly."

He was merely a friend with benefits. Even though he was potentially the future father of her child, she could still replace him at any given time.

The man’s gaze plummeted into absolute frost in an instant, and even his breathing grew heavily lowered.

His distinct-knuckled hand clamped onto the door frame, his aggressively predatory gaze fixed tightly onto Vivian.

Before Vivian could even react, the door was slammed shut with a loud bang.

The back of her head was firmly clasped by the man's massive hand right after.

The two staggered, crashing onto the sofa together.

It was unknown how much time passed, right up until the air grew thin, before the man lingeringly released her lips.

Vivian’s cheeks were flushed crimson, her eyes watery.

Carrying a stubbornness that refused to yield, she appeared even more enchanting.

Her twin lips were somewhat swollen from the kisses, and she knit her brows to look at the man before her.

"What on earth do you want to do?"

The man's hand slipped beneath the hem of her top, resting his chin right against her shoulder.

"Do exactly what my identity is supposed to do."

He moved once more, leaving a dense cluster of kisses across Vivian’s neck.

Trailing all the way down, growing increasingly scorching.

He was crystal clear regarding every single one of Vivian’s sensitive points, and within mere moments, he drew her completely into a wave of passion...

After the passion subsided.

Amid her grogginess, Vivian felt the man suddenly lift her in a horizontal embrace, placing her onto the soft, massive bed.

He meticulously tucked the duvet around Vivian, his voice low and hoarse.

"Careful not to catch a cold."

"Lie down and rest for a bit, drink some water. I'll go prepare lunch for you."

Being looked after with such meticulous care left Vivian momentarily dazed.

In the past, there was only the share of her trailing behind Adrian Cross to serve him; she had never been treated with such tenderness by anyone.

Even when he knew she was severely ill and admitted to the hospital, he had refused to cast a single glance at her, let alone take care of her personally.

And even though the person before her eyes possessed an identical face to Adrian's, his attitude was entirely opposite to his...

Before Vivian could ponder it thoroughly, she rolled over and drifted into a deep sleep.

By the time she woke up, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon.

Having secured enough rest, Vivian’s entire being regained its vitality.

She was just about to prop herself up to rise when her waist was encircled by someone's arms.

"Finally awake. The food is on the table, I'll keep you company to eat."

Vivian froze slightly.

She couldn't utter words of refusal, simply nodding her agreement.

The two got out of bed to wash up together and ate lunch together, looking exactly like an ordinary pair of lovers.

Vivian couldn't pin down what was amiss, yet she didn't harbor any resistance toward this feeling either.

After the meal, Vivian began packing her luggage.

She was going abroad, so the apartment here could no longer be lived in.

Taking advantage of having time these few days, she prepared to courier a portion of her items over to the headquarters.

She lifted a sailboat model out from her luggage with absolute care.

Inspecting it and finding zero issues, she placed it on the table, preparing to have someone customize a box to pack it in later.

That way, when it was couriered later, it wouldn't suffer damage from impacts.

The gaze the man directed at the sailboat was profoundly deep.

However, as he turned around, he accidentally knocked against a tin box sitting on the coffee table, causing the contents inside to clatter all over the floor.

The commotion gave Vivian a sudden start.

Turning her head to look over, she discovered that the items rolling out were all toys from her childhood. When this tin box was moved out from the Cross mansion back then, she had packed it up and brought it along with her.

Items like bamboo dragonflies and windmills, alongside a few Barbie dolls, and a yellowed slip of paper floated lightly onto the ground.

Vivian bent her waist wanting to pick it up, but the exact millisecond her eyes caught sight of the handwriting on the slip of paper, she froze for a moment.

On that slip of paper, a line of childish yet orderly writing entered her view.

"Next time I'll bring you strawberry candy—Silas."

She remembered that this was left for her by Adrian during their childhood, but why exactly was the signature written as Silas...

Who was Silas?

Inexplicably, something flashed through her mind.

But before she could even ponder it thoroughly, it vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, the man’s Adam's apple bobbed for a moment. Looking at the words listed above, he opened his mouth slowly.

"I didn't expect you to still keep things from your childhood."

His cadence carried a strangeness that was impossible to describe.