Vivian took a deep breath in an attempt to brace herself before walking into the house.
“Ben,” she greeted smilingly at the man sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for her arrival.
“Oh, Vivian, I prefer you crying than forcing a sad smile.” Benedict approached her, giving her a warm hug. “How are you doing? Have you not found him yet?”
He knew everything that had happened to Vivian. Initially, he planned to ask her over when he first learned about it. Yet, he waited until now, thinking she might need some time alone.
Gazing at Benedict, Vivian uttered a response, “Mm.” Then, she tossed her purse aside and threw herself onto the couch.
She could feel her whole body aching after a tiring day. If Finnick were here, he would let her lay on his lap and give her a massage.
Benedict couldn’t care less about her being unladylike. He handed her a glass of water and asked, “Why don’t you come back and live here?”
He wished Vivian could live with him since it was unsafe for a young lady to live outside.
However, Vivian had been through a lot in life, and she had long learned to stand on her feet.
Flashing Benedict a smile, she rejected, “There is no need. little pumpkin and I are fine staying at home.”
“Alright then. I’ll respect your decision.”
Benedict didn’t insist since he knew his sister was a strong-willed young lady. She would hardly change her mind after making a decision.
“Tell me if you need anything. Do you have enough money? I can…”
Soon, Benedict started to encourage her to stay strong and take good care of herself and Larry. He even taught her a hundred and one ways to protect herself against perverts and bad guys.
An hour had passed when Vivian finally had enough of Benedict’s incessant talking.
“Ben, I suddenly recalled there’s something I need to take care of. I gotta go now.”
With that, she grabbed her purse and scurried her way out of the house.
Benedict had had that heart-to-heart chat with Vivian to give her some emotional support besides cheering her up.
It seems like my effort didn’t go to waste. Vivian has indeed become livelier, judging from the way she fled the house. Benedict let out a chuckle.
Looking in the direction where Vivian left, he soon fell into deep thought.
Phew! Finally, Vivian managed to escape from Benedict’s house.
She took a deep breath and instantly felt refreshed.
After checking the time, she immediately hailed a cab, heading to the magazine company.
The senior editor had only granted her a half-day leave, yet it was already half-past twelve now.
She needed to hurry, or she would be late at the office and get an earful from the senior editor.
The hectic life had allowed Vivian to temporarily forget about the pain of losing Finnick. Nevertheless, once in a while, she would still think of Finnick in the middle of the night.
In spite of working, she would spend the rest of her time with Larry.
Gradually, her life got back on track. It had been a long time since she last cried because of Finnick.
In fact, she had tried to search for Finnick through the magazine company’s connections, yet her efforts were fruitless.
Nevertheless, she was still clinging to the hope that she would one day find that man.
Without giving up, she resorted to putting up an advertisement, which occupied a tiny corner of the magazine to search for the missing Finnick.
Even though the missing person’s notice was barely noticeable in the magazine, the news of Finnick’s missing spread like wildfire since he was a big name in the city.
Now, everyone in the city knew Finnick was missing, abandoning his wife and child.
Although the public had misunderstood Finnick, Vivian didn’t bother to explain to them, for she knew Finnick cared little about what other people think of him.
The magazine had a wide reach as well as readership. She would try every possible method to find Finnick.
To Vivian’s disappointment, she didn’t receive any news though a month had passed.
She knew if Finnick wanted to hide from her, he would never let anyone find him.
In fact, Vivian had also hired a private investigator to look for Finnick’s whereabouts. However, in the end, she received the same disappointing results.
It was as if that man had vanished into thin air.
Vivian’s life went on. Every day passed with her waiting for Finnick’s return while taking care of Larry.
One day, seeing her reflection in the mirror, she suddenly noticed crow’s feet forming at the corner of her eyes. That was when it hit her that as Larry grew up, she was also aging.
Finnick is gone for a year now. Why is he still not coming back?
Larry had asked her the same questions as well. Although she had no answer to them, she would reassure the boy that his father had gone to a place far away from them and that he would come back soon.
Soon Larry stopped asking her as he knew he would always get the same answer.
The two of them continued with their life with the incessant waiting.
… “Vivian, are you going to participate in the company’s tenth-anniversary celebration tonight?” the female colleague sitting next to her asked.
Hearing that, Vivian put down her pen. After thinking for a while, she nodded.
It had been a long time since she last attended a banquet two years ago with Finnick.
Vivian thought she could take this opportunity to have fun and relax.
Besides, all employees were required to attend the celebration.
After seeing Vivian’s response, another female colleague chimed in, “We’ll go together!”
The two female colleagues had never hung out with Vivian before. Now that they finally got the opportunity, they couldn’t help feeling excited.
They only joined the company a few years after Vivian. Thus, Vivian was considered their senior.
“I’m sorry. I need to fetch my child, so I can’t go with you guys,” Vivian said apologetically.
She needed to make sure that her son arrived home safe and sound before she could attend the banquet at night.
It wouldn’t be much of a problem leaving Larry at home since the housemaid was there to take care of him. Besides, Larry was a good boy. She had confidence in him that he would behave well at home.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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