Chapter 240: Putting on an Act
Vivian Lowell stormed back to the hotel, marching straight to the front desk to demand a checkout. She threatened to buy a red-eye ticket back to Aethelburg that very night, declaring she was done living with Julian Faulkner.
Eleanor Rhodes managed to talk her down.
"Marriage isn’t easy, and there’s a cooling-off period for divorce nowadays! Julian is usually so good to you; there might just be a misunderstanding this time."
Vivian was still furious, but Eleanor’s words gave her a convenient out. Finding a way to step down gracefully, she reluctantly nodded and agreed to stay.
To outsiders, Vivian’s behavior simply looked like she couldn’t bear to give up her status as "Mrs. Faulkner." The Faulkner family was one of the top wealthy families in Aethelburg, boasting vast networks and resources. Even a successful career woman like Vivian would still need the Faulkner family’s backing.
"Vivian, alright now. Once he figures it out, he’ll definitely come over to coax you!" Eleanor said. "Vivian, why don’t you just sleep at my place tonight? Oh, and there’s the yacht party tonight! Have you decided if you’re going?"
Vivian looked a bit conflicted before gritting her teeth. "Fine, let’s go. Who knows, I might even meet a few handsome guys! Who says only Julian can go shopping with other women? I can dance with other men too!"
And just like that, the two women made their plans.
Joy Drake was standing nearby. She was there because the front desk staff recognized Vivian as Julian’s wife and had called Joy for help, terrified that the situation would blow up.
However, Joy couldn’t get a word in edgewise. In the end, she merely offered a few words of comfort to Vivian. It was entirely impossible to tell what Joy was actually thinking.
Shortly after, Vivian and Eleanor returned to their room.
It wasn’t long before Vivian’s phone rang. It was Julian calling.
"Are you back at the hotel?" Julian asked, his tone as gentle as always. "I found the staff member who stopped you earlier.
"She said a woman wearing a mask and a hat gave her some money and told her to do it. I had Vance Wyatt show her the photos we prepared beforehand for her to identify.
"She looked at them for a while but didn’t recognize anyone. It’s possible the woman who approached her wasn’t the mastermind behind this, or perhaps she wore a wig and disguised herself well.
"How are things on your end? Did you notice anything suspicious?"
Vivian shook her head and sighed. "I didn’t find anything. Eleanor and I made a fuss at the front desk for a while, and no one came to look for me. Wait, no, Joy came.
"But from the looks of it, Joy doesn’t seem to be in on it. Besides, what would she gain from doing this?"
Analyzing the motive was crucial.
To Joy, gaining Master Drake’s trust and taking over the Drake family’s businesses should be the most important things on her agenda. Sowing discord between Vivian and Julian’s marriage didn’t make sense. Unless she also had her eyes on Julian, there was no reason for her to do such a thing.
On Julian’s end, the photos he showed the staff member naturally included the key figures of the Drake family, such as Joy and Sylvia Drake.
But the staff member hadn’t recognized anyone. It seemed their opponent was being extremely cautious.
Speaking of which, between Joy and Sylvia, Sylvia was definitely the more likely suspect. She was vicious and had feelings for Julian. In Sylvia’s eyes, Julian had been "stolen" by Vivian. If she could just get rid of Vivian, Sylvia would naturally have a chance to win Julian’s heart.
Vivian and Julian chatted for a bit longer but couldn’t come to any solid conclusions. Vivian could only ask, "Is Una coming back to the hotel with you?"
"Yes, she is. She’ll be staying in Cyrina for a few days before returning to Gallia."
"That’s good. Say hi to Una for me. I’ll leave it to you to entertain her!"
After Vivian finished speaking, she exchanged a few more affectionate words with Julian before finally hanging up.
Glancing at her phone, Vivian checked the time.
It was six-thirty, and the yacht party was already starting. It seemed she and Eleanor could head over and have some fun.
The Drake family’s yacht was moored out at sea. It was only a short, five-minute ride on a speedboat from the shore, so the distance wasn’t far at all. The waters there were pristine. Occasionally, people would even go snorkeling in the area, though there weren’t many fish underneath, so the underwater scenery wasn’t considered spectacular.
Ten minutes later.
Vivian, Eleanor, and Finn arrived on the yacht together.
The yacht was incredibly luxurious, boasting three decks in total. The top deck housed several suites and a massive platform equipped with a water slide that dropped straight into the ocean. The spiral slide was situated right at the bow of the ship.
The middle deck was divided into a dining hall, a private cinema, a dance hall, and several private booths. It was perfect for small groups to gather for business meetings, karaoke sessions, or movie screenings.
The bottom deck contained the kitchen, the crew’s living quarters, and the ship’s control rooms.
Vivian headed straight up to the top deck.
She asked a waiter for a bottle of red wine, then sat on a lounge chair with Eleanor and Finn. They enjoyed the ocean breeze while listening to the live singer performing nearby.
The singer was a foreign woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was quite beautiful, though she had a completely different vibe from Una.
However...
Vivian cast a fleeting glance at the singer and snapped, "Tell her to get lost! Bring someone else up to sing!"
Joy was standing not too far away. Hearing Vivian’s outburst, she hurried over and asked politely, "Mrs. Faulkner, what’s wrong? Is her singing not to your liking?"
"No." Vivian wore a look of utter disdain as she turned to Joy. "I’m just incredibly disgusted by people who look like that today! Miss Drake, as a guest, my request shouldn’t be too out of line, right?"
"Not at all, of course not. I will do my best to accommodate all of Mrs. Faulkner’s requests."
With that, Joy whispered a few instructions to the staff beside her. Shortly after, the foreign singer was ushered off the stage and replaced by a male singer playing the bass.
The man was very handsome and muscular, radiating a strong, masculine charm. Vivian seemed to really appreciate his looks; as she sipped her red wine, she even whistled at him.
The man clearly noticed Vivian. Looking up with a smirk on his lips, he took a moment between strums to blow her a flying kiss.
Vivian almost broke out in goosebumps.
Honestly, she was just putting on a show. Her actions just now were a bit frivolous; being the composed person she usually was, she had never done anything like this before. Yet the man had actually responded.
Vivian quickly turned her head away. Just as she reached out to pour herself another glass of wine, her hand brushed against the stem before the glass was snatched away by someone else.
"What are you doing here? Why are you drinking? Don’t you know your own tolerance? And what exactly were you just doing with him?"
Julian had suddenly appeared beside Vivian out of nowhere.
His sudden arrival, coupled with his harsh interrogation, caused everyone around Vivian to take a few steps back, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.
At that moment, the bassist on stage also stopped playing and made his way over to them.