“OW. FUCK!” Beckett complained as Vivianne suddenly bumped her forehead against his. He winced, and so did Vivianne. That move was a double-edged sword, but it was effective.
“Shit, are you okay-”
“Don’t come near me!” Vivianne suddenly shouted and lifted the long umbrella she saw beside the couch, preventing Beckett from finishing his sentence. “I swear, I’ll hit you with this! Don’t think I’m j-joking!”
But instead of being scared, Beckett’s grin only widened. He even chuckled slightly because of what the girl did. “Damn, baby. It seems like I get even more turned on when you’re angry-”
Vivianne raised the umbrella she was holding along with her sharp gaze. Beckett laughed again before raising both hands as if surrendering. “Fine. I’ll shut up, baby.”
“My client, Beckett,” Vivianne said, returning to the real reason she was here, and it certainly wasn’t to address the heat in her body. “Give me back my client.”
“I don’t want to.”
Vivianne furrowed her brow, wondering at Beckett’s quick response. “Why don’t you? You just said you wanted to kill him, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” Beckett nodded.
“You want to kill him, but you don’t want to let him go. So, what’s your deal?” Vivianne asked in confusion. “And all you’ve been talking about is killing since earlier. Is being a killer your sideline now?”
“No, but when it comes to you, I don’t mind being one,” Beckett replied without hesitation.
Vivianne immediately felt a sense of fear. Her hair stood on end with dread. Beckett said those words like it was the normal thing to say when someone cornered him with that question.
“However, as much as I wanted to kill him, I won’t. He’s a nice customer. Easy to talk to, and pays quickly,” Beckett added before locking eyes with the girl. “And I won’t give him to you just because you ordered me to, Vivianne.”
Vivianne couldn’t help but close her eyes, especially when she felt like something had just pierced her heart after hearing Beckett’s words. She really couldn’t understand herself anymore, and the same went for the man. He was cold towards her, but later on, he would become cordial.
He’s giving her mixed signals, but Vivianne did the same thing before she left him.
“Fine. Let’s settle with an agreement, then,” Vivianne matched gazes with the man. She almost drowned in his eyes again, but she forced herself to focus. “Seeing that you’re still entertaining me, it means you wanted something. What do you want in exchange for returning my client to me?”
Beckett grinned. “Hmm. What can you give me?”
“Money. New clients. Suppliers. Hmm…” Vivianne furrowed her brow as she massaged her chin. “What else do you lack? You seem to have almost everything already.”
“You.”
“Huh?” Vivianne blinked, seemingly unable to believe what she heard.
“You’re the missing piece of my fucking puzzle, Vivianne Kaye,” Beckett said in a firm tone. “If you want to take something from me, you need to give something valuable in return.”
“I don’t understand-”
“Marry me, and I will give you your client back.”
Vivianne didn’t know how to feel upon hearing those words. Her heart skipped a bit before it twinged painfully. A mix of joy and pain enveloped her heart.
She once dreamed of marriage and building a happy family with Beckett. Those were the times when she thought everything could still be fixed, but they had come a long way since then.
There’s no turning back now.
“I know I must seem crazy to you. But… Marriage? Are you out of your mind?” Vivianne asked. Despite her unwillingness, her voice quivered. “Are you this insensitive? Well, I guess you were like this when we first met.”
“If there’s someone insensitive here, it’s you,” Beckett replied. There was pain in his expression. “I’m willing to give you everything, but you left me… And you’re here, acting like what happened between us was nothing.”
“Because that shouldn’t even matter anymore, Beckett! That was such a long time ago!” Vivianne couldn’t help but shout. “This meeting is… for pure business. Nothing more, nothing less. Please don’t give any hint of impropriety to my coming here.”
Vivianne’s gaze was lowered as she spoke those words. She couldn’t bring herself to look Beckett in the eye. She was afraid to give in. Afraid to be selfish and not think about what might happen to Beckett if he approached her again.
She didn’t want anyone else to get hurt because of her.
“Vivianne.”
In an instant, Beckett was in front of her again, and he had taken hold of the umbrella she was holding. She closed her eyes, thinking that Beckett might kiss her again, but instead of her lips, he touched her forehead.
Beckett gently stroked Vivianne’s hair before speaking. “Marry me. You will get your client back, and I will have connections with the Allamino Corporation. This will be a win-win situation for both of us.”
“What does marriage mean to you now? Just to gain connections?” She gave Beckett a scornful look before smirking. “Sorry not sorry, but there’s no fucking way I’ll marry someone for the sake of a client. You can keep your damn client!”
Vivianne pushed Beckett away before grabbing her bag from the couch. She walked towards the door in frustration, but she stopped when Beckett called her name.
“All the things I’m doing now… I’m doing this to protect you…” she heard Beckett say.
Vivianne just closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and left.
Vivianne returned to the Allamino Mansion. She was too stressed after her conversation with Beckett, so she didn’t want to go back to the warehouse for the time being. She knew Joan was there, and she was afraid to see her.
She wasn’t afraid that Joan might do something harmful to her. Vivianne was afraid she might snap and strangle her out of irritation if she provoked her again. Joan never fails to piss her to death. Like Beckett, she might suddenly turn into a killer even if she didn’t want to.
To release her stress and anger, she went to the gym and focused on exercising there. It was fortunate that Alfred wasn’t there, so she could still control herself to some extent. But when she remembered Beckett, it felt like she was losing her mind.
“Damn you, Beckett!” Vivianne shouted, echoing throughout the entire gym before she punched the punching bag. With every punch, she cursed Beckett, and because of that, her punches became stronger.
Seeing Beckett brought back a lot of memories for her. She remembered Syneverse Entertainment, her happy job there as a dress stylist, the days when she and Beckett were together in the penthouse… Until the heated events between them.
Thinking about it sent heat to her core. She just closed her eyes before clasping her gloved hands onto the punching bag. Beckett’s lips, tongue, hands, and d. ick are something that is hard to forget.
“Goodness, Vivianne. Are you that horny now?” the girl whispered to herself in disbelief.
She punched the punching bag again. She hurt every time she remembered the man and her old life. God knows how much she wanted to go back to her old life. She wanted colorful clothes, unlike now where she mostly wore black clothes.
It’s like she’s always mourning for a life she had to leave behind for the greater good of many.
She mercilessly punched the punching bag as if it were her mortal enemy, but she stopped when someone called her from behind. “Vianne.”
And even without turning around, Vivianne knew who it was.