Actually, Damian Ashborne and Magnus Walters have known each other and maintained a friendship since their school days until now. Furthermore, Magnus played a significant role by introducing Sophia, a beautiful woman who happens to be Veronica’s biological mother.
After years of friendship, an idea emerged. Because Damian wanted to ensure that their good relationship with Magnus would last a lifetime, he decided to arrange a marriage between his only daughter and Magnus’s eldest son.
The agreement was finally reached. Once their children grew up and reached the appropriate age, they would carry out the plan without giving Veronica and Darwin the chance to get to know each other better.
Damian thought that Darwin would be fully responsible for his daughter’s happiness. Moreover, considering Magnus’s nature and character, Darwin was undoubtedly a caring, committed, reliable, and loyal man.
However, what he saw today, at this very moment, in front of his eyes, truly troubled his heart and mind. It wasn’t just Damian; Sean and Adrian, his personal assistants who were also present, observed how Darwin was tightly embraced by another woman, whose identity was unknown to Damian.
“Mr,” Sean addressed Damian when he fell silent. “Are you okay?”
Damian snapped back to reality, turned, and nodded. A moment later, he continued walking to get into the car.
Upon reaching the Vortex Group building and settling into his office, still feeling uneasy, he urgently summoned Adrian to his office.
“Is there something I should do, Sir?” asked Adrian. This 42-year-old man had been Damian’s personal assistant for the past 15 years. He handled almost everything Damian needed. Moreover, he held and safeguarded many of Damian’s secrets to this day.
Damian, sitting at his desk at the time, sighed repeatedly. With determination, he gave Adrian an order.
“Did you see the same woman with Darwin at the restaurant earlier?”
Adrian nodded. There was no way he couldn’t have seen her. The boss’s son-in-law was right in front of him.
“Yes, I saw her, Mr. I think that woman might be an old friend who hasn’t seen Darwin in a long time.”
Adrian appeared to be thinking positively. In fact, he had intentionally done this to quell Damian’s obvious rising emotions.
“Is it normal for an old friend to hug like that? Just from a naked eye, it was clear that something was different,” Damian countered, refuting Adrian’s previous argument.
Stumped by Damian’s response, Adrian fell silent. He had to think quickly and carefully about how to respond next.
“We can’t play guessing games because we don’t know what actually happened, Mr.”
“In that case, I want you to find out as soon as possible who that woman was and what her relationship with Darwin is,” Damian ordered right then and there.
Adrian nodded obediently. He didn’t argue or debate. He promptly left the room to carry out his boss’s instructions.
Meanwhile, Darwin remained confused. After the sudden embrace from Vivian a while ago, he became even more perplexed when his former girlfriend started crying.
Because of this, Darwin became the center of attention for those sitting near their table. Not wanting any misunderstandings, Darwin quickly let go of Vivian and asked her to sit down.
“What’s really going on?”
Vivian lowered her head. Her eyes were swollen, and her cheeks were wet from tears. Darwin couldn’t understand what had caused the woman to request a meeting only to start crying like this.
“Vivian, I don’t have much time. If you brought me here just to watch you cry, I’d rather leave.”
Darwin was getting a bit annoyed. He wanted to leave quickly. He thought that if there was nothing important, it was better for him to go.
However, before he could leave, Vivian looked up and shook her head. She blocked Darwin’s attempt to leave.
“Wait, Win. I beg you.”
“If you’re just going to stay silent and cry, I’m leaving. Meeting like this is dangerous for both of us.”
“I know,” Vivian replied softly. “But I really have no one else to turn to.”
“What do you want to talk to me about?” Darwin asked impatiently. His tone was far from the warmth and affection he had shown Vivian a few months earlier.
“I… I don’t know what to do. Aunt Lily had an accident a few days ago, and now she’s in a coma at the hospital. I’m afraid Aunt Lily will leave me, Win. In this world, she’s the only one I have left. And you just rejected me.”
Darwin was taken aback. Finally, he understood why Vivian was so emotional. He knew that in this world, Vivian had only Lily and himself.
“I don’t know how it started,” Vivian continued. “One day, just before my scheduled return to Malaysia, I suddenly received news from the hospital that Aunt Lily was a hit-and-run victim on her way home from work. I thought her injuries wouldn’t be serious, but when I went to the hospital, the doctor told me she had internal bleeding and has been unconscious ever since.”
Darwin fell silent again. He couldn’t help but feel pity for Aunt Lily’s unfortunate fate. After all, she had been the one taking care of Vivian and filling the role of her parents when they were no longer around.
“Do you have the funds to cover the hospital expenses yourself?”
Darwin thought that if Vivian didn’t have enough money, he would help. He would gladly provide financial assistance until Aunt Lily’s condition improved.
“The hospital expenses are fully covered by insurance, so I’m not burdened by that,” Vivian replied.
Darwin nodded in relief. At least Vivian didn’t have to worry about finding funds for medical treatment.
“So, what else do you want from me? If it’s just help as a friend or fellow human being, I might consider it or think about it. But if it’s more than that, honestly, I can’t.”
Vivian sighed heavily, and there was a hint of disappointment on her face.
“Have you truly erased me from your heart? After everything we’ve been through and fought for? Just for someone new, Veronica?” Vivian questioned with a hoarse voice. Whether she liked it or not, it seemed she had to accept her increasingly unfortunate fate. “Is it because Veronica is rich, and I’m nobody, that you turned to her?”
“Vivian…” Darwin interrupted, putting an end to his former girlfriend’s speech to prevent it from going any further. “I beg you, that’s enough. We don’t need to discuss Veronica and everything else. I came here to see you, not to debate my previous decision. If you feel there’s nothing important left to discuss, it’s better for me to leave.”
Seeing Vivian remaining silent, Darwin believed there was nothing more to discuss. So, without much further ado, he got up and prepared to leave.
“I think there’s nothing important left to discuss. Again, I apologize. I didn’t mean to discard or abandon us from my life. It’s just that I can’t maintain our relationship anymore.”
Without waiting for a response from the woman in front of him, Darwin left. Leaving Vivian in a lowered state, struggling to refrain from crying over the pain she was feeling.
***