Chapter 5

David's POV

The boarding announcement sounded through the airport. I took my phone out and proceeded to block and delete Vivian's number and social media accounts in one swift motion.

Carla got up and naturally extended her hand to me.

Several reporters from the business and financial news were waiting outside the VIP passage in the airport. They immediately caught sight of our wedding rings and quickly raised their cameras.

"Mr. Hartman! What is the nature of your relationship with Ms. Emerson?"

I didn't shy away from the cameras. Instead, I intertwined my fingers with Carla's and held her hand tightly in mine.

"She's not Ms. Emerson. She's Mrs. Hartman."

…

Third-Person POV

Over the next few days, David didn't contact Vivian at all.

She didn't think much of it at first. After all, she still thought that he was only throwing a tantrum because she let someone else use their banquet hall on the day of their wedding.

Over the past seven years, David had always been the first to apologize every time they fought, no matter who was actually in the wrong. So, she was confident that he would be the first to cave and apologize this time around too.

Vivian stayed with the Turners for the entire week. She helped Aaron sort through Eric's belongings, assisted him with receiving his friends and family, and even slept in the guest room that Aaron specially prepared for her.

That night, Aaron dug out a recording Eric had made while he was still alive. His frail voice came through on the audio player.

"Viv is a good person. Ronnie, if you ever run into any trouble, you can just go to her. She will never abandon you."

As the recording ended, Aaron turned to hug Vivian, his eyes red and puffy.

"Viv, you're the only person I have left."

Vivian didn't push him away. Instead, she just patted him on the back and said, "I promised Uncle Eric that I would take good care of you. No matter what happens in the future, know that I will never abandon you."

Aaron looked up, tears sliding down his cheek. "But you're going to marry David very soon. Then, I'll need to go through him just to see you again."

Vivian frowned.

"He can't control me. You're my best friend, and no one can ever change that."

Aaron chuckled bitterly. "Am I only just a 'best friend' to you?"

He pulled out a yellowed photo of him and Vivian from when they were much younger. In the photo, she was leaning against his shoulder, and they were both beaming with joy.

"I was the one who introduced David to you back then," Aaron said in a melancholic tone. "I thought you were just looking for someone to date. I never thought that you'd actually end up marrying him."

Vivian's breath caught slightly in her throat.

"You're drunk, Aaron."

"I'm not."

He looked her right in the eye. "I was the one who knew you first… Viv, would you still have chosen David if I'd confessed my feelings to you first?"

The room was so quiet that only the sound of the raindrops falling on the windowpanes could be heard.

Vivian didn't answer his question. Yet, she didn't lean away when he reached out to caress her cheek either.

"Viv, even on his deathbed, Dad still thought that you were going to marry me. And when I saw you wearing that wedding dress at his funeral, I thought that you and I were supposed to be a happy family together instead."

Vivian's eyes gradually reddened.

"Why are you only telling me this now?"

"Because I thought that I would be content to just stay by your side as a friend as long as it was what made you happy."

Aaron then leaned in and kissed her softly.

Vivian only pretended to fight back. But when Aaron pulled away, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him even closer.

…

When she woke up the next morning, she looked at Aaron, who was sleeping peacefully next to her, and finally panicked.

Aaron grabbed her hand and said in a hoarse voice, "I won't ruin your marriage with David, Viv. Just wait until this week is over, and I will go back to being just your best friend again."

Vivian only felt herself relaxing after hearing him say that. She even thought that David would never find out about it as long as she didn't tell him.

After all, she was sure that he loved her too much. As long as she decided to go back to him, she was sure that he would forgive her no matter what she did, just like he had in the past.

At that thought, she checked her phone and realized that she didn't have any new messages.

David hadn't sent a single text asking her when she was coming back or urging her to make any decisions about the rescheduled wedding.

Instead, he had quietly disappeared for five whole days.

Vivian felt a little uneasy. She finally took the initiative for the first time and called him. Yet the only reply she got was the robotic female voice telling her that David's number could not be reached.

She checked her social media accounts and quickly realized that David had also blocked and unfollowed her on every platform. In fact, he'd even kicked her out of his shared cloud drives, and she couldn't view the wedding checklist and folder they'd been co-editing for seven years in the shared cloud anymore.

"Who the hell does he think he's trying to fool?"

She forced down the panic rising in her chest and continued comforting herself. "He's still going to have to beg me to come back to him in two days."

Just then, a notification from a financial news outlet popped up on her phone. The headline read, "Whirlwind Romance Between Two Major Tycoons—The Hartman Heir and the Emerson Heiress Jet Off to Island for Honeymoon."