Chapter 3

I barely returned home in the following days, and Nikolai had no interest in checking on me. On the day of my departure, I had planned to leave directly. But remembering that I had left some design drafts in the study, I decided to pack them up before leaving.

Stepping into the study, however, I was met with utter devastation. Bending down to pick up the fragments, I realized they were the design drafts I had meticulously crafted over the years.

Rosalind’s baby, Teddy, was right there in the study. He had precisely dug out my belongings and was tearing them to shreds, piece by piece. My mind went completely blank for a split second.

“What are you doing? Who allowed you to come in?”

Before I could even react‌, his deafening wails echoed through the entire villa.

“What did you do to my son?!”

Rosalind rushed over, flanked by a group of bodyguards who were ordered by Nikolai to protect them.

Seeing his mother there to back him up, Teddy grew even bolder. He grabbed the framed photo of Nikolai and me and began destroying it with even more ferocity. The frame crashed to the floor, the glass shattering and slicing into my arm. The piles of my design drafts teetered precariously.

“You whore! It's all because of you that my daddy and mommy can't stay together‌! You shouldn’t be here!”

I tried to stop him, but the bodyguards pinned me down tightly.

“How dare you restrain me instead of stop him?”

“Sorry, Madam. Nikolai ordered us to prioritize Teddy’s safety above all else. He considers you a potential threat as well…”

Nikolai was so terrified of me harming Teddy…Yet those drawings were the culmination of years of my efforts!

When Nikolai returned, Rosalind yanked her son back to her side and twisted his arm. His piercing screams once again filled the house. Rosalind ran to Nikolai, pointing at the fresh bruises on her son’s arm.

“Nikolai, Vivienne beat Teddy up.”

His face turned ice-cold as he barked out an order.

“Vivienne, apologize!”

“I didn’t do it!”

I tried to defend myself, but the bodyguards forced me to my knees. My kneecaps crashed heavily onto the shards of glass on the floor. The pain was so intense that my vision went black.

“Nikolai, I’d like to ask you why were they even in my house?”

“Shut up!”

Nikolai fell silent for a few seconds before telling the guards.

“Lock her in the guest bedroom. She is not to come out without my permission!”

Nikolai stormed off in anger, while Rosalind quietly instructed the guards.

“Make her kneel until midnight.”

With that, she took Teddy into the master bedroom. One by one, my belongings were cleared out of the master bedroom and dumped into the guest room.

The pain in my knees was excruciating. I fainted several times, only to be splashed awake with cold water by the guards and forced to continue kneeling. The icy water soaked through my clothes, sending violent shivers through my body, but it was nothing compared to the freezing of my heart.

I stared at the scattered, ruined drafts on the floor, each torn piece representing a dream I had once cherished. In that endless, agonizing darkness, a part of Vivienne died. The love, the hope, and the pain were all being drained out of me, leaving behind only a hollow, unfeeling shell.

It wasn’t until midnight that they finally left. I stumbled to my feet and began picking up the shattered drafts. Then, I slipped out quietly.

I thought I had long since gone numb to the pain, yet my heart still ached so profoundly…Before dawn, while the sky was still dark, I made my way to the airport. As the plane took off, I knew I was finally free.

Watching the city shrink beneath me, I rolled down the window of my soul and let the last remnants of Nikolai blow away with the wind. I was convinced that I wasn't running away. I was flying toward a future that belonged solely to me.