Chapter 2

2.

Vivian closed the door and put in her earbuds, shutting out the noise from the party.

Since she had decided to go back and get married, she had to quit her job. But she wanted to finish her current projects first, to avoid causing trouble for anyone else.

She sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, working alone.

Outside, the sun set, and the sky slowly darkened.

Vivian took out her earbuds and stood up to stretch. After hours of work, she was finally done.

The house below was completely quiet now.

She casually opened her phone to relax.

A notification from Hannah popped up, and Vivian tapped on it.

"Why didn't you like my post?"

A minute later, another message followed.

"Oh, sorry Vivian, wrong person. Please don't be mad, okay?"

Vivian opened Hannah's social media profile, curious to see what she had posted.

Her eyes were met with a grid of nine photos.

The pictures were all of gifts from Eason and Rhys.

A magnificent pink princess gown was spread out like a fluffy pink cloud.

To match the dress, Eason had also gifted her a pair of custom Swarovski crystal high heels, their dazzling gems reflecting a brilliant, luxurious light.

And the red Corvette was obviously from Rhys.

In the center photo, Hannah stood between Eason and Rhys, a sweet smile on her face, her body leaning slightly toward Eason.

The caption read: "Got to experience a taste of the high life today~"

Vivian knew Hannah had posted this just to provoke her.

In the past, she would have been infuriated by this kind of pretentious display, and by the fact that Eason and Rhys were giving someone they'd known for less than a month the special treatment once reserved only for her.

But now, she was leaving. None of it mattered anymore.

She indifferently tapped the screen, and a red heart icon lit up.

From this day forward, she, Eason, and Rhys were just ordinary friends.

The next day, Vivian went to her office and resigned.

When she got home, she gathered all the photos of the three of them together.

They had known each other for over twenty years, and the number of pictures they had taken was staggering, filling more than a dozen thick albums.

Flipping through them revealed snapshots of their childhood playing games, their middle school years winning awards together, and their college days traveling as a trio.

Vivian looked at each photo, the memories so vivid they felt etched into her soul.

But now, none of it was important.

She lit them one by one, tossing them into the fireplace, creating a small bonfire.

The flames licked at the images, devouring them until only ashes remained.

Eason and Rhys returned home just in time to see this.

Realizing what she was doing, Eason strode over, his voice low but tight with tension. "What are you doing!"

Vivian glanced at him, her tone placid. "Nothing. These pictures were getting yellow and moldy, so I figured I'd just burn them."

Rhys instinctively reached for the remaining photos in Vivian's hand, but with a deliberate flick of her wrist, she tossed the entire stack into the fireplace.

The fire spread quickly, leaving them no chance to salvage anything.

Rhys made a move to grab a photo that hadn't fully burned, but the intense heat forced him to pull his hand back.

"Even if they were moldy, you didn't have to burn them! These are our memories!" he said, his voice laced with pained frustration.

Eason stared at the fire, his fists clenched, powerless to do anything.

Hearing this, Vivian found it almost funny. Here she was, a living, breathing person they had repeatedly hurt for Hannah's sake.

And now they were heartbroken over a pile of pictures.

A sudden curiosity struck her. How would these two react if they knew she was leaving to get married?