Chapter 228
Every message, from the first to the last, made Brandon's fingers tighten around the phone.
"Rainy nights aren't lonely for me because he's here with me. What about you?"
"He said he has feelings for me."
The final message lit the screen. "He came to see me again."
Each word cut deep, twisting like a blade in his chest.
Everything Millie had claimed was true.
Vivian had been the one sending those messages,stoking the fire again and again.
Hurting Millie had always been her game.
And he-he had been complicit.
This was the very cause of Millie's illness.
A sharp crack split the air.
The phone screen shattered in Brandon's grip.
In one swift move, he caught Vivian by the collar and slammed her against the headboard.
His eyes burned red, his face a mask of fury.
"You!" His chest rose and fell in harsh bursts, the words barely making it past his lips.
"You've been faking it all this time!" Brandon's voice thundered through the room.
Vivian flinched at the force of his yell but refused to back down.
"Why did you send those messages to her? Say it!"His words dripped with fury.
Vivian's shoulders trembled, but her lips curled into a mocking smile.
That smile only pushed him closer to the edge.
"Vivian!" Brandon shouted, his voice breaking with rage.
Still, Vivian didn't stop smiling.
"Why?" Her laughter spilled out even as tears filled her eyes. "Brandon, you've always known. I want you."
"I'm jealous of her. I can't stand the thought of you two being happy together. I don't want you hanging on to her. I want you to divorce her. That's why I sent those messages," Vivian said, her tone disturbingly casual.
Brandon's chest tightened as heat surged through his veins.
How could she speak about it like it was nothing?
Hadn't she always sworn she never wanted to hurt Millie? And yet, this was exactly what she was doing.
Rage clawed at him, and the urge to end this with his bare hands nearly consumed him.
"Don't forget, Brandon. You made me a promise,"Vivian said, a slow smile curving her lips.
"Would you really dare tell Millie what happened a year ago? Would she really survive knowing the truth?"
Vivian kept smiling, and then shifted her gaze toward Eugene.
"You can leave. You shouldn't be here for the rest,"Vivian remarked, her voice sharp and dismissive.
Eugene didn't move. His eyes flicked to Brandon,ignoring her completely.
He was Brandon's assistant, and he only took orders from him.
Brandon's bloodshot gaze stayed locked on Vivian.Hatred filled every corner of his mind.
He grabbed her collar, clenching his jaw so hard it sent pain shooting up to his temples.
"Mr. Watson?" Eugene asked quietly.
"Go," Brandon instructed, his voice cold enough to freeze the air.
"Understood." Eugene gave a small nod, turned, and shut the door behind him.
The ward had grown quiet, leaving only Vivian and Brandon inside.
Her phone lay on the floor, its screen shattered into a spiderweb of cracks.
On the table, a half-peeled apple sat forgotten.
The IV bag beside the bed swayed gently on its hook.
Vivian gripped Brandon's wrist, trying to force him to release her collar, but his hold didn't loosen.
Vivian let out a laugh through falling tears.
"Brandon, don't you remember? I suffered because of her! Millie was supposed to be there, not me.Could you really stand to watch the woman you love go through what I went through? I'm only asking for six months. No-there are four months left now. In
four months, I'll be gone. Everything will disappear,and I'll take that secret with me to the grave."
Her voice was steady, but every word carried weight.
The silence that followed pressed heavily against the walls.
Brandon's hand shook as it clutched her collar.
A year ago...
The memory of that day clawed its way back, nearly splintering his composure.
When he'd rushed over after hearing the news... And when he'd seen Vivian instead of Millie, relief had slammed into him.
Thank God it wasn't Millie. Thank God she was safe.
Vivian's sobs drew him back to the present.
"Brandon, I know l've made choices that hurt you,"she said, tears sliding down onto the back of his hand.
"I sent her those messages because my mind was twisted back then. I wasn't thinking clearly."
Her crying deepened, each sound heavy with despair.
"Brandon, if you were in my place, you'd understand.After everything I endured, all I could do was watch the man I loved stay by another woman's_side...I know sending those messages was wrong, but l couldn't stop myself."
Vivian's fingers tightened around his hand.
"Brandon, tell me-what am I supposed to do? If it were you,wouldn't you lose your mind too? I took her suffering, and I couldn't hold myself together. Then came the cancer... how could I not go mad?"
Vivian's sobs were raw, bitter. Brandon's gaze stayed fixed on her, the storm of anger and fear inside him pressing toward the breaking point.
His feelings toward Vivian were no longer clear.
At first, there had simply been relief that Millie was
fine. Later, he cared for her out of pity... and obligation.
Night after night, he'd been wrenched awake by nightmares, only to find calm when Millie lay safe beside him.
He told himself it was over, that Millie had escaped unharmed.
It had been Vivian who went that day.
Since then, Vivian had unraveled-blood on her lips,her health crumbling into cancer. He had known every detail.
The fear had been relentless.
Every time he looked at her suffering,the thought crept in-what if it had been Millie?
Later still, Vivian hovered at death's edge. She came back from treatment in Flaville clutching her medical records. Her words were steady then. She had six months left.
"Brandon, I just want six months. Divorce her and stay with me.Pretend to love me so I can leave with no regrets. Think of it as payment for me taking that secret to my grave. Treat me well, and I'll never speak of it."
The sharp tang of disinfectant hung in the air.Brandon stared at the woman sobbing before him.
He wasn't completely clueless that sometimes her choices were wrong.
Yet he'd always clung to the belief that beneath it all,Vivian was fragile-she wasn't a bad person, and she was just hurt.
He owed her for that day.
Because of that debt, he kept his promise to Vivian-six months, and she would take the secret with her to the grave. Then life would go back to how it used to be.
But now, he finally saw the cost. In these months of chaos,he had wounded Millie again and again.
He had hurt the only woman he truly loved.
And Vivian... she was far from the harmless image she wore.
"Brandon, I was wrong..."
Tears streamed down Vivian's face.
"I'm sorry. I never should have treated her that way.It only happened twice. Once today-because I panicked. The other... that was when my head wasn't right.I...I lost control."
Vivian's fingers wrapped around his, her gaze soft and trembling. "There are only four months left.That's all. When I'm gone, you can still have her."
His gaze stayed fixed on the woman crying before him.
But could there still be a future with Millie?