The Million-Dollar Heart

Vivienne had no patience left for pointless interactions, so she turned on her heel and walked away.

Hailey was left standing there, mouth agape in shock, unable to react before Vivienne, the spirited young woman, had already left her behind. How could she face anyone now?

Her face flushed with indignation as she huffed with frustration, looking desperately towards Yorick for some form of justice.

Yorick, seated comfortably in an armchair, fixed Hailey with a serious look. "Hailey, you're not getting any younger. You've just returned, and you're already picking fights with the younger generation? Thank goodness this is within the Linklater family. If this had been public, it would've been the talk of the town."

"Family is family. We should stick together through thick and thin."

With those words of wisdom, Yorick added before leaving, "And let me be clear, this isn't just for Hailey. This goes for every member of the Linklater family. Take it to heart!"

Arthur and Sasha nodded in agreement.

Dracon, standing off to the side, his expression a mix of emotions, suddenly felt guilty as if his grandfather had seen through his facade. Thus, he pretended to agree fervently with Yorick's words, and Cassidy, somewhat convinced, nodded along too.

As Vivienne left the grand entrance of the Linklater estate, she pulled out her car keys, ready to drive to Rivenwood to a boutique she had her eyes on for some time. She planned to order a pair of custom- made diamond rings there.

breakfast at

multigrain pancakes or perhaps a hand-held pie? I also have some homemade eight-treasure porridge," offered an elderly woman, pushing a cart filled with goodies,

eight-treasure porridge, noticing it

charmed by Vivienne's grace, replied, "You're such a lovely young lady. Since you're my first customer today, there are a couple of chairs over there. Feel free to grab one, but I'm afraid I don't have any tables yet. I've just started for

as long as she wasn't eating, and ordered a hand-held pie with egg

down with her phone in hand, she reviewed the design drafts for a pair of diamond rings she had personally designed, feeling

bit more cook, adding a fried egg, and garnishing with special

Vivienne thanked her and suggested,

hand dismissively. "No trouble at all. I see you're busy. Are those ring designs

elderly woman studied the designs intently. "The one on the left is the lady's ring, right? And the

is for me, and the right one is for my fiancé,

around the band, spaced just a bit. The main

suggestions sparked an epiphany in Vivienne, who then

and shared a tale of lost