After leaving the house, Vivian went to a bar to drink with friends she had barely seen in years.
After she married Adrian, his mother had repeatedly complained that Vivian's old friends would embarrass the Pierce family. For Adrian's sake, Vivian had been forced to distance herself from them.
It wasn't what she'd wanted, but to keep the peace with the Pierces, she had kept what little contact she could strictly private.
When Megan Foster heard Vivian wanted a divorce, she was thrilled for her. "You finally see him for what he is. That cheating bastard wasn't worth the 3 years you gave him. He never deserved you."
"Exactly," Sophie Grant agreed. "You should've divorced him a long time ago and taken back everything that's yours."
Vivian's eyes stung as she listened.
Before she married Adrian, all her friends had warned her that marrying into a family like his would only make her suffer.
But she'd loved him too deeply then. She had insisted on marrying him and ended up trapping herself in that marriage for 3 years.
"I've come to my senses now, haven't I?" Vivian said hoarsely, a self-mocking catch in her voice. "Stop rubbing it in."
Megan softened. "You'll find someone much better after you leave him. But what are you going to do next?"
Vivian had been thinking about that for days. She had no parents to fall back on. Once she divorced Adrian, she would be on her own in this city. During the years of their marriage, she'd never lacked food or clothes, but everything had come from the Pierce family. She had never truly had anything of her own.
"I'll find a job first. Once I leave the Pierces, I need to make sure I can support myself."
The thought of finding work made her uneasy. She had been out of the workforce for 3 years and had no idea whether she could still find anything suitable.
"Have you thought about Hale Group?" Megan asked.
Vivian hesitated. "Hale Group works exclusively in the luxury market. It's hard for a designer without recent experience to get hired there."
"Trying won't hurt." Megan pulled out her phone. "I have a friend at Hale Group. I'll send him your resume and see what they say."
Vivian tried to stop her, but Megan had already sent the message.
"Vivian, have a little confidence," Megan said. "Adrian is the one who thinks you're useless. You're far more capable than he ever gave you credit for."
Vivian looked at her friends. There was so much she wanted to say, but in the end, only two words came out.
"Thank you."
They drank and talked for hours. By the time darkness fell, Vivian finally returned home alone.
For once, she wasn't the one waiting for her husband.
He was waiting for her.
His mother, Diane Warren, sat beside him.
When Diane saw that Vivian had been drinking, her expression darkened. "You disappeared all day without even calling. What kind of behavior is that? What wife skips her own husband's birthday banquet instead of helping organize it? If Chloe hadn't stepped in, the whole thing would've fallen apart. She came first thing in the morning and handled everything. She put more effort into it than you did, and you're his wife!"
Vivian found the whole thing bitterly ironic. She had organized his birthday year after year and never earned their approval. Chloe did it once and instantly won their praise.
"If she's so good at it, let her do it from now on."
Anger flashed across Adrian's face. "Vivian, what are you talking about? Chloe did a good job. That's a fact. Why are you still giving her a hard time? Don't forget, you're Mrs. Pierce. Do you care about this family at all? Do you care about me?"
Vivian didn't bother being polite. "Do you care about me as your wife? What am I to all of you, Mrs. Pierce or the Pierce family's housekeeper? Do you think just because I have the title of Mrs. Pierce, I have to obey every order your family gives me?" She turned to Adrian. "What exactly do you expect me to do?"
For once, Adrian had no answer.
In the past, Vivian would have apologized first. She would have said something sweet or cooked him a meal to make it up to him.
He hadn't expected her to turn around and question him.
"Or do you still expect me to run around taking care of everything like I used to, wait for you to come home, and smile at the door while I say, 'Happy birthday, honey'?"
She had done exactly that before, and he had complained that she was annoying. He'd told her to stop wasting her time on meaningless things.
Now she was finally doing what he wanted, and he was accusing her of failing in her duties as a wife.
Yet when it came to Vivian's birthday, Adrian had never done anything for her. He had never even wished her happy birthday or given her a gift.
"On my birthday, you promised you'd come home for dinner. I cooked all your favorite dishes and waited for you all day. In the end, the only thing I got was a message saying you weren't coming home and that I should go to bed." A mocking smile touched Vivian's lips. "Funny. I don't remember you ever making my birthday feel important." She stared straight at him. "Now you want all of that from me? You haven't fulfilled your responsibilities as a husband. Why should I fulfill mine as a wife?"
At that, some of Adrian's irritation faded. "So that's what you're angry about." He decided Vivian's recent coldness must all stem from the birthday he'd missed. His arrogance returned almost immediately. "It was one birthday. I'll make it up to you. Tell me what gift you want or where you want to eat. Whatever you want. You just want me to spend more time with you, don't you? If that's what you want, say it. Stop using divorce to throw a tantrum. I can spend time with you."
Diane chimed in. "You're threatening divorce over something this small? Do you know how many women would love to marry into the Pierce family? You're already part of the Pierce family. Learn to appreciate what you have instead of fighting over every little thing. Haven't the Pierces given you every material comfort?"
"The way you say it makes it sound like charity." Vivian cut her off. "If I'm so terrible and so ungrateful, find someone easier to satisfy. How about Chloe? She seemed more than happy to do all the work for the birthday banquet."
"Vivian, I've already told you. Chloe is innocent!"
"You know perfectly well whether she's innocent!" Vivian snapped. "Can you honestly say there's nothing improper about the way you feel about her?"
Adrian's lips parted.
Nothing came out.
Vivian stood on the staircase, looking down at him as he fell silent. Then she echoed their own words back at him with a cold laugh.
"Learn to appreciate what you have, Adrian. Stop throwing a tantrum. When you finally figure out how you really feel, then come back and talk terms with me."
'He still wants a birthday gift and birthday wishes from me? In his dreams.'
Aksara