Chapter 539

Vivian Bennett froze.

She looked down at her cousin Grace Harper's hand gripping hers tightly.

Her cousin's fingertips were ice-cold, but the grip was astonishingly strong.

"Cousin?" Vivian's voice held confusion.

"What are you doing?"

Grace's eyes were red-rimmed, her voice trembling.

"Vivian, I'm begging you... don't push this to the extreme."

She turned her head, her gaze landing on Jason Harper a few steps away.

The man's clothes were rumpled, his expression wretched, staring at them with desperate hope.

Grace's heart clenched.

After all, they had been husband and wife once.

She couldn't bear to see him reduced to this state.

"Cousin, snap out of it!" Vivian almost laughed in frustration.

"When have he and his family ever shown you any genuine care? And you're still speaking up for him now?"

It was an obvious trap.

Jason showing up today was clearly an attempt to play the emotional card, to trick Grace into taking him back.

And yet, her cousin was still willing to jump into that pit.

"He's still... my husband," Grace bit her lower lip, her voice almost inaudible.

"Even after the divorce, we were once family. I can't just watch him be driven to a dead end."

Jason's eyes lit up, hope instantly flooding his face.

Vivian closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, only resolve remained in her gaze.

She yanked open the rear car door and pushed Grace inside.

"Vivian!" Grace exclaimed in surprise.

Vivian's movements were decisive and brooked no resistance.

The door slammed shut.

Vivian turned to face Jason directly.

A faint, cold smile touched the corner of her lips, but her eyes were like ice.

"She wants to plead for you because she's soft-hearted," Vivian said, each word deliberate.

"But I'm not so easily swayed."

Jason's face paled drastically.

"You... what do you want to do?"

He had thought Grace was his last lifeline.

He never expected Vivian wouldn't even give her own cousin face.

"Frankly, I couldn't be bothered with your family's mess," Vivian's voice was calm, yet each word cut like a knife.

"Liam Sullivan stepped in because he couldn't stand the sight of it. But today, you crossed a line."

She took half a step forward, lowering her voice.

"From now on, I'll be paying close attention to your family. I'll be watching every single thing."

Jason stiffened completely, all color draining from his face.

Vivian didn't look at him again.

She opened the driver's door and got in.

The engine started.

Before the car pulled away, she glanced in the rearview mirror.

Jason remained frozen in place, like a statue that had lost its soul.

"Vivian, why go this far?" Grace's soft voice came from the back seat, tinged with tears.

"Just let them go... I'm begging you."

Vivian tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

Her knuckles turned white.

"No," her voice was hard.

"No one's plea will work this time."

"But I'm not even angry anymore!" Grace suddenly raised her voice.

"Vivian, you hate him because of me, right? If I don't care, then you shouldn't keep pursuing this. This is my matter. I should decide for myself. You shouldn't make decisions for me!"

Vivian slammed on the brakes.

The tires screeched against the pavement.

She turned her head, staring intently at Grace.

"So... you actually listened to Jason's words?" Vivian's voice trembled.

"You think I'm deliberately stirring trouble? That I'm controlling you, getting revenge on him? You think all of this is my fault?"

"I didn't say that," Grace turned her face away, tears rolling down.

"But Vivian, I'm an adult. Let me and him resolve our own issues, okay?"

"I just don't want you to be deceived again!" Vivian's chest ached with a dull pain.

"You're too soft-hearted, and he knows it. Cousin, can't you see that?"

Grace fell silent.

Only the sound of suppressed breathing filled the car.

Vivian started the car again.

The street scenes outside the window sped past in reverse.

She stared ahead, her eyes empty.

So, her wholehearted protection, in the other's eyes, had become domineering and controlling.

Her heart felt like it had been sliced by a blunt knife, a numb, throbbing pain.