The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Seeing his apprentice lunge forward without a second thought, Finnian's face darkened instantly, and he rebuked sharply, "Dawson, let go!" "But Master, Vivienne, she-" "I said let go!" Vivienne glanced around, her gaze finally resting on Leopold, who had even joined the fray at his own engagement party, causing her temples to throb with tension.

She simply said to Dawson, "Dawson, this is Leopold's engagement party!" Her tone was mild but unmistakably final.

Dawson hesitated, then released Percival.

The expressions of those around them shifted in response.

Finnian looked at his disciples, who had been ready to brawl moments ago, and scolded, "Is this how I taught you manners? Vivienne has her reasons for acting this way. This isn't your place to intervene." The group fell silent, not out of disagreement with their master but because Vivienne was upset.

To outsiders, her mood might not be apparent, but to them, it was as clear as day.

Finnian was about to add more when he heard Vivienne suddenly gag beside him.

Then, she bent over and started to vomit.

"Vivienne!" Percival rushed to her side, holding one hand while gently patting her back with the other.

The sudden turn of events left everyone else frozen in shock.

"Vivienne, are you okay?" Eric, the fourth in line, blurted out, "Gary, Thomas, go get swater." Donald, the sixth, corrected him, "Forget the water, grab a damp cloth and santacids." Gary, repeating the items listed by Eric and Donald, turned around, then paused, realizing something was off, "Wait, Vivienne's pregnant, we need a doctor." Leopold agreed, nodding vigorously, "Yeah, yeah, you're right, Gary, we should call a doctor." Finnian couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had he really assembled such a clueless group over the years? In a panic, Leopold almost bumped into his master, "Master, excuse me, I need to fetch a doctor." Finnian gave him a disdainful look, "I am a doctor, whom are you planning to call?" Leopold, stunned, then excitedly said, "Right, how could I forget? Please, check on Vivienne." Finnian smacked him on the head, "If I'm checking anyone, it should be you, for your brain." Vivienne, overwhelmed by the noise, weakly requested from Mr. Wolf's embrace, "Make them step back." Though her voice was soft, everyone heard her clearly.

Vivienne wanted them to leave.

Their expressions changed as they quickly pleaded, "Vivienne, we're sorry, punish us however you see fit, just don't send us away." Percival, annoyed by the commotion, stated, "You're blocking Vivienne's access to fresh air." The group fell silent.

Was pregnancy really that bizarre? Even sharing the air wasn't allowed! But no one dared to disobey, especially after seeing Vivienne's reaction. If she asked them to hold their breath, they would do so without question.

Vivienne soon felt better and managed to sit up straight.

The group stood a meter away, not daring to move.

Dawson looked up, meeting Vivienne's cool gaze, and instantly felt defeated, "Vivienne, I didn't mean to, the news just shocked us too much, we didn't know how to react." The others nodded in agreement.

Thankfully, they hadn't acted rashly, or they would have been the ones under scrutiny now.

Vivienne didn't intend to broadcast the news, but now that they knew, there was no point in hiding it, "It doesn't matter who's at fault. I didn't want to make it public to avoid Abigail using it against me, and more importantly, to protect myself." Content belongs to en.kikistories"Now that you know, just keep it to yourselves." The group nodded vigorously.

Dawson also promised, "Vivienne, it won't happen again." "Dawson, the one you should be apologizing to isn't me!" Vivienne wouldn't let Mr. Wolf suffer any injustice over this. Realizing Vivienne's point, Dawson turned to Percival, hesitating before finally admitting his fault, "I was wrong..." Vivienne intervened, "Mr. Wolf and I are legally married. Whatever you call me, you should call him." With a grimace, Dawson complied, albeit reluctantly, "Brother-in-law! I shouldn't have confronted you. I'm sorry." Percival responded generously, waving it off, "No harm done. Just be more cautious in the future, to avoid giving outsiders a laugh." Dawson remained silent.

Who were they kidding? But for Vivienne's sake, he let it slide.

"Leopold, what are you doing here?" Griffin, in a deep red dress, approached gracefully, first greeting Finnian, then turning to call Leopold, only to notice Vivienne surrounded by people.

Curiosity piqued, she asked, "Vivienne, you're here too... Why do you look so pale, are you unwell?" Leopold blurted out before thinking, "Griffin, Vivienne, she's not pregn-mph mph!" Quick as a flash, the sixth brother covered his mouth, holding him back.

The others, blocking Vivienne from view, chimed in, "Sister-in-law, Leopold meant to say Vivienne's feeling a bit under the weather, but she'll be fine, nothing to worry about." Enzo added, "Vivienne's perfectly okay. I think Leopold's just a bit overwhelmed by today's engagement excitement." Gary joked, "Must be the excitement of the engagement party. You'll have to straighten him out later." Leopold, struggling to speak, managed to say, "Brother Six, I'm going to suffocate..." The group responded in unison: Better to suffocate than spill the beans! Griffin nodded to the group, his gaze finally resting on Donald, who was currently keeping a firm grip on Leopold.

With an air of confidence, Griffin addressed Donald, "Hey Donald, here's the thing - my dad and granddad need to have a word with Leopold. Do you think I could borrow him for a bit?" "Sure, sure, take him. And don't bother bringing him back," cthe easy reply.

"Exactly, take him as far away as you can." The group seemed all too eager to get Leopold off their hands.

Once Leopold and Griffin left, those remaining exchanged glances, their gazes eventually settling on Vivienne and their equally irate mentor. Knowing they were at fault, they couldnously dared not meet anyone's eyes.

It wasn't until Leopold and Griffin shared a heartfelt exchange on stage that they dared to breathe a little easier, sneakily capturing the moment on their smartphones.

"Typical Leopold," they mused, admiration laced with a hint of envy. "Tears on tap, anytime, anywhere. And this is just for the engagement." They could only imagine the waterworks at the actual wedding, figuring Leopold might just faint from the emotional overload. Such Ovele thoughts, however, were kept private, lest they tarnish the reputation of Leopold, the esteemed her of the Sterling family, Content belongs to en.kikistoriesBut these "priceless videos" were now in their possession - leverage over Leopold, tightly held.

After the emotional exchange, it was tfor Godfrey and Kellan to step ne in, announcing the wedding date and proceedings to the public, even going as far as to boast about wedding gifts, showcasing the the power and prestige of both families.

Content belongs to en.kikistoriesNeither of the elder statesmen would back down, turning the stage into a battleground of wills.

Leopold, who had been sent away to Emerald Mountain as a boy, never felt particularly close to the Sterlings nor did he enjoy mingling with high society. That's why, upon arriving, he and Griffin immediately joined Vivienne at her table.

Out of nowhere, Leopold managed to wrangle everyone at the table into taking a "family photo" before dinner, not even sparing Godfrey and Kellan, who ended up as rather animated backdrops in the shot.