The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Vivienne's heart couldn't bear it any longer; she waved at Natalia and Yasmine. e over here, sweeties," she said, her voice a soothing lullaby in the tense atmosphere.

Natalia and Yasmine glanced at Zelda, who gave them a reassuring nod. They then scurried over to Vivienne, each grabbing one of her hands, their little faces etched with worry. "Are you really okay, sis?" they asked, their voices barely above a whisper.

Vivienne gently patted their hands, assuring them that she was fine and that she probably just had a reaction to spollen in the air.

Natalia, looking somewhat relieved but still concerned, whispered, "But, you know, Uncle Percival looked really scary earlier, and we got so scared we went to tell mom and dad." Vivienne chuckled softly, "You did the right thing, loves. But I promise, I'm not sick. No need to worry." Natalia and Yasmine exchanged glances with each other and then with Percival, seemingly convinced. When Finnian arrived, a simple exchange of looks with Vivienne told him all he needed to know.

Before he could speak, Jasper barked an order, "You better keep a close eye on her. If anything, and I mean anything, happens to Vivienne, you're going to pay it back with all those treasures you took from me." Finnian retorted with confidence, "My apprentice is fine. It's your constant worrying that's going to make her sick, not the other way around." Jasper snorted, hinting at a slip of the tongue Finnian had made the night before, prompting Finnian to quickly change the subject, "Alright, alright, I'll watch her. No need to make a fuss." Then, Finnian went over, sat down, and gestured for Vivienne to extend her hand. "Letcheck your pulse, apprentice," he said, as if it was their little ritual.

After a brief examination, Finnian stood up, addressing the room filled with anxious faces, "See? I told you she's in perfect health. Now, give us sspace. You're making the air stuffy with all this worrying." The room breathed a collective sigh of relief, trusting Finnian's judgment due to his close relationship with Vivienne.

But before Vivienne could fully relax, Natalia and Yasmine inadvertently blurted out, "But sis threw up just a little while ago...' "Yeah, it's true. She ran to the bathroom right after smelling our flowers," Yasmine added, her innocence piercing through the room's newly found calm.

Finnian and Vivienne exchanged a look, realizing the gravity of the children's words.

Silence fell over the room as everyone processed the implications, their minds racing with possibilities but hesitant to voice their thoughts for fear of overstepping.

Jasper, however, couldn't contain his concern any longer, pressing Finnian for answers, "You said Vivienne was fine. How do you explain this?" Finnian, unfazed, suggested it might have been a simple case of feeling unwell, perhaps due to something she ate or a slight cold, trying to deflect from the real issue at hand.

The room's faith in Finnian's assurances dwindled, their hopes and speculations about Vivienne's condition growing stronger. The Perez family, despite their wealth and influence, cherished the idea of weing a new member into their family. Percival, however, insisted, "Vivienne is part of the Ellington family. The child will be too." The Perez brothers countered, claiming Vivienne and her potential offspring as their own, leading to a tense but silent standoff. Jasper, growing impatient with the speculation and secrecy, cleared the room, leaving only Vivienne and Percival behind. Vivienne, feeling cornered by her grandfather's intense gaze, decided to take control of the conversation. "Grandpa, what do you want to ask?" Jasper, cutting straight to the point, expressed his concern that Vivienne might have been injured on a mission and was hiding it from the family.

Percival quickly reassured him, "Grandpa, you're worrying over nothing. Vivienne's fine." But Jasper, unconvinced and sensing something was off, pressed further, asking if Vivienne's mother knew about her condition. Vivienne, realizing the misunderstanding, decided it was ttoe clean. "Grandpa, actually, I..." The moment Vivienne tried to speak, she was silenced by Jasper with a gesture. "Vivienne, here, Grandpa is the boss We'll have Uncle Luke call the doctor over to check on you. We have everything you need at home, so just focus on getting better. I'll handle things with your mom." en.kikistories Vivienne was speechless.

Did she even say anything? The room suddenly fell quiet, and Vivienne, catching Jasper's teary eyes, couldn't help but shoot Mr. Wolf a look. Percival got the message. The morning's scare had been enough for him; he couldn't bear to refuse her now. So, he spilled the beans. "Grandpa, it's not what you think. Vivienne hasn't been harmed; she's pregnant." Jasper, still stuck in a whirlwind of sorrow, couldn't grasp it. "She's what now?" Vivienne sighed, grabbed Jasper, who was lost in his wild thoughts, and said directly, "Grandpa, I'm pregnant.' Jasper was stunned into silence.

"Vivienne, did Grandpa hear you right?" Vivienne nodded affirmatively.

Jasper's mood did aplete 180 in a second, Rising abruptly, he remembered Finnian's earlier et deception and burst out, "I'm going to have a word with that old codger, your mentor. Foolingabout something like this, he must have a death wish!" en.kikistories Vivienne quickly explained, "Grandpa, don't blhim. It waswho asked him to keep it secret." Jasper paused, finally realizing that if Vivienne had wanted to share the news, she would have done so already.

Keeping it from them must have her reasons.

"Is it because of the mission you were on, or are you worried it might bring unnecessary trouble? If that's the case, Grandpa will take care of it!" Jasper considered every possible reason.

No matter the cause, he wouldn't let Vivienne face danger.

His daughter and granddaughter, whom he had spent half his life searching for, were more precious than anything. If it meant using all of the Perez family's resources for their covert protection, he'd think it not enough. en.kikistories