After a few minutes, she wiped her tears, stood up, and took a deep breath. She washed her face by herself, normally her maid would help, but she wanted some space.
She walked over to the balcony window, opened it, and breathed in the fresh air. Below, the man-made garden stretched out beautifully. She loved roses, their color, their scent.
In the center of the garden stood three cherry blossom trees. They meant something to her. The one in the middle represented herself. The one on the left was for her past lover. The one on the right was for their closest friend, the one who had taken the photo of their first kiss.
Even though she hated her past lover for what he did, she still loved him deeply.
"Damn it, why can't I forget that murderer? Stupid ####. He's a @##$#3#2$!!!" she muttered angrily, scratching her head in frustration.
She turned back to her bedroom, sat down on the bed, and threw a pillow at the wall. Then she rang the bell and told the butler to prepare her bath, she was going to visit someone important.
The butler bowed and went to alert the servants to prepare everything.
After a while, she was fully prepared. She called her chauffeur, well, the legendary driver and ordered him to drive to Vincent, her older brother's house. The house was up in the mountains, but not deep in the forest. It was a four-hour drive, and four hours later, she arrived.
"Welcome, Vivi!" Vincent greeted her warmly at the door. His workers bowed respectfully , after all, she was the one who paid their salaries, the one who gave them money.
Viviana entered the house and sat down on the sofa in the living room.
"What brings you here, Vivi?" Vincent asked.
Just then, another woman stepped out from the room.
"Oh? Is Viviana here again? She left early at Mother's death anniversary," said Lilybeth Carsten, Vincent's wife.
A servant offered Viviana some tea, and she accepted it. They always made sure the cup was made of gold, elegant and expensive, just like everything else.
"It's nothing. Can't I visit my older brother?" she snapped, frowning at Lilybeth.
"Woah, calm down, Vivi. Of course, you can visit anytime. It's just… it's really unusual for you," Vincent said, trying to ease the tension.
He and Lilybeth sat down on the opposite sofa, facing her.
"Especially since you're not the type who enjoys nature or living in the mountains, with farms and livestock," Vincent added with a smile.
Viviana sipped her tea, crossing one leg over the other with a bored expression. "Where are your children?" she asked bluntly, not even looking at them.
Vincent leaned back on the sofa as Lilybeth responded, "As usual, they're working. Elijah and Elyza are at school, so no need to worry."
"Derick's working too," Vincent added. "It's just Lily and me here with the workers."
Viviana gave a small, uninterested nod.
"What brings you here, Vivi?" Lilybeth asked with a polite smile.
"It's that dream again," Viviana muttered, sighing as she set the tea cup down a little too hard on the saucer.
"Oh…" Vincent said knowingly, while Lilybeth raised her eyebrows. "Dream?"
She looked confused, of course, only Viviana's siblings knew about that dream. She never bothered to tell Lilybeth. Why should she?
"Viviana gets nightmares," Vincent explained, "whenever she remembers him."
"Him? Wait… what?" Lilybeth turned to her husband, confused.
"Sorry, honey. Should I tell her, Vivi?" Vincent asked, glancing at his sister.
Viviana rolled her eyes and flicked her hand dismissively. "Go ahead. It's not a secret worth protecting anymore."
"Vivi used to have a lover," Vincent began.
Viviana scoffed. "Used to. Big mistake."
Vincent continued, "But it turned out he was a murderer. He died in a car accident anyway."
Viviana clenched her fist, her lips curling into a bitter smirk as she looked away. "He deserved it. Honestly, good riddance."
Lilybeth gasped, covering her mouth. "Wait, I thought you were fully devoted to staying single forever!"
Viviana let out a cold laugh. "That was after his death. I don't have time for useless emotional attachments. Unlike most women, I prefer power over romance."
Vincent chuckled softly. "After that, she became the chairwoman, once Vince handed over his position. He's the last one, by the way. She's been completely devoted to her work ever since."
"And now Carsten Electronics is thriving," he added with a proud smile. "All thanks to her."
Viviana straightened her back and flipped her hair behind her shoulder. "Of course it is. If it were anyone else, the company would've crashed years ago. I don't tolerate failure."
After a few hours, the sun had already begun to set. Elyza and Elijah arrived home from school, and Vincenzo returned as well, he worked as a PE teacher. Elizabeth was still at work as a nurse, with her shift ending at 7 p.m. Derick, the father of Elijah and Elyza and Elizabeth's husband, came home from his job as a model for Vance Models.
Viviana stood up from the couch. Their long conversation had finally ended. Just then, Elyza, her favorite grand-niece, ran to her and hugged her tightly.
"Why don't we have another sleepover, Elyza?" Viviana asked with a rare smile.
Her 17-year-old grand-niece beamed. She didn't speak much, but she loved spending time with people who shared her love for novels.
Elyza immediately guided Viviana to her bedroom, where Viviana sat comfortably on the sofa.
"Grandaunt! Remember Zeuz Denozoir?" Elyza beamed, clearly excited as she referred to a character from a novel.
Viviana leaned back, relaxing against the cushions. "That novel again? Yeah, why?"
Elyza quickly grabbed her phone and showed something on the screen. "Look! This otome game just revealed new secrets about Zeuz!"
Viviana sighed, setting her cup aside. "Elyza, that's just nonsense. The real secrets come from the novel itself, not some cheap game adaptation."
Then suddenly, Elyza handed her the game console, like she was introducing an epic otome game to her 60-year-old, single grandaunt.
"You should try this," she said shyly, pushing the console into Viviana's hands. "It's based on The Droopy Rose. You named me after the villainess, remember?"
"You mean Elyza, the one who tried to ruin everything for the main character?" Viviana raised an eyebrow, then scoffed, recalling the moment she was born. "I mean… yeah, because I forced your grandfather to name you that after we argued about what your name should be. I even threatened to destroy Carsten Electronics if he didn't do what I wanted."
Elyza nodded with a grin. "That's the one."
Then she chuckled. "But you still named me after the hardest character mode ever."
"Wanna try?" Elyza beamed.
Viviana, however, gave her an unusual, hesitant look. But after a sigh, she reluctantly accepted the console.
"Just help me with this," she muttered.
"Yay!" Elyza cheered, practically bouncing with excitement.
TO BE CONTINUED....