Chapter 4 The Unveiling Encounter

When she got back up to her apartment, Mrs. Quinn had already gone to bed. Vivienne made sure her steps were light so she didn’t wake her mother.

That night, she couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned until dawn.

Vivienne had a punctual biological clock, though. No matter how late she slept, she would wake up at 7 o’clock in the morning.

She made breakfast for her mother and left the house. The car needed to be taken to the shop for the night market later, and she would have to call her friend to ask for a ride while it was being repaired.

She waited outside the car shop until a red BMW pulled up about half an hour later, with her friend Lainey in the driver’s seat. She waved at Vivienne. “C’mon, get in."

Vivienne smiled and got in, clicking the seatbelt into place. Lainey already knew where they were heading, and she pulled away from the curb and drove directly to the night market.

“Your crappy old van’s long overdue for a replacement,” Lainey commented. “Why are you fixing it again? Just take my advice and buy a new one.”

“Easy for you to say.” Vivienne laughed. “I don’t have that kind of money. If I fix it up, it’ll still work fine.”

She and Lainey had known each other since high school, and they’d been friends for about ten years now. Lainey ran her own cosmetics store, and business there was good. She was living a good life, all things considered.

“Vivienne, I hate seeing you work so hard with all this talent you have. You’re wasting it on the night market, y’know? You were at the top of our class, honestly. If it wasn’t for…” Lainey came back to her senses soon enough to cut herself off. She glanced at Vivienne, then smiled and changed the subject. “You’re still young, but you hate everybody I’ve introduced you to! Do you want to be a nun soon? What about that guy Hendrix Tennyson… I heard he went back to China and started a law firm there. I hear he’s still single, so I can help you go after him if that’s what you want.”

Vivienne’s heart throbbed at the name, some old memories resurfacing. She shook them away. “I know you want to help, Lainey, but there’s really no need. I forgot about him a long time. ago.”

Time healed all wounds, right?

“Why don’t you find a boyfriend yourself, then?” Lainey meant well, but she couldn’t stop talking the second she opened her mouth. “I overheard my aunt saying you were introduced to several guys, but you didn’t like any of them-”

Vivienne interrupted her softly. “Lainey, I’m married.”

“Nothing wrong with that. It’s a natural step in the-” Lainey turned suddenly to stare at Vivienne. “What did you just say? What? You don’t even have a boyfriend, but you-? Did you just pull a husband off the sidewalk?”

This was impossible. The sun might as well have risen in the west if Vivienne was married.

Amused, Vivienne said, “Well, it was a random guy, but my mom found him on a dating site. And yes, I married him.”

Lainey braked so hard that the car fully stopped at the side of the road. “Just like that, you’re married?”

She dragged Vivienne to a convenience store nearby to properly interrogate her and put her hands on her hips sternly. “Don’t you dare lie to me, now. Tell me what’s going on. Who is this guy?”

Vivienne didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “His name’s Damien. He’s local, about 30… He works for Skyreach Group, and his parents aren’t around.”

“Damien?” The name sounded familiar, but the Marlowes weren’t high up enough in social tiers for Lainey to be sure where she’d heard it. They weren’t in the same circles, though-she was sure of that.

She wasn’t entirely wrong. As the president of Skyreach, Damien. kept himself rather low-key, never accepting interviews or showing his face on TV.

Lainey didn’t dwell too long on that.

“I’ll bring him to meet you when I get a chance,” Vivienne offered.

“Well, obviously. He married my best friend, so I’ve got to see what he’s all about,” Lainey said. “But, more importantly, does he have a house? How much does he make? Is he going to split it with you? When’s the wedding? Is there any sort of dowry?”

All of Lainey’s questions were practical and realistic, but there were just too many of them. Vivienne shook her head. “I didn’t ask about his income, and I myself don’t have a house or nice car. I can support myself, though, so I don’t need any of his money.

“The wedding’s just a formality. It’s not necessary. We agreed to live together, and that’s pretty much it. We’ll pay bills jointly if necessary.”

Lainey looked shocked. “You’re out of your mind! You don’t want anything out of this marriage? You don’t even have a house. You’re going to have to work so hard in the future! You’ll have your children’s education to think about… What will you do without a house and car? Joint finances… well, how far can that get you in this life?”

Vivienne wasn’t too worried about the long-term issues. But she was afraid that Lainey might misunderstand her, so she explained, “I proposed all these things. I don’t want to take advantage of him-I don’t know how long this marriage will even last us, so the rest isn’t important yet.”

Things like her future children’s education weren’t problems yet. Why make them one?

Lainey stared at her friend for a while. She’d known Vivienne for so long, but Vivienne had never done anything as shocking as this. “Well… Do you want to go to the class reunion next Friday? I heard Hendrix will be there, and we’ve already booked Moon Restaurant for the occasion. If you want to catch up, I hear he’s doing well, on top of opening his law firm.

“I also heard he bought a villa down in McLean, which is famous for its housing. The places down there cost millions. If you really do reconcile with him, well… you won’t need to work so hard in the future.”

Blind dates were unreliable. Lainey knew as much. If Vivienne and Hendrix were together, Vivienne wouldn’t have to worry about a thing.

But Vivienne understood what her friend was getting at. She shook her head and smiled. “I shouldn’t go.”

She was married now. Even if she had no real relationship with Damien, they were still a legal couple, and she should be faithful to him. Damien had been good to her so far. She’d try to live a good life with him for as long as this lasted. How Hendrix was doing-for better or worse-was none of her business.

Lainey was about to say something else when Vivienne’s phone rang, and when Vivienne looked at the caller ID, she got a little

nervous.

It was Damien. She picked up the phone and heard his warm voice come through. “Where are you? I’m coming to see you.”

“I’m outside with a friend,” Vivienne said. “What’s going on?”

It wasn’t as if she was in a hurry to move in, was she?

“Okay. I have something to take care of.” Damien was brief. “Send me your location when you’re done, and I’ll come pick you up.”

Vivienne glanced at Lainey, who lowered her voice. “Is that your new husband?”

She nodded and turned her attention back to the phone. “I’m done. I’ll send you the address now.”

She hadn’t gone to the night market yet, but she was worried that if she said she was busy too, Damien would think she was coming up with excuses to avoid him. Now that they were legally married, Vivienne didn’t see any reason to not get along well with her new husband-regardless of whether there was really anything going on between them romantically or not. It’d been her idea to get married, and she was determined to keep their marriage steady.

After she hung up, Vivienne turned to Lainey apologetically. “I guess I’m not going to the night market today. He wants to pick me up later.”

“You really are a little housewife now,” Lainey sighed dramatically. “Fine. As your best friend, I’ll give you my blessing. But if he ever treats you badly, you tell me right away.”

Vivienne smiled. “Don’t worry. He’s been very kind.”

Not long after Vivienne sent Damien her location, he arrived in a cheap Chevrolet and texted her on Whatsapp to let her know he was there. I’m here at the curb.

Vivienne emerged from the store when she got the message, and Damien got out of the car to greet her as she came toward him. “Vivienne!”

He was wearing a simple, casual outfit, but nothing could hide the aura he gave off. The clothes he was wearing made him look like a model walking down the runway, natural as could be.

Lainey was nearly drooling by the time he reached Vivienne, and she patted her on the shoulder. “Well, now I know why you got married so fast, Viv. Beauty can be misleading!”

It was normal to be hot-headed if your date was this good-looking. But good looks wouldn’t pay the bills…

Vivienne rolled her eyes and laughed. “I won’t deny that his looks did play a big part in it.”

Damien approached the two, and Vivienne quickly introduced him. “This is my best friend, Lainey. We’ve known each other since high school. Lainey, this is my… this is Damien Smyth.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say the word husband. Vivienne blushed from ear to ear, embarrassed.

Damien was used to it by now, and he glanced at her before turning to greet Lainey politely. “Nice to meet you.”

“You’re so handsome, Mr. Smyth.” Lainey giggled. “Vivienne sure has a good eye!”

As she spoke, Lainey took a quick peek at Damien’s car. It was an average-priced car, typical of a working-class salary in Washington. D.C. But Vivienne knew she was just being polite-Lainey had always loved the idea of marrying into a wealthy family, often saying that her beauty and personality would surely land her a good marriage in the future.

Vivienne didn’t think about it that way. The rich weren’t stupid, and beauty wasn’t worth all that. Why would a businessman do business at a loss?

She just wanted to live a simple, ordinary life. If she was doing well with a simple life, she couldn’t ask for anything else.