The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Chapter 4

After Arabella left, Dorian angrily slammed his cup onto the table and said, “What a pain in the ass!”

Cordelia poured him a glass of water and comforted him, “Come on, don’t get your knickers in a twist.

She doesn’t consider us family anyway, so what’s the point of getting mad?“–

Arabella was the child they adopted eight years ago. At that time, Dorian was all about finding

Vivienne, but after a long search without any luck, he stumbled upon Arabella instead.

Arabella had some resemblance to Vivienne. Dorian, missing Vivienne and feeling sorry for Arabella,

took her in. Arabella was very well–behaved, sensible, and had a sweet way of speaking. In addition,

she was good at making people happy. Beatrice was wrapped around Arabella’s little finger.

Two years after they adopted Arabella, she was taken in by Beatrice. Over the years, she became a

celebrated talent in Havenwood, drawing much envy. However, since Arabella had been with Beatrice,

she no longer took them seriously. Though nothing showed on the surface, her words often hurt. Dorian

and Cordelia were no fools, and over time, they saw Arabella’s true colors. So naturally, their

interactions with Arabella dwindled.

“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken her in.” Dorian said regretfully.

“You were only doing it out of the goodness of your heart too.” Cordelia looked at Vivienne and said,

“The issue now is how to call off this marriage. It seems Beatrice has her mind set on marrying

Vivienne off. If we disagree, she won’t back down easily.”

“I’m determined to call off this marriage. Even if she takes this apartment back, I can still keep the

home fires burning.” Dorian said firmly. Cordelia sighed. She worried that Beatrice wouldn’t let them live

in peace in Havenwood.

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

Vivienne was looking at the content on her phone. The phone screen displayed Percival’s information.

As an important figure in the Ellington family, Percival’s information was very detailed. Besides his

photo, there was other information, including his phone number.

“Don’t worry about it. I can call off the marriage myself.” Vivienne raised her head, with a smile on her

face, “And don’t worry about having nowhere to live. I’ll buy a house for you.”

In consideration of Dorian’s kindness to her, she would return the favor with a house.

“Vivienne…”

Before Dorian could say anything, Vivienne stood up, picked up her phone, and made a call. “Mr.

Ellington? I’m the young lady of the Hawthorn family.” As soon as the call connected, Vivienne cut to

the chase.

Percival was a bit surprised on the other end, “Yes?”

“I’d like to call off the engagement.” Vivienne’s voice was clear and firm.

Percival was taken aback by this, and after a moment, he laughed, “I agree.”

Vivienne froze for a moment as she looked at the cell phone that had been hung up. He agreed just like

that?

In a high–end club in Havenwood.

Percival lounged on the sofa, legs crossed, long fingers holding the phone, his deep gazes staring at

the call log on the phone, with a cold smirk on his lips.

“Is that really the young lady of the Hawthorn family, Arabella?” Leopold holding a glass of wine, found

it hard to believe.

“She said so herself.” he replied, his voice low and enchanting.

“Hah!” Leopold chuckled, “She’s quite a character. I’m starting to find her interesting.”

Despite Percival’s bad reputation, his family’s wealth still attracted many girls. However, Richard had

chosen the young lady of the Hawthorn family as his fiancee. He had assumed that the Hawthorn

family would never call off the engagement.

He had investigated that the Hawthorn family’s company had started to go downhill in the last few

years and was severely short of funds, and that their engagement to the Ellington family would lead to

a large investment, which was the condition of Richard’s engagement. Therefore, Beatrice would never

agree to a call off the engagement.

But what he didn’t expect was that she would take the initiative to call it off. She really was the well–

known talent of Havenwood, her character unmatched by many girls.

Percival was in a great mood, his eyes narrowed to slits as his fingers worked quickly on his phone.

Leopold went over to look at it and said in surprise, “Mr. Ellington, how did you manage to save the

recording of your conversation with her?” Percival’s eyes twitched a bit, his fingers still operating the

phone, “How could I not share such good news with my grandpa to cheer him up?” “Your grandpa

might have a heart attack from the excitement, right?” Leopold couldn’t imagine Richard’s reaction after

knowing about this. “He might not have a heart attack, but he’ll probably throw a fit.” This was Richard’s

usual tactic.

He had used all means to get Percival to marry the Miss Hawthorn, which was a headache for him.

Now that Miss Hawthorn had called off the engagement, the old man should quiet down a bit.

He took a sip of wine, turned his head to look at Percival, and asked with some confusion, “Speaking of

which, why don’t you want to marry Arabella? She’s beautiful, has excellent grades, and has achieved

a bit in many fields. Plus with her grades, she’s likely to get into a prestigious university. Such a woman

is a rare find.”

Percival put down his phone, picked up his wine glass and gave it a little swirl. “If she’s so amazing,

this cripple shouldn’t be holding her back.” he said. Leopold glanced at Percival’s flawless legs and

quietly looked away.

Prominent Estates.

12:48

Chapter 4

The moment Vivienne entered her room, her phone began to ring. Upon seeing the caller ID, her

expression turned serious. She walked to the window to take the call.

“We found something.” a deep male voice said from the other end of the line. “The day your mom died,

the Four Prominent Families of Rivenwood were all at your house.”

Vivienne’s gazes darkened. “The Four Prominent Families of Rivenwood?”

“Yes.” the man on the line continued. “The Ashford family, the Pendleton family, the Churchill family,

and the Ellington family.”

Vivienne was taken aback. “The Ellington family? Percival’s family?”

“Yes,” the man paused slightly. “The Ellington family is the most powerful among the Four Prominent

Families of Rivenwood, a true top–tier aristocracy. Of the families associated with yours, apart from the

Ellington family, the other three families are of a lower rank.”

The man went silent for a moment, then continued, “The other three families came to your house

looking for something. I’m not sure what exactly. The member of the Ellington family who came to your

house was Percival.”

Vivienne’s gaze turned icy, and her beautiful eyebrows furrowed. “Percival? What was his motive?”

“It seems he was looking for someone.”

Vivienne didn’t respond. She leaned on the bed, her fair, slender fingers gently tapping the windowsill.

After a while, she finally spoke up. “Keep investigating what the other three families were looking for.

As for the Ellington family, don’t bother. I’ll look into it myself.”

“Got it.”