The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

The tstepped into the elevator together.

As they reached their floor, Dorian heard the noise outside and cto open the door, "Vivienne, Percival..." Upon seeing Thaddeus trailing behind the couple, he raised an eyebrow, "Now, where were you this early morning? Ah, waiting downstairs for your sister, I see. Why didn't you say something? Your mom thought you were oversleeping." Caught in his little scheme, Thaddeus's face turned a bright shade of red, "Dad... I wasn't sleeping in." Dorian chuckled and ruffled his son's hair, encouraging him to go and inform Cordelia Wilson of his whereabouts. "Don't let us start worrying if we can't find you later." In the living room, Cordelia emerged from the kitchen with a bright smile, "Vivienne, Percival, you've arrived." Vivienne nodded as she approached, "Cordelia." Percival set down the gifts they brought, "Dorian, Cordelia, these are sdelicacies my in-laws insisted we bring over for you to try." Dorian, eyeing the elegantly wrapped gift boxes, instinctively refused, "Oh no, we really can't accept these, Vivienne, Percival. Please, take them back." Cordelia chimed in, "Yes, we're still trying to figure out how to return the last batch Mr. Linklater brought over. If you keep bringing these, we'll lose sleep over it." Percival gave a wry smile, "Cordelia, these gifts were a specific request from my in-laws. If you don't accept them, I'll be the one getting an earful back home." Dorian and Cordelia exchanged helpless glances.

Vivienne had a habit of sending over treats every now and then.

And ever since Arthur learned how to keep his daughter happy, gifts had been arriving even more frequently, much to the couple's dismay.

After repeatedly asking them to stop, things had quieted down for a bit.

And now, it was starting all over again.

Vivienne, pulling Cordelia to sit down, said, "These are just ssnacks. Please, accept them, or Mr. Wolf will have trouble explaining himself back home." Convinced by Vivienne's reasoning, Dorian and Cordelia finally relented.

The lunch table was filled with Vivienne's favorite dishes, plus a beautiful strawberry cheesecake ordered from outside.

During the meal, Dorian habitually served a piece of sweet and sour pork to Vivienne, reminding her, "Vivienne, eat up. You're about to get married. You should take it easy on work and rest more. Don't push yourself too hard just because you're young." Vivienne nodded.

Cordelia shot Dorian a look.

Realizing his oversight, Dorian quickly served a piece of pork to Percival, "Percival, you too, have some." Percival accepted with a smile, "Thank you, Dorian." Dorian, feeling a bit embarrassed, shrugged it off, "No need to thank me. We're all family here. When Vivienne and your kidse along, they'll have to callgrandpa." Vivienne almost choked on her pork at the sudden leap to "grandpa." Cordelia, feeling helpless, tugged at Dorian's shirt under the table, whispering, "What are you even saying? Vivienne's right here..." Dorian appeared clueless, "But I didn't say anything wrong." Percival, with a smile in his eyes, raised his glass to Dorian, "Don't worry, Dorian. You won't have to wait too long to be called grandpa." Feeling validated, Dorian gleamed at his wife and toasted, "Cheers to that." Vivienne, "...' || Post-lunch, Percival and Dorian engaged in conversation in the living room, while Cordelia pulled Vivienne into the bedroom. She retrieved a card from the drawer and handed it to Vivienne.

Vivienne guessed its purpose immediately and tried to return it, "Cordelia, I can't accept this." Pretending to be annoyed, Cordelia pushed the card back into Vivienne's hands, "Vivienne, Dorian and I consider you our own daughter. It's customary for parents to give a dowry or a gift when their daughter marries. This is a million dollars from us. Don't think it's too little, just accept it." Dorian'spany was on a successful trajectory, and the Brooks family had carved out a spot for themselves in the elite circles of Rivenwood.

Though they were at the bottom of the list, it was a significant achievement.

A million dollars meant little to Dorian now; he could give Vivienne much more.

But knowing Vivienne, even millions wouldn't have been accepted. After much consideration, they settled on a million dollars.

This amount had been saved by Dorian and Cordelia since breaking away from the Hawthorn family, planning for both Vivienne and Astrid's futures. Saving more when possible and less when not.

Because of Vivienne, Dorian's first job post-Hawthorn was with Dawson, earning a million a year, allowing him to deposit twenty thousand monthly into the accounts for Vivienne and Astrid.

To date, each account had grown to a million.

"I..." Vivienne was about to refuse again when Cordelia, seeing right through her, cut her off, "You have to accept it. We've been saving the samount for your sister Astrid too. Both of you get a million, no more, no less!" It was hard for Vivienne not to feel touched.

Cordelia treated her and Astrid as if they were her own daughters.

Everything Astrid had, she had too, and when it cto Astrid's dowry, she wouldn't miss out on a single penny.

Vivienne felt a warm sensation inside, and she extended her arms to hug Cordelia, "I'll take it, thank you, Cordelia." To refuse any further would just be pretentious.

Cordelia blinked, surprised at first, but then her eyes began to redden.

She turned her head slightly and wiped her face with her hand, smiling and saying, "That's more like it. Make sure to visit when you can, alright? And if you're too busy, a phone call will do. Don't worry about Dorian and me." Vivienne just listened quietly, "I will." Cordelia pursed her lips, looking a bit embarrassed, "About Dorian, you know how he is rough around the edges. Don't take his dinner table talk to heart. He was just too happy to see you back, couldn't help but run his mouth." Vivienne arched an eyebrow, suddenly flashing back to Mr. Wolf's reaction.

A smile played at the corners of her mouth as she murmured, "Maybe, Dorian will get his wish after all." Cordelia didn't catch what she said, but seeing Vivienne didn't seem upset, she let it go.

When leaving, Dorian and Cordelia also packed sof Havenwood's local delicacies for Sasha and Arthur. The trunk was stuffed full.

Percival took the chance while the two were busy packing to leave a big red envelope on the table.

It was scribbled with the words "NChanging Fee" in pencil, in a flamboyant style.

When Cordelia found it upon returning inside, she stared at the thick red envelope for a moment and quickly called Dorian over.

Dorian was also puzzled, "Aren't we supposed to be the ones giving out the nchanging fee? Howe..." While they were still confused, Thaddeus, with a flushed face, took the envelope, "It's for me." Percival had mentioned before leaving that he left his helmet in the room, and also left a red envelope for him. Dorian, "..." Cordelia, "...' mmMwWLlilOfiflo&1 mmMwWLlilOfiflo&1 mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1 mmMwWLlilOfiflO&1 mmMwWLliI0fifl0&1 mmMwWLlilOfiflO&1