Needless to say, Vivien was miserable. Starting that day, she was tailed and eavesdropped on, no matter what she did or where she went.
Even when she was in her etiquette class, servants still came and went to watch her words.
At first, she let her frustrations out on the staff, cursing at them instead of Lucinda. As a result, they all got a bunch of bonuses for minimal effort.
At the same time, Lucinda made sure to punish her without an ounce of mercy.
Vivien’s palms were constantly swollen. This went on for half a month, and she almost forgot what her palms originally looked like.
At one point, while they were having dinner, Vivien couldn’t even hold the spoon properly. Feeling sorry for her, Amanda tried to feed her, but only managed to give Vivien two bites before Lucinda caught them and put a stop to it.
Vivien must not be pampered any longer, in any way at all.
Vivien found the whole thing unjust, but her fear of Lucinda eclipsed her grievances. Soon, she found herself thinking twice before she said anything.
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As time went by, her beatings became less and far in between.
December 4th.
The first snow fell on Forden, covering the whole city in a pristine white blanket.
Lucinda wore a white mink coat over a black, lace evening dress. She looked delicate and chic, yet at the same time, she commanded respect from her peers.
She personally cut a few branches of red plum blossoms and went to the cemetery to visit Nathaniel.
His tombstone was covered in snow. Without minding her dress, Lucinda patiently shoved the snow away, talking as she worked.
“Hey, Nate. I didn’t expect the first snow to fall on the same day you were buried last month. Forden has been so cold lately. Is it cold up there in heaven?”
Lucinda sat beside the tombstone after clearing the snow. She leaned her head gently against the cold marble, picturing herself leaning into Nathaniel’s embrace.
“Vivien has become more obedient recently. I even let her intern at the Roberts Group to learn the ropes. I know you left all the shares to me, but I’m afraid I no longer have the energy to manage the company. Once she is able to successfully complete a project on her own, I plan to hand the Roberts Group over to her. Well, maybe gradually…”
Lucinda sighed, blowing a tiny cloud of steam in front of her face.
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“Nate, I’ve been so bored without you around.
I’ve been dreaming about you a lot lately. In my dreams, you would appear and tell me that you’re still alive, that you’ve been lying to me all this time. You would tell me that you only wanted to see if I cared about you at all, how important you are to me… If only that were true.”
She kept talking, her voice quiet, until she felt tears on her cheeks.
She closed her eyes and held on to his cold tombstone. It was the closest thing she could get to holding him and feeling the comfort of his arms.
Leon and Conor had been instructed by Lucinda to wait outside the cemetery. From their vantage point, they could barely see what happened in there.
An hour passed, but Lucinda had not come out yet.