The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

The next day, Vivienne and Percival were on their usual morning drill, dropping their kids off at school. As they pulled into the school's parking lot, each parent took a child by hand and started their short walk to the school entrance. They passed by several students along the way, noticing how their own kids seemed to speed up, heads bowed low in an attempt to avoid attention.

Out of nowhere, a kid approached them, and the atmosphere around Juliette instantly shifted.

The boy clearly noticed them too, his eyes locking on Juliette who was still holding onto the dashing man, Floyd, and scoffed, "Juliette, seriously, hiring actors again? And this time you got someone to play your mom too? Try not to let your vanity get the best of you!" "Shut up, Floyd!" Juliette snapped, taking a step forward only to be scooped up in reassurance.

Percival gently tapped her cheek, "We don't use foul language, young lady."

Juliette puffed her cheeks, glaring at Floyd while Percival crouched down to his level. Despite the smile on his face, it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Actor, you say?"

Floyd frowned, sizing Percival up, "Aren't you just some actor they hired to pretend to be their parent?"

"We are their parents," Percival replied, his tone light yet firm.

"I don't buy it. Parents that never showed up suddenly appear right after Juliette bets with me? Must be fake!" Floyd was adamant, clearly not convinced by Percival's words.

Percival didn't bother to argue further. It seemed ludicrous to him, a grown man, having to prove to a child that these were indeed his kids.

The thought alone was laughable.

He lovingly ruffled Isaiah and Juliette's hair, whispering, "Off you go to school, I'll be here to pick you up after."

The kids obediently nodded and made their way into the school, but not before Juliette shot Floyd a mischievous smirk over her shoulder.

Once Isaiah and Juliette were safely inside, Vivienne and Percival finally departed.

Floyd stood at the entrance for a long while before an adult finally approached him.

The woman checked Floyd over thoroughly to ensure he was okay before letting out a sigh of relief, "My young master, why did you run off so quickly? Your parents will be home today and were wondering what gift you'd like."

Floyd, his eyes hidden behind his bangs, mumbled, "I don't want any gifts," shrugging off the caretaker's hand and heading into the school, his solitary figure drawing Vivienne's attention.

"Isn't that the kid from earlier?" she asked.

Percival glanced over, "Seems like it. You heading to the lab later?"

"Yeah. Haven't cracked the rune code yet. There's still too much we don't understand about Connor's situation. We need to sort it out to be at ease," Vivienne couldn't shake her unease.

Connor reminded

The mention of C

her of the unresolved threads and

potential traps that their adversaries, including Abigail, might have left behind Her expression turned serious as they left the school behind. NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.

"Alright, I'll drive you there," Percival said, trying to lift her spirits.

As they reached the lab, Vivienne's phone rang - it was Cordelia Wilson. "Cordelia, what's up?"

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Cordelia sounded apologetic.

"No, what's going on?"

"When can you bring the kids over for dinner? Your sister's back in town too. How about we all get together?"

Vivienne, who'd been planning to consult Dorian Hawthorn about the runes, agreed, "Sure, let me know a good time. I'm pretty flexible these days."

Hanging up, Vivienne entered the lab, her focus returning to the perplexing runes.

"Ever seen any of these symbols before?" Percival asked, peering over her shoulder at the experimental reports.

"No," Vivienne replied, pulling out more documents from a box. "They were clever, probably guessed someone would investigate and made each document mean something different." Their conversation went back to Connor, the elusive piece in their puzzle. Despite being drugged by Brody, he had refused to talk.

"So we're back to square one," Vivienne sighed, her frustration evident as she dived back into the reports.

Percival felt a sense of déjà vu

regarding the runes and decided to

call his contacts at the research institute for a second opinion. Soon, the entire institute was abuzz, putting aside their work to crack the code Percival sent over.

As Vivienne and Percival dug deeper, the connection to the ancient warrior lineage emerged as a potentia lead. It dawned on Vivienne that their adversaries might have disguised themselves among the villagers, gaining foreknowledge of their plans.

A sudden thought struck her, and Percival, reading her mind, asked, "Thinking of Carly?"

Vivienne's smile widened, her arms wrapping around his neck, "Seems like Mr. Wolf and I are on the same wavelength. You guessed it before I even mentioned her."

"Percival, prove we're soulmates!" With a playful grin, Percival gently took Vivienne's hand and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles.

Just as this tender moment unfolded, Anna walked in, clutching a stack of reports. The sight made her abruptly avert her gaze.

Percival, noticing Anna's sudden entrance, didn't seem bothered as he casually let go of Vivienne's hand.

"Ms. Vivienne, here are the documents you requested." Anna quickly placed the papers down and scurried away.

Vivienne couldn't help but chuckle at Anna's hasty retreat. "Looks like we'll have to tone it down a bit, wouldn't want to startle her again."

Percival shrugged off the comment with a smirk. "Come on, at her age, she should be familiar with the basics of romance. How else is she supposed to navigate the dating world?"