Chapter 186: She’s Gone

Chapter 186: Chapter 186: She’s Gone

Rachel left, along with Felix.

Vivian had initially wanted to stop Rachel. She simply couldn’t forgive Rachel for all the things she had done behind the Faulkner family’s back recently.

She had ways to punish Rachel.

It wasn’t unlikely that Rachel had broken the law; as long as Vivian found the evidence, she could bring Rachel to justice!

However, Grandma Faulkner was in poor health. Seeing Rachel’s true colors exposed, she swayed and nearly fainted.

"Madam!" Ms. Shaw cried out.

Vivian, who was about to call out to Rachel, immediately turned back to support Grandma Faulkner.

"Grandma!"

That night at Concordia Hospital, the doctor emerged from the operating room with a grave expression. He took a deep look at Julian, initially wanting to reprimand him, but he swallowed his words.

The doctor knew.

Julian had always been a filial grandson. There had to be another reason for Grandma Faulkner to end up in such a state.

"Doctor, how is my grandmother..." Julian stepped forward to ask.

The doctor sighed and said, "Madam Faulkner’s condition isn’t very good. Didn’t I mention this before? She can’t handle any shock, or it’ll be terrible for her heart!

"She already had a slight heart condition, and now... she can only rest and recuperate. Her vitals need to be monitored constantly, and she absolutely cannot be subjected to any more shock, understand?"

Julian nodded grimly. Just as he was about to speak, the doctor preempted him, "President Faulkner, I know what you want to say.

"Our hospital will do our absolute best for Madam Faulkner’s health. But you, as her family members, cannot afford to drop the ball either, got it?"

Julian nodded and walked the doctor out.

Grandma Faulkner was once again admitted to a private ward.

This time, when she woke up, her eyes were somewhat unfocused, as if she were unfamiliar with her surroundings. It took her quite a while to process everything before she called out, "Julian? Julian?"

"Grandma, I’m here." Julian responded and immediately went to Grandma Faulkner’s side.

Grandma Faulkner suddenly grabbed Julian’s hand, sobbing, "I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Felix, and Rachel..."

As she spoke, she grew quite agitated.

Julian hurriedly held her hand and said gently, "No, it’s not like that. Grandma, it’s not your fault.

"Felix is scum, and Rachel is an ungrateful wretch. We already knew about these things, didn’t we?

"It’s just that, compared to them, we still possess some humanity. We can’t stoop to their level, nor do we care to.

"Don’t worry, Grandma. Vivian and I will always stay by your side."

Grandma Faulkner blamed herself deeply.

Felix was her son, and Rachel had been raised by her side since childhood. She had dedicated herself wholeheartedly to both of them.

But who would have known that in the end, the two of them would...

Grandma Faulkner was heartbroken.

Vivian felt a sting in her nose.

She felt that God was sometimes unfair. Neither she in her past life nor Grandma Faulkner now deserved to be treated this way.

In her previous life, Vivian hadn’t been around when Rachel and Felix schemed to seize the Faulkner family’s fortune. It must have been incredibly difficult for Julian to deal with both of them all on his own.

Rachel had even deliberately targeted Grandma Faulkner.

Using Annie’s situation to trigger a relapse in Grandma Faulkner’s illness, she had kept Julian busy caring for his grandmother, leaving him no time to keep an eye on Felix’s movements abroad.

That father and daughter were truly cold-blooded animals, birds of a feather!

Vivian felt utterly disgusted. Now, looking at the pale-faced Grandma Faulkner, she joined Julian in holding the old lady’s hand.

"Julian is right. Grandma, don’t be afraid. I’ll always be with you." Vivian gave Grandma Faulkner an earnest smile and continued, "True family members wouldn’t do such things. Since they did, they are no longer family; they are enemies.

"It’s not worth shedding tears for enemies, right, Grandma?

"Grandma, I’m getting hungry! What should we eat later? You haven’t really tried my cooking yet, have you? You didn’t know I could cook!

"If you like it, I’ll cook for you more often from now on!"

Grandma Faulkner had been dwelling on Rachel and Felix.

Now that Vivian had suddenly changed the subject, rambling on about trivial matters, Grandma Faulkner expended her energy thinking about the future and no longer had the time to grieve over Rachel and Felix.

That night, it was past nine o’clock when Julian and Vivian left the hospital.

Vance had arranged for two new caregivers and four bodyguards to take turns protecting Grandma Faulkner. They guarded her ward like an iron fortress, ensuring her utmost safety.

Outside the hospital, the streets of Aethelburg were still bustling with traffic at past nine in the evening.

Since the weekend was approaching, perhaps many people were eager to go out and have fun. The streets were crowded, and there was a bit of a traffic jam.

Vivian craned her neck to glance at the street and said to Julian, "There are so many cars. If we drive back, who knows what time we’ll get home.

"Julian, I bought an apartment nearby. Why don’t we sleep there tonight? I haven’t even had the chance to see it since the renovations were completed."

The apartment was a sprawling single-floor unit, not one of those cramped places with five or six stairwells packed with thirty or forty households. It had a private elevator leading straight to the door, offering extremely high privacy.

This apartment was a private sanctuary Vivian had specially reserved for herself. She had bought it before her rebirth. Unfortunately, in her past life, Shelly had visited it once and taken a liking to it, so Sharon had forced Vivian to give it to Shelly.

In this life, Vivian hadn’t even had time to check if it looked the same as it had in her previous life.

"Alright." Julian, likely exhausted himself, nodded in agreement.

About ten minutes later, Vivian and Julian arrived at the apartment. Vivian turned on the lights. Past the indoor water fountain screen, the living room window framed the sparkling night view of Aethelburg.

Outside, the towering skyscrapers sparkled with dazzling, beautiful lights. They could even see Concordia Hospital, not too far away.

"Speaking of which, there’s a dilapidated old residential building next door. Quite a few people rent there, mostly because they have family members in the hospital and want to stay close by." Vivian chuckled and shook her head. "When I bought this place, I was just thinking that it wasn’t too far from the company."

She never expected that after Grandma Faulkner was hospitalized, she would come here with Julian simply because of its convenience.

Her apartment was about three hundred square meters. It featured two large master suites, a guest bedroom, and a maid’s room. Vivian had converted one of the suites into a study.

It was stocked with books she enjoyed reading, design literature, and some fitness equipment, like a treadmill.

The guest bedroom was still vacant. She figured that if she ever had children in the future, they could live there. After all... Vivian didn’t actually have many friends.

If Eleanor ever came over, they could just share a room.

As for the maid’s room, it was currently unoccupied. Only the housekeeper Vivian hired for weekly cleanings would rest there if she got tired.

Standing in front of the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, Vivian looked at the distant night view and sighed.

In her past life, Shelly had snatched this place away from her, and in this life...

She wondered how Shelly was doing. With both Robert and Sharon dead, what kind of life could Shelly possibly lead abroad?

Vivian wasn’t entirely sure.

After admiring the night view for a while, Vivian and Julian walked deeper into the apartment. Looking at the walk-in closet nearby, Vivian suddenly realized something.

"Uh, it seems there are no clothes for you here."

Nor were there clothes belonging to any other man.

If Julian took off his clothes today, what would he wear?

He couldn’t possibly wear hers, right?

A girl wearing a guy’s clothes wasn’t a big deal; at worst, they would just be oversized, like a dress. But a guy wearing a girl’s clothes was out of the question.

Putting aside whether they would even fit, Vivian’s dresses were completely unsuitable for Julian. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what he would look like if he put them on.

That would be way too bizarre.

Julian remained silent.

He apparently hadn’t considered this issue either. He frowned, looking slightly troubled, and instinctively took out his phone, likely intending to have Vance deliver some clothes.

"Never mind." Vivian stopped him, saying, "It’s so late. Vance has already been busy for a long time sorting out the caregivers and bodyguards.

"It’s not even ten o’clock yet, and the mall won’t close for a little while. There’s a shopping mall right next door. Why don’t we go down and buy some clothes?

"You can pick whatever you want. It’s my treat!"

Vivian declared with a grand wave of her hand. Julian couldn’t help but let his lips curl up into a smile.

This was the very first time someone had said something like that to him.

A few minutes later, Vivian and Julian arrived at the mall next door. They walked into a random menswear store, and Vivian began picking out clothes for him.

"How about this one? It’s white and quite form-fitting, so it’ll perfectly show off your muscle definition. Tsk! Really nice!"

Vivian recalled the time Julian had stepped out of the shower wearing a T-shirt, his abs faintly visible underneath. It had been incredibly enticing!

Julian shot her a look.

Then, he gave Vivian an amused glance and asked earnestly, "If that’s the case, why did you bring me here to buy clothes in the first place?"

Vivian’s face instantly turned bright red.

What did he mean by that?!

Did he mean he could just not wear anything at all?

He should have said so earlier! If he had said so earlier, she would have...

"Of course we have to buy them!" Vivian cut off her R-rated thoughts, shaking her head to toss the dirty ideas out of her mind.

Turning around, she grabbed a loose white T-shirt, tossed it into the basket, and muttered softly, "The fabric on this one feels very soft.

"When you’re not wearing a suit, you can wear this casually. Hmm... let’s get you two shirts, too! The shirts in this store might not compare to your bespoke ones, but they’re still decent!

"After all, I picked them out, so you’re not allowed to complain!"

Julian nodded solemnly and said seriously, "Mhm, I won’t complain, don’t worry."

Why did she get the feeling that his words held a hint of pampering?

Vivian couldn’t help but mutter internally. Still picking out clothes with Julian, she inadvertently wandered into the underwear section.

Gasp!

Seeing the men’s underwear, Vivian instinctively wanted to turn back.

She should have told Julian to come pick these out himself!

Unfortunately, just as she turned around, she bumped straight into Julian, who had been following close behind.

Julian looked perplexed. Glancing from Vivian, who was trying to bolt, to the underwear displayed on the shelves, he asked in confusion, "Are we not buying these?"

"We are..." Vivian gave an awkward but polite smile, nodding. Pointing behind her, she said, "It’s just that... well, President Faulkner!

"I’m not too familiar with your sizes. So, you should buy them yourself! I’ll just wait for you here. Once you’re done, we’ll go pay, how does that sound?"

Vivian was trying her best to steady her emotions, terrified that Julian would notice she was actually panicking out of her mind.

Men’s underwear!

She had never bought such things before!

Those boxer briefs all looked pretty much the same, but that little pouch in the front invariably made Vivian’s mind wander to... other things!

"Oh, so you don’t know my size." Julian, completely oblivious to how flustered Vivian was, looked at the shirts and T-shirts in her basket and retorted, "But didn’t you pick these out perfectly fine?

"I thought you knew my size."

Speechless.

Vivian suspected Julian was playing dumb on purpose!

And she had good reason to believe so!

Puffing her cheeks, Vivian glared at him and pouted, "You’re so tall and well-built; what other sizes could you possibly wear? I obviously have a good grasp on that.

"But, but... for boxer briefs, I have no idea. This... this! You understand what I mean, right?"

Julian shook his head, indicating he did not understand.

Vivian was so infuriated she wanted to stomp her feet!

"Then don’t buy them!"

She gritted her teeth at him. This time, Julian finally laughed. He casually grabbed two pairs of boxer briefs from the shelf and handed them to her.

"Here." Not treating her like an outsider at all, Julian said, "Mhm... this size will do."

Without even glancing at the briefs in her hand, Vivian swiftly flicked her wrist to toss them into the basket and said, "Alright, alright!

"Since we’re done shopping, let’s head home now!"

"Mhm, okay." Julian nodded obediently. Following behind Vivian, the two headed to the checkout counter together.

At the cashier, since it was late and there were barely any customers left in the mall, the clerk was quite pleased to see someone approach with a handful of items.

However, a second later, her delight turned into astonishment.

"President Faulkner? Mrs. Faulkner?"