Chapter 139: a new Sunday I

Chapter 139: Chapter 139: a new Sunday I

Warm sunlight filtered through the curtains, bathing the room in a soft golden glow.

Vivienne stirred beneath the blanket before reluctantly opening one eye.

She reached for the alarm clock on the nightstand.

10:07 a.m.

"...well, i suppose I needed that."

A small laugh escaped her as she rubbed the last traces of sleep from her eyes.

It wasn’t entirely surprising.

She hadn’t fallen asleep until well past midnight.

Not because she regretted what had happened yesterday.

Only...

Because letting go of someone was never quite as simple as deciding to do it.

She sat quietly for a moment, hugging her knees beneath the blanket.

How ironic.

When she first woke up in this world a little over a month ago, she had been ridiculously confident.

She had actually believed she could make Anthony Ashford fall in love with her.

She had a whole plan.

She would slowly change his opinion of her.

Become someone he could genuinely admire.

Perhaps...

If she worked hard enough...

The story itself would change.

Instead...

After an entire month of trying, she had done the exact opposite.

She had politely returned her fiancé.

"...Well."

She covered her face with both hands before laughing quietly into the empty room.

"So much for that brilliant plan."

The thought was a little embarrassing.

A little disappointing.

She really had wanted it to work.

Not only because Anthony was the male lead of the novel she had loved for years...

But because, somewhere along the way, she had honestly begun hoping he might choose her.

In the end...

He hadn’t.

Vivienne let out a slow breath before smiling to herself.

"So what?"

The words were light.

Almost teasing.

"If one Anthony Ashford doesn’t fall in love with me, the world isn’t exactly running out of men."

She chuckled at her own ridiculous attempt to cheer herself up.

God.

That sounded far more confident than she actually felt.

Still...

There was some truth to it.

She had loved.

She had tried.

And when she realized it wasn’t meant to be...

She had chosen to walk away with her dignity intact.

There wasn’t anything shameful about that.

Besides...

She was only nineteen.

She was healthy.

She had wonderful friends.

A project she genuinely enjoyed working on.

Four more years of university ahead of her.

Who knew what—or who—she might meet along the way?

The thought made her smile.

For the first time since arriving in this world...

She realized she genuinely didn’t know what came next.

The novel had carried her this far.

From now on...

She would be writing the story herself.

"I think..."

She stretched lazily before climbing out of bed.

"...that’s actually pretty exciting."

As she reached for the glass of water on her nightstand, something tucked neatly beneath it caught her attention.

A folded sheet of stationery.

She picked it up.

Claire’s familiar handwriting greeted her immediately.

Vivienne,

The three of us are at the Student Teadong Lounge if you’d like to join us. We’ll probably be here until lunchtime. No pressure.

—Claire

Vivienne couldn’t help smiling.

Amelia would probably have wanted to drag her there herself.

Eleanor would have suggested giving her space.

Claire...

Claire had somehow managed to do both.

They hadn’t asked questions.

They hadn’t pressured her to explain.

They had simply left the door open until she was ready to walk through it.

"...I really do have wonderful friends."

Vivienne tucked the note into the drawer of her nightstand before heading toward the bathroom. Nearly an hour later, after a leisurely shower and an even more leisurely breakfast at the dormitory cafeteria, she finally made her way across the university grounds.

--

When Vivienne arrived at the Student Reading Lounge it was already packed.

Conversations drifted from one table to another as students compared notes, debated readings, or simply kept one another company while pretending to study. Every table seemed occupied by one group or another, books spread across the polished wooden surfaces beside cups of coffee that had long since gone cold.

Her eyes wandered around the room before settling on a familiar corner.

Claire noticed her first.

She looked up from her notebook, surprise briefly crossing her face before a warm smile followed.

"Vivienne."

The others turned almost immediately.

Amelia’s eyes widened.

"You actually came!"

Vivienne laughed as she pulled out the empty chair beside them.

"I didn’t realize my attendance was so uncertain."

"It has been," Amelia replied matter-of-factly. "The past few days you’ve looked like you’ve been solving the mysteries of the universe."

"I don’t think the universe is that complicated," Vivienne said with a smile.

"See?"

Amelia pointed at her triumphantly before looking at the other two.

"She’s smiling."

Claire studied Vivienne quietly for a moment before closing the book in front of her.

"...You do look better."

"A little lighter," Eleanor added with a small nod.

Vivienne blinked.

"Do I?"

"You do," Claire answered gently. "Not necessarily happier."

"But..."

"You don’t look as weighed down as you did this week."

Vivienne looked from one friend to another before lowering her eyes with a sheepish smile.

"I’m sorry."

"I know I’ve been a little absent."

Claire immediately shook her head.

"You don’t have to apologize."

"We just noticed something was bothering you."

"And we figured..."

She smiled.

"You’d tell us when you were ready."

Vivienne felt something warm settle quietly in her chest.

She hadn’t realized until that moment just how much she’d appreciated their patience.

They hadn’t cornered her with questions.

They hadn’t tried to guess.

They had simply waited.

She placed her satchel on the floor before settling comfortably into her chair.

"I suppose..."

She looked at the three women seated around the table.

"...I do owe you an explanation."

Amelia straightened almost instantly.

"Oh?"

Vivienne couldn’t help laughing.

"I knew you’d react like that."

"I’ve been curious all week," Amelia admitted without the slightest embarrassment. "Claire kept telling me to mind my own business."

"I was right," Claire replied calmly.

"You were," Amelia admitted with a sigh. "But it was very difficult."

Even Eleanor smiled.

The atmosphere relaxed almost immediately.

Vivienne looked at each of them in turn.

"I never told any of you what happened after the Founders’ Ball."

Her expression gradually became more thoughtful.

"I think..."

"I’m finally ready to."

The smiles around the table slowly faded.

Not because they were frightened.

But because they suddenly understood.

Whatever Vivienne was about to tell them...

It mattered.