Chapter 140: a new sunday II

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: a new sunday II

Vivienne looked at the three women seated around the table before taking a slow breath.

"I suppose I should tell you what happened."

She offered them a small, apologetic smile.

"I know I’ve been keeping it from you."

The three of them waited quietly.

"There really isn’t much to tell."

"During the Founders’ Ball, Anthony and I happened to find a moment alone."

Her voice remained calm.

"He told me that he didn’t love me."

Claire’s eyes widened slightly.

Vivienne continued before anyone could interrupt.

"And..."

"He didn’t think he ever would."

"He also said he would still honor our engagement."

"He intended to marry me regardless."

Silence settled over the table.

No one seemed to know what to say.

Vivienne lowered her eyes briefly.

"So..."

"I spent the next few days thinking."

"I realized that if neither of us truly wanted the engagement..."

"...then ending it would be kinder for both of us."

She rested her fingertips lightly against her notebook.

"So yesterday..."

"I spoke with him."

"We agreed."

"Nothing has changed publicly."

"We’ll speak to our families during the semestral break."

"But..."

She looked back up at her friends.

"Between Anthony and me..."

"The engagement is over."

The words settled quietly over the table.

Claire slowly lowered the pen she had been absentmindedly twirling between her fingers.

Eleanor simply looked at Vivienne.

Even Amelia, for once, had no immediate reply.

It felt almost as though someone had quietly dropped a bomb onto the table.

After a long moment, Claire reached across and gently squeezed Vivienne’s hand.

"I’m sorry."

Eleanor nodded.

"So am I."

Amelia let out a quiet sigh.

"...Me too."

Vivienne smiled gratefully.

"I’ll be alright."

"I really will."

"I think this is for the best."

No one argued.

Looking at her now...

They believed her.

She was sad.

That much was obvious.

But beneath the sadness...

She also seemed strangely at peace.

For a while, the four of them simply sat in silence.

Then Amelia slowly raised one hand.

"...Can I ask something?"

Vivienne smiled.

"When have you ever asked permission?"

"Fair point."

Amelia leaned forward.

"Are you absolutely sure..."

"...this has nothing to do with Damian Blackwood?"

Vivienne blinked.

"...Damian?"

"I mean..."

Amelia shrugged.

"Half the university has been talking about the two of you."

"You’ve practically become Saint Albion’s favorite piece of gossip."

Vivienne looked genuinely confused.

"...What does any of that have to do with breaking my engagement?"

"I don’t know."

Amelia spread her hands.

"That’s why I’m asking."

"Is there..."

She made a vague gesture between them.

"...something going on?"

Vivienne laughed.

"No."

"Absolutely not."

"Damian and I are friends."

"Nothing more."

She looked from Amelia...

To Claire.

Then to Eleanor.

The latter two exchanged a quiet glance.

Vivienne blinked.

"...You too?"

Claire smiled apologetically.

"I’m not saying Amelia is right."

"But..."

"I understand why she asked."

Vivienne frowned.

"You do?"

Claire nodded.

"If someone had asked me the same question..."

"I probably would’ve wondered too."

Vivienne looked at her in disbelief.

"...Why?"

Claire smiled gently.

"Because..."

"From where we’re sitting..."

"It’s difficult not to notice."

She began counting softly on her fingers.

"Mrs. Bennett’s proposal presentation."

"He echoed the point you’d raised."

Amelia immediately chimed in.

"And then lunch."

"He sat with us and insisted we call him Damian simply because we’re your friends."

She shook her head.

"Most people wouldn’t go that far."

Eleanor continued.

"When he thought you weren’t eating enough..."

"He bought you soup and salad."

"And then the two of you shared dessert."

Claire nodded.

"And then there are the rumors."

She smiled faintly.

"They’re exaggerated."

"But they’re based on things that actually happened."

"He walked you back to your club."

"You’ve been working together at the Foundation every Saturday."

"You spend a great deal of time together."

Eleanor finished quietly.

"And then there was the Founders’ Ball."

"The dance."

She smiled at Vivienne.

"The rumors were already circulating before that."

"I think the dance simply convinced everyone they might be true."

Silence settled over the table once more.

Amelia spread both hands.

"So..."

"When you suddenly tell us you’ve ended your engagement..."

"...can you really blame us for wondering whether the two things were connected?"

Vivienne looked from one face to another before letting out a helpless laugh.

Looking at it from their perspective...

She had to admit...

They weren’t being unreasonable.

They didn’t even know everything.

They hadn’t seen how naturally Damian looked after her.

Or how easily conversation flowed whenever they worked together.

Even so...

She still couldn’t bring herself to believe what they were implying.

"I think all of you have been listening to far too much gossip."

Claire laughed softly.

"Perhaps."

"But gossip usually starts somewhere."

She paused before adding,

"I don’t know what Lord Blackwood is thinking."

"But..."

"He certainly pays you a great deal of attention."

Vivienne fell silent.

For just a moment...

She found herself replaying the past month.

The Saturdays at the Foundation.

The long conversations that somehow became easier with each passing week.

The way Damian always slowed his pace to match hers whenever they walked across campus.

The quiet way he held open doors for her.

Or the protective way he instinctively rested a hand against the top of the car door whenever she stepped out, shielding her head without ever drawing attention to it.

The countless little gestures she had gradually stopped noticing because they had become so natural between them.

Looking at it now...

She could understand why her friends had noticed.

Every one of those moments had happened.

None of them were imagined.

She smiled to herself.

Damian was thoughtful.

Kind.

Attentive.

Perhaps more attentive than most people realized.

But...

Many of those moments could simply be explained by one thing.

She had been Anthony’s fiancée.

She was practically family.

That aside...

Whenever Damian caught her waiting outside the Polo Club...

Or noticed her looking for Anthony during university events...

He would simply smile and tease her about it.

He had never looked bothered.

Never acted jealous.

Never once tried to stop her.

If anything...

He had always treated her like a friend with an obvious crush on his cousin.

What kind of man would encourage the girl he liked to pursue someone else?

It didn’t make any sense.

She quietly shook her head.

Impossible.

Damian Blackwood was the novel’s second male lead.

Perhaps some things had already changed.

But surely...

Not that.

She looked back at her friends and smiled.

"I still don’t think that’s it."

Amelia lifted both hands in surrender.

"All right."

"I’ve said my piece."

Claire laughed.

"We’ll leave the subject alone."

"For now," Amelia added.

Vivienne rolled her eyes.

The four of them burst into laughter together.

The heaviness that had filled the room only moments earlier quietly melted away.

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