The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

Percival had been silently grinning like a Cheshire cat on the side. He knew Vivienne was provoking Arabella for fun, but he was secretly enjoying it. Why? It felt like Vivienne was treating him as her rock, and that gave him a reason to keep going.

"You!" Arabella snapped. "You're shameless!"

"Humph!" Vivienne scoffed as she strutted up close and personal to Arabella. Her smirk instantly faded. "You know why I haven't done anything to you?"

Arabella glared at her, refusing to respond.

"I warned you to keep your hands off Dorian and Cordelia. If you dare, you'll face the consequences, and you'll be the one apologizing to me." Vivienne smirked again. "Do you think Beatrice would abandon the Hawthorn family for you?"

Arabella trembled. She was unable to answer. She knew Beatrice wouldn't bail on the Hawthorn family for her.

Vivienne shot her a dismissive look and then glanced at the others who had been insulting her. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Lysander, there are students openly insulting a teacher. We're at the school entrance. Could you please handle this?"

Upon hearing this, the students turned pale.

"How shameless! Why involve the principal in kids' stuff?"

Vivienne chuckled as she squinted her eyes with mirth. She patted the complaining student's shoulder. "Kid, you're a child; I'm a teacher. You might not know me, but Class Eighteen does. I'm a big fan of tattling."

Class Eighteen students nodded in agreement.

The other students fell silent.

Soon, Lysander arrived with the Dean of Students.

Lysander scanned the students, coldly saying, "Mr. Samuel, take down their names, announce it to the whole school, and put it on record. Any student found insulting teachers again will be dealt with strictly." With that, Lysander left with a stern face.

The students were left dumbfounded, unable to recover from the shock.

Noticing that no one was defending her, Arabella turned to Coral.

Usually, Coral would be the first one to stand up for Arabella, but this time she just stood there quietly.

Coral glanced at Arabella as she contemplated the situation.

After a severe scolding from her parents last night, she barely slept. What her mom said constantly played in her mind.

This morning, her mom looked at her tired face and decided to teach her how some people acted in the real world. "You want to know if Arabella is truly your friend or if she is just using you, right? Simply tell her that our family is in a tough spot and ask her if she's willing to plead with Vivienne for us because it was her misleading you that made you target Vivienne."

Coral hesitated for a while and finally told Arabella about it at lunch.

Arabella just brushed it off, which made Coral's heart sink. Maybe Arabella wasn't really her friend but was indeed just using her.

After getting no reaction from Coral, Arabella became anxious but didn't dare ask Coral for help directly.

Just then, a deep voice came from the crowd. "Coral, what are you doing here?"

Coral was startled and saw Brandon Lockwood and Mrs. Lockwood standing outside the crowd, looking displeased.

She panicked and took a step back, distancing herself from Arabella.

The Lockwoods had also arrived with Jaylan Lockwood and Gabriel Lockwood.

After seeing Vivienne and Percival together, Brandon and Mrs. Lockwood quickly greeted them. "Ms. Vivienne, Mr. Ellington."

Vivienne raised an eyebrow but didn't respond.

Percival stayed silent and watched the Lockwoods with a cold gaze.

The Lockwoods, who had originally come to apologize to Vivienne, immediately pulled Coral from the crowd and pushed her in front of Vivienne. "Ms. Vivienne, our daughter's behavior was due to our lack of discipline. We're making her apologize to you now and promise to never offend you again."

The students started whispering among themselves.

The Lockwoods had planned to bring Coral to Tranquil Estates to apologize to Vivienne, but she wasn't home. After hearing the news that the Hawthorn Group's properties had been suppressed, they rushed to the school, fearing that Coral would stick up for Arabella again.

They didn't expect to find Coral there.

Brandon looked grim. His daughter was disobedient. She ignored both his gentle advice and his stern warnings.

He didn't understand why Arabella, a cunning girl, was worth being friends with.

Vivienne stood there quietly without responding and just looked at the Lockwoods.

If they wanted to apologize, they should do it properly. She didn't need to give them a chance to speak.

Percival stood right by Vivienne's side. It looked like he was backing her up or something. When he looked at the Lockwoods, all his softness disappeared. It was replaced by a kind of authority that only those who held high positions could have.

Brandon sneakily glanced at Percival. He had seen his fair share of big shots, but few had the same kind of authority as Percival.

He turned his head and coldly said to Coral, "You better apologize to Ms. Vivienne right now."

"Ms. Vivienne, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have accused you of stealing my mom's bracelet and tricking my brother into taking you to the police station. I shouldn't have questioned your education and got my uncle to give you trouble at school. I promise not to do it again."

Coral bit her lip as a look of reluctance appeared on her face. She didn't want to back down, but with her parents around, she didn't really have a choice.

She might be a bit stuck-up, but she knew that if she didn't behave, her parents would kick her out.

And she knew they'd totally do it.

"Ms. Vivienne, I totally dropped the ball last time. I didn't see things clearly." Gabriel was way more straightforward than Coral. With an embarrassed look on his face, he profusely apologized. "I messed up big time. I was clueless. I beg for your forgiveness. Please help me return to..."

Before he could finish, Mrs. Lockwood gave him a swift kick, warning him to shut up and stopping him from saying another word about getting his old job back.

Brandon and Mrs. Lockwood were no dummies. They knew apologies weren't just talk. If you screwed up, you had to take your lumps.

So, they were here to apologize, for real. They weren't looking for sympathy or for Vivienne and Percival to help them recover their losses.

Honestly, it would be great if they could just get the Ellington family off the Lockwood family's back and keep what they had left. Any other expectations would be too much.

"Ms. Vivienne, I screwed up last time when I arrested you. I took you to the station without a proper investigation. I formally apologize to you." Jaylan stepped forward and joined the apology crew.