Finnick crouched down in front of Vivian and gently queried, “What happened, Vivian? You seem unhappy.”
His questions sent a pang of sorrow into her heart, and she averted her eyes after a glance at him. Forcing a smile onto her face, she mumbled, “Nothing. How can I not be happy that the surgery went smoothly? I’m happy.”
Finnick would not be easily fooled. He had seen the downcast look in her eyes, and he wanted to know what had happened.
Straightening her and making her look at him, Finnick uttered, “Vivian, you have to tell me if there’s anything on your mind. Trust me. No matter how difficult it is, I’ll do my best to solve it for you.”
The solemn look Finnick had in his eyes touched Vivian, but it also made her feel helpless. To Rachel, she only had one daughter—Evelyn. Vivian, the adopted daughter, was no one to her. How am I supposed to tell him about this? What can he do about it?
“I’m really fine,” Vivian reassured him. “Thank you for today. Without you, the surgery would not have gone as smoothly as it did.”
Finnick panicked when he realized Vivian still refused to be honest with him. He thought they were much closer after today, but it seemed like he was still not someone she could fully trust.
“Vivian, we—” Right as Finnick was about to continue, Rachel began mumbling again.
“Evelyn, Evelyn… Evelyn, c-come and see me. Evelyn…”
Turning to look at Rachel before spotting the desolation on her face, Finnick finally realized what she was upset about.
He reached out to hold her hands as he whispered, “Vivian, don’t overthink it. Evelyn’s her biological daughter, so she’ll think about her a little more. Don’t take it to heart.”
Hearing him, tears brimmed in Vivian’s eyes again. That’s right. Evelyn’s her biological daughter. It’s normal for a mother to think about her daughter. To Rachel, I’m still the adopted one. Naturally, I’m not as important to her as Evelyn. Why am I sad about that?
When he saw Vivian’s reaction, he realized he had said the wrong words to her. For a brief moment, he wished he could punch himself. Why did I have to say that? I’m only making her even more upset.
He pulled her into his arms and consoled, “It’s all right, Vivian. It’s all right. You still have me. No matter what happens, you’re always the most important person to me. I’ll always be by your side; I’ll never let you be alone.”
Finnick had whispered plenty of sweet words to her while he was courting her, but none had moved her as much as the words he was saying now. Perhaps, it was because this was the moment she needed these words most.
As she lay in his arms, tears streamed down her cheeks. Yet, as her tears escaped her eyes, so did the sorrow from her chest. Only when she was less tensed then did she realize how suggestive their position was.
Breaking free from Finnick’s arms, Vivian blushed. “It’s been a few days since we’ve come here. You must have many things to attend to. I’m fine here alone. You should go ahead with your work.”
However, there was no way Finnick would leave her here in the hospital alone. “We’ll talk about the company matters later. I’m worried to leave you here alone, so I’ll stay with you.”
“It’s fine.” His words made her face heat up even more. “It’s not like you can do anything here anyway. I can take care of her by myself. Don’t worry.”
“But—”
“Hush. I really can do this by myself. You should get going.”
Vivian sounded adamant, and when he thought about Noah’s urgent tone, he relented. “All right. I’ll go back to the office first. If anything happens, you have to call me right away. I’ll come to you immediately.”
