Chapter 281

Vivian Bennett felt a wave of irritation rise within her.

Liam Sullivan's low, lingering "Vivian" from last night seemed to echo in her ears again.

She pressed her hands tightly over her ears, but the voice still circled in her mind.

She dropped her hands listlessly and opened her eyes to the sunlight filling the room.

"Vivian Bennett," she whispered to herself, "what exactly do you want?"

At the same time, in another office, someone was asking the same question.

Liam Sullivan had been sitting at his desk early, gazing out the window with a dark expression.

He had maintained this posture all morning, his brow tightly furrowed.

His assistant entered to report his schedule, but immediately retreated quietly upon seeing the turbulent anger surrounding him.

The soft click of the closing door was unusually clear in the silence.

Liam withdrew his gaze from the window and wearily rubbed the space between his brows.

He sighed softly, murmuring the confusion in his heart aloud. "Vivian Bennett, what exactly do you want me to do?"

Vivian slept fitfully until noon, then forced herself up to visit her cousin.

When she arrived, her cousin's husband, Jason Harper, happened to be out.

Grace Harper had taken the day off work, still frightened by yesterday's events.

Seeing Vivian, she quickly grabbed her arm and pressed, "Why was your phone off? I even went to your place looking for you!"

Vivian was puzzled. "When did you come?"

"This morning. I knocked for a long time, but no one answered." Grace studied her. "You look terrible."

Vivian lowered her eyelashes. "I was too tired. I overslept."

"Tired?" Grace was taken aback. "Why would you be tired?"

Vivian was momentarily speechless.

How could she possibly voice those unspeakable, entangled nights?

Grace suddenly leaned in closer, pulling her arm mysteriously. "What happened after yesterday? Tell me quickly!"

Seeing her cousin's gossipy expression, Vivian knew she couldn't hide it.

She sighed helplessly. "I just had too much to drink. I found a hotel and slept there. I couldn't sleep well in a strange bed, so I came back this morning to catch up on sleep."

Grace let go of her hand and rolled her eyes. "You expect me to believe that? As if I don't know who you left with!"

Vivian really wanted to retort: Your emotional intelligence is on par with a single-celled organism!

She rubbed her temples, changing the subject. "Where did you go after yesterday?"

Grace immediately started complaining. "Don't even ask! I wanted to call the police, but a colleague said Boss Frank has underworld connections and I might face retaliation. Then I remembered your rumor with Zachary Hudson and went to Hudson Group to find him. The security guard said he didn't know where he lived! I was getting desperate when I got your text. I called back, but your phone was off! I had to go back to the golf course to ask around. I heard Liam Sullivan took you away, so I finally went home relieved."