After Divorce: Remarried to a Tycoon with Twin Babies-Chapter 181: Meeting Over Drinks, Vivian Gets Addicted to the Scent!
Vivian looked seriously at Summer and continued: "To be honest, I’ve been investigating him all along."
"But maybe someone is helping him cover it up, so I haven’t gotten what I want for so long."
"But you all are in the same circle."
"So I thought, maybe you could find some kind of lead and give me unexpected results."
"However, we still have to be careful and prioritize safety."
Summer thought of Annette, "Annette and I are friends."
"Maybe I could start with her!"
Although it felt a bit underhanded, if Caleb truly was the one who poisoned her father, then Annette, as his daughter, wouldn’t be entirely innocent either.
After the sisters agreed on their plan, they parted ways at the sanatorium.
Vivian headed to the Violet Orchid Pavilion.
The teacher mentioned Caleb had an unspeakable secret here, so Vivian had been wandering around the area for the past few days.
Either sitting on a bench to bask in the sun,
Or reading in the pavilion.
She made sure to get herself seen in places where anyone might notice her.
However, she did not encounter Caleb, but instead met some stay-at-home moms and nannies.
"How many months are you? With such a big belly, it must be six months, right?"
Vivian smiled gently and explained, "Almost five months."
Everyone was surprised at how large her belly was for five months.
"Is it twins?"
Vivian simply nodded with a smile, "Yes."
Her kindness and beauty quickly made her popular among them.
"Oh, then our neighborhood will have another pair of twins."
"Look over there, another set of twins, and they’re such adorable daughters. Aren’t they beautiful?"
Vivian focused her gaze, and indeed, they were beautiful.
With round faces, and eyes like big, bright grapes.
Vivian hoped her babies would also be daughters, wouldn’t that be wonderful?
She wondered if Julian preferred boys or girls...
Vivian couldn’t help but take another look at the two little girls.
Her expression slowly froze as she looked at the young woman playing with the twin daughters nearby.
Vivian asked the nearby mom as naturally as possible, "That’s quite the coincidence."
"I wonder what this mom’s last name is? I’d like to ask for her advice on raising twins. Would it be disturbing?"
The mom beside her was frank and straightforward, "Her? I advise you not to bother. Despite her young age, she’s quite aloof and doesn’t mingle with us."
"I only know her last name is... Qin."
Qin?
Vivian turned and sent a text to Catherine: "Catherine, have you contacted Poppy?"
"Is her last name Qin?"
Catherine replied quickly: "Haven’t reached her."
"It’s like she vanished from the Earth. None of her former companions know her whereabouts."
"But how did you know her last name is Qin?"
"I never told you, our orphanage headmistress’s last name is Qin, so we all took her last name."
Vivian secretly took a photo and sent it over: "Look at her, isn’t she Poppy?"
It took several minutes, but Catherine finally sent a text back: "It’s her! It must be! Vivian, where is this? I’m coming over now!"
Vivian: "In my neighborhood!"
When Catherine arrived, it was already dark.
The moms had naturally dispersed.
Vivian led Catherine to a particular building, "I only saw her go in there, but I’m not sure which floor."
"Catherine, if this person really is Poppy, she has twin daughters."
"And judging by their age... the kids are at least six years old."
Catherine was in disbelief, "Poppy is about the same age as me, only twenty-four now. Six years ago means she had them at eighteen?"
"What could have happened to her?"
Vivian glanced around and whispered, "This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go home first."
Back in her own home, Vivian poured Catherine a cup of hot water.
Catherine noticed there were no fresh flowers at Vivian’s door anymore.
And couldn’t help but ask: "Did you find out who was sending you flowers?"
Vivian: "I have a suspect in mind."
"But no concrete evidence yet."
Vivian had Patrick stake out to catch the person delivering the flowers.
Then traced it back to the flower shop but learned that the person did not order from any specific shop.
After several days, Patrick concluded that the flowers weren’t ordered from just one shop; they were delivered from various shops across all districts of Ardis.
Even flower shops in the suburbs had made deliveries.
Although Patrick managed to get the delivery person’s phone number from several shops, the number turned out to be a virtual one.
This gave Patrick a headache.
"Boss, it seems the person is intentionally hiding their identity and is well-prepared for counter-investigation."
Now it was Vivian who had a headache, wondering if she should ask Leo to investigate.
However, The Thorne Group was always swamped with work every day.
Unless absolutely necessary, Vivian wouldn’t speak up about this.
After sitting down, Vivian picked up the previous topic and asked Catherine, "Catherine, do you remember why Poppy left the orphanage at fourteen?"
Catherine nodded, "I remember, she was bullied at school then."
"But she and I weren’t in the same school."
"I went to an elite high school, while she just went to an ordinary one. So it was a while before I found out about it."
"At that time, the orphanage staff discovered she was being bullied and went to the school to demand an explanation."
"Later, she suddenly said she wanted to transfer to some private school, where she could continue from middle to high school."
"The orphanage director initially disagreed, but she went on a hunger strike. The director had no choice but to personally communicate with her sponsor, and given her strong will, they eventually let her go."
"But from then on, she never returned to the orphanage." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
"I was only on average terms with her, so I haven’t looked for her over the years either."
Her sponsor?
Isn’t that Caleb Crawford?
At that moment, something that had been elusive in her mind seemed to find a direction.
However, Vivian hadn’t grasped the most crucial piece yet.
So, there was still a sense of confusion in her heart.
But Vivian instinctively felt that her leaving the orphanage and her disappearance after growing up must be connected to Caleb Crawford!
Just then, Vivian’s phone rang.
It was Julian Thorne calling, and as soon as Vivian picked up, he asked, "Have you eaten?"
"I’m outside Violet Orchid Pavilion."
He’s here?
A hint of joy coursed through Vivian’s heart.
With Left and Right always following her, it wasn’t surprising that Julian knew her location.
What’s surprising is that he actually had time to come pick her up today.
Vivian glanced at the time and only then realized it was almost 8 PM.
Her stomach was indeed already grumbling from hunger.
She grabbed Catherine and said, "Let’s go, time for dinner."
As they stepped out of Violet Orchid Pavilion, a conspicuous Maserati was parked by the roadside.
Louie quickly got out of the car and opened the rear door.
After Vivian got in, Louie promptly opened the front passenger door, "Miss Sinclair, please have a seat here."
Catherine smirked, realizing she was the third wheel, and obediently got into the front seat.
Fortunately, Zack was in the car behind them, so Catherine didn’t feel too out of place once they reached the restaurant.
However, they were unaware.
Just as they left, a shadow emerged partly from behind the tree.
The shadow watched the departing convoy, a dark gleam momentarily flashing across the glasses.
"Hello, President Thorne."
"First time formally meeting, I’ve heard a lot about you."
"I’ve already heard from Vivian about your good news, congratulations to you both. But please, President Thorne, take good care of my sister from now on."
"In my heart, she’s the only family I have."
At the table, Catherine raised a champagne glass, boldly introducing herself and clarifying her distance from The Sinclair Family.
Julian Thorne lifted his glass and lightly clinked it with hers, "Pleasure to meet you, Eldest Miss Sinclair."
"If you encounter any trouble, feel free to come to me, Julian Thorne."
With those words from Julian, it was more reassuring than a mountain of gold.
Catherine downed her glass in one gulp.
Zack, watching from a distance, slightly frowned.
After Catherine heartily drank three more glasses, he quickly came over, covering her glass with his hand.
"Poppy, you can’t drink anymore."
"If you do, you’ll get drunk."
As it turned out, Catherine indeed couldn’t hold her liquor.
She was carried away by Zack.
Zack insisted on personally taking Catherine back to his mentor, and Vivian was caught by Julian Thorne and taken into their car.
Julian Thorne had also been very busy these days.
Leaving early and returning late, he was often still not back when Vivian went to bed.
By the time she woke up in the morning, he was already gone.
So technically, this was their first proper meeting in two days.
Of course, except for those hazy moments of cuddling during the night.
There was a faint scent of alcohol on Julian Thorne.
Vivian didn’t know why, but she really liked it.
So she snuggled against him, sniffing continuously like a little puppy.
Julian, holding her, laughed contentedly, "Had enough sniffing?"
Vivian replied, "Not yet. Don’t move."
"Julian, did you secretly spray on some perfume?"
"This scent is really nice."
Vivian thought to herself, even though she felt a bit weird, being attracted to a scent during the mid-pregnancy felt like a normal hormonal reaction, right?
Despite knowing she was being weird, she couldn’t help but want to keep sniffing.
Moreover, why did it seem like she could only smell this scent on Julian?
Julian, holding his gently fragrant wife, was delighted by her affectionate gestures, especially as Vivian repeatedly nuzzled near his neck.
He even distinctly felt her soft lips brush against his skin.
How could President Thorne resist?
With a subtle movement in his throat, as Vivian stared curiously at his Adam’s apple, Julian hoarsely suggested, "How about we wait until we’re snug in bed tonight, and I’ll let you smell me as much as you want?"
