Chapter 2119 Falling Out
- After months of patient pursuit, he finally won Vivienne's shy smile and her hand. Even then, he could not tell whether he loved her face because it mirrored Hannah's, or because he had always been partial to that luminous type. He wrestled with the question in private. His friends, less delicate, delivered their verdict at every gathering—You're with her because she looks like the ex. He argued back—said he loved Vivienne's quick wit, her laugh that shook the room, the way she believed mornings were promises. They nodded, smirking, unconvinced. At last, he warned them never to utter Hannah's name near Vivienne again.
- His friends did keep their promise—at least literally. Instead of Hannah, they told Vivienne he was crazy for girls with double-lidded eyes. Vivienne, believing them, booked cosmetic surgery without telling him.
- The operation went wrong. Vivienne's body, allergic to the medication, ballooned with angry swelling that turned her delicate lids into bruised moons. Terrified, he parked himself beside her sickbed, wiping her fevered cheeks with trembling hands.