Vivian asked Finnick to leave on purpose so that her mom would stop admonishing him. He listened and headed to the study, leaving the room to the two ladies.
Although Rachel stayed alone in that apartment, the study had everything one expected of it.
Scanning the room, Finnick noticed a stack of photo albums in the corner.
The one of top piqued his interest specifically.
When he opened it, he realized it contained pictures of Vivian when she was little.
Since he had nothing better to do, he flipped through them and felt Vivian looked adorable in the photos.
Suddenly, when he saw a particular picture, his expression drastically changed.
…
Meanwhile, Vivian reassured Rachel about how well Finnick had treated her, easing her concerns a little.
Once she was done, she went upstairs to the study and noticed Finnick’s strange expression.
“What’s wrong?”
Vivian was surprised to see Finnick looking through pictures of her younger days. However, she didn’t think too much of it.
Finnick took out a photo and asked, “Is this you?”
Vivian glanced at it and casually replied, “Yes.”
Suddenly, Finnick’s eyes glistened as he sprang up from his wheelchair and pulled Vivian into his embrace.
Vivian was stunned feeling how forcefully he was hugging her. “Finnick, what’s gotten into you?”
He didn’t respond as he continued to squeeze Vivian for a long while before releasing her. Lowering his gaze, he asked softly, “Vivian, do you know that I have been searching for you for ten years?”
Knitting her brows, Vivian was utterly confused. “Ten years? What are you talking about? Are you being mistaken?”
“Definitely not,” Finnick added. “Looking at this picture, I can recognize that it was you from all those years ago.”
When he saw that Vivian was still baffled, he reminded her softly, “Ten years ago in the outskirts of Sunshine City. Try and recall.”
Sitting on Finnick’s lap, Vivian tried hard to remember and looked at him in shock when she finally got it. “It was you! The boy then was you!”
Ten years ago, Vivian was staying at the Miller residence. Ashley had gone to summer camp while Harvey and Emma were at work.
Being alone at home, she couldn’t stop herself from wearing Ashley’s red dress and ran out to play.
After all, no one was bothered about her.
She didn’t dare head to the city, so she chose to visit the outskirts with which she was familiar. However, she didn’t expect to meet a youth covered in blood who now turned out to be Finnick.
Having never seen anything like that before, Vivian was utterly frightened. However, filled with a sense of justice, her petite body was suddenly bursting with boundless strength.
She carried him on her back all the way to the hospital.
It was during that time that Vivian tore Ashley’s dress.
Worried that Emma would notice she had stolen it, she quickly rushed home after dropping Finnick off at the hospital.
As the dress was covered in blood, she tried to wash it away by herself, hoping that it would go off.
However, she had accidentally torn it while doing so. After putting it back discreetly, she didn’t dare talk about it.
As time passed, she slowly forgot about the incident.
Only when Finnick brought it up that she finally remembered.
Pecking her gently on her lips, Finnick whispered in her ear. “I’m really happy that you were the one who saved me then. It seems fate has brought us together earlier than we thought.”
Vivian blushed as she was in awe of the mysterious beauty of fate.
When Finnick saw how embarrassed she looked, his heart softened.
What a relief.
The girl who saved me then is still as how I remembered her, kind and tenacious, instead of turning into a b*tch like Ashley.
The thought of Ashley caused Finnick’s expression to darken again.
When he had assumed Ashley to be his savior, he restrained himself against her on the account that he owed her his life. Hence, he let Vivian decide what to do with her.
But now that he knew the truth and Ashley didn’t save him, there was no need for him to hold back out of gratitude.
