Page 30 of Merry with a Tycoon

And she’s back.

CHAPTER TWELVE

PRESTON

The Shanghai skylineglitters beyond the tinted windows of the limousine as we return from yet another lavish business dinner. Vivian sits beside me, her perfume hanging heavy in the air between us. I loosen my tie, feeling suffocated by more than just the formal attire.

“That went well, don’t you think?” Vivian’s voice breaks through my thoughts. “Mr. Zhang seemed particularly impressed.”

I nod, forcing a smile. “Your presence certainly helped smooth things over. Thank you for coming, Vivian.”

She beams at me, and I’m struck by a pang of... something. Not regret, exactly, but a strange sense of disconnect. This woman beside me, once so familiar, now feels like a stranger wearing the face of someone I used to know.

As we arrive at our hotel, I escort Vivian to her suite, my mind already racing ahead to tomorrow’s meetings. But as we reach her door, she turns to me, her eyes shining with an emotion I’m not prepared for.

“Preston,” she says softly, her hand coming to rest on my chest. “This trip has been... enlightening. Don’t you think we make a good team?”

Before I can react, she leans in, her lips aiming for mine. I step back, gently but firmly pushing her hand away.

“Vivian, no. This isn’t... We’re not...”

She blinks, confusion and hurt flashing across her face. “But you’ve seemed so happy, Preston. In the meetings, at the dinners... I haven’t seen you smile like that in years. I thought... I thought it was because of us, because we were together again.”

Her words make me realize how easily our interactions could have been misinterpreted. I’ve been riding the high of successful negotiations, of deals falling into place. But Vivian saw what she wanted to see - a rekindling of our relationship.

“I’ve been happy because the project is going well,” I say gently. “The smiles, the laughter—that was business, not us. I thought you knew that.”

As her brows furrow, a sad understanding dawns in her eyes. “I see it now. When we’re alone, you’re different. Distant. I just didn’t want to see it before.”

“I’m sorry,” I offer, feeling genuinely remorseful for the unintentional hurt I’ve caused.

Vivian takes a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. “You know, I was ready to call Love Beach home. I thought that’s what you wanted, what would make you happy.”

Her words catch me off guard. “You don’t have to call a place home just to make someone else happy. That’s not how it works.”

“No?” she asks, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

I shake my head, choosing my words carefully. “Home isn’t just a place. It’s a feeling. It’s where you feel most yourself, most at peace. You can’t force that feeling, and you shouldn’t try to, not for anyone else’s sake.”

Vivian sighs. “I just thought... I thought it was the right thing to say. The thing that would bring us back together.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We were good together, weren’t we?” she says after a few moments of silence. “In business, in social circles. We made sense on paper. The perfect power couple.”

I nod slowly, remembering how effortlessly we used to navigate the high-stakes world of business and society together. In fact, we still do.

“But there was always something missing,” Vivian continues, a sad smile playing on her lips. “I was too caught up in the idea of us, in what we represented, to see it at the time. But now... now I realize that being a ‘power couple’ isn’t a guarantee of happiness or longevity.”

She pauses, and I can see the moment realization dawns in her eyes. “It’s her, isn’t it? That shop owner you kept looking for that day at the square. You were… panicked. The first time I ever saw you so… lost.”

Words fail me as she studies me. I feel exposed, as if Vivian has peered directly into my heart and laid bare feelings I’ve barely acknowledged to myself.

“I think you’ve had feelings for her for years. It’s why you always insisted on buying something from her shop. Those mosaic pieces, the crystals,” Vivian says softly. “Maybe you didn’t even realize it yourself.”

“I... It’s complicated,” I manage to say.

“Does she know?” Vivian asks gently.

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