The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

Cecilia's eyes widened as she stared at the snuffbox-shaped perfume bottle that was painted in vibrant

colors in sheer astonishment.

She had only seen Oriental Night Fragrance, an antique perfume, in old photographs and videos.

She couldn't help but lean closer to the massive glass display case filled with perfume bottles.

"Oh, that one is only half full." Vivienne casually mentioned.

"Even half a bottle is rare!" Cecilia exclaimed, almost squeaking like a prairie dog. She had thought that

the Oriental Night Fragrance, a perfume from a century ago, was extinct.

As a collector of antique perfume and perfume bottles, she was incredibly excited to see a bottle of

Oriental Night Fragrance.

She then spotted a glass bottle with a heart-shaped cap on the side, immediately regaining her

composure.

"Butterfly Dream Scent, although it's been discontinued, there's still a fair amount on the market. It's

quite easy to acquire if you have the money." She thought to herself.

Noticing that her gaze was fixed on the Butterfly Dream Scent, Vivienne added, "This one is a first

edition."

"What?!" Cecilia's eyes widened again. "This is a 1919 first edition of Butterfly Dream Scent?"

Many perfumes on the market had been around for decades, even centuries sometimes, but their

scents had often been reformulated over time and were no longer as good as the original.

This was mostly due to market demands or because many natural fragrances had become extinct or

banned, resulting in the use of synthetic substitutes.

Therefore, a first-edition perfume was extremely rare.

Then, her eyes landed on a few uniquely designed perfume bottles, causing her pupils to dilate.

"Is this... an Apple Tree Vessel?" She pointed at a translucent bottle with layered curves and a cap

resembling a tree crown as her voice trembled.

"Yep." Vivienne glanced at it and nodded. "It's John's creation, the Apple Tree Vessel. The ones next to

it are also his work."

"How do you have such rare antique perfumes and perfume bottles?"

Cecilia felt so excited that she was about to pass out. She took a deep breath and looked at Vivienne

suspiciously. "These aren't fakes, are they?"

"Some of these are from my own collection, and some were left to me by my mother." Vivienne replied

calmly, "Of course they are real. I only brought a few with me."

She liked to gaze at the antique perfumes and perfume bottles in the cabinet while creating new

scents, imagining their stories for inspiration.

"Only a few?" Cecilia took another deep breath and grabbed Vivienne's hand, her eyes sparkling as

she asked, "How many more do you have? Can I see them?"

She knew Vivienne's mother, Evelyn, was a talented perfumer.

The Hawthorn Group was in a financial crisis back then, and it was the eight perfumes created by

Evelyn that saved the company.

Cecilia had bought and loved every one of those eight perfumes.

Because of this, she believed that a woman who could create such fantastic perfumes wouldn't have

fakes in her collection.

"When it's convenient." Vivienne was a bit taken aback by Cecilia's sudden enthusiasm.

"Anytime is convenient for me!" Cecilia said excitedly.

Vivienne fell silent.

She was talking about herself.

...

Downstairs in the living room.

Leopold Sterling had been squatting next to the stairs, craning his neck to look upstairs.

"What are you doing, Mr. Sterling?" Thomas asked as he passed by.

"I'm just wondering why they haven't started arguing yet. They've been in there for a while." Leopold

said, looking puzzled.

"Do you want Mrs. Ellington and Ms. Hawthorn to argue?" Thomas frowned, not understanding

Leopold's peculiar taste.

"It would be more interesting. Better yet, if they started fighting." Leopold loved to watch drama unfold.

"I'm curious to see what Mr. Ellington would do if things got out of hand between Cecilia and Vivienne."

Before he could finish his sentence, the door to Vivienne's perfume studio creaked open. Cecilia

walked out with a satisfied expression on her face, clutching the Apple Tree Vessel bottle she had just

persuaded Vivienne to give her.

Under Leopold's incredulous gaze, she walked out with a spring in her step. It wasn't until she stepped

into the elevator that she came back to her senses.

Wait…

Why did she go to see Vivienne in the first place?

"Mr. Ellington, did Vivienne put a spell on your mother or something?" Leopold couldn't believe he had

waited so long for nothing to happen.

And from the looks of it, Vivienne clearly won over Cecilia.

Good Lord! The Cecilia he knew was fearless in front of everyone, except Richard, of course.

Whenever she got stubborn and made a fuss, even Percival would get a headache.

Now, she went in looking dissatisfied and came out looking content?

Unless Cecilia was under a spell, he would never believe it.

Percival, still tapping away on his laptop on the sofa, didn't even look up when he heard Leopold. But

he was indeed relieved. He had thought his mother was going to leave Vivienne's room in tears.

Just then, Vivienne felt a bit thirsty. She came out of the perfume studio, grabbed a bottle of mineral

water from the kitchen fridge, and started heading upstairs while drinking.

Leopold immediately stopped her. With his curiosity peaking, he asked, "Vivienne, how did you manage

to win over Percival's mother?"

Percival and Thomas were lounging on the couch and couldn't help but pause in their actions when

they heard the question.

Vivienne's hand, which was holding a glass of water, stilled for a moment as she thought back. She

hadn't really done anything in particular, yet Cecilia had inexplicably warmed up to her.

So, she summed it up in four words. "Personal charm, I guess."

The men were dumbfounded.

After watching Vivienne ascend the stairs, Leopold couldn't help but shake his head, turning to Percival

to comment, "Your little fiancée's got quite the ego. She really is a match for you."

"Ever heard of 'like husband, like wife'?" Percival chuckled lightly, returning his attention to his laptop.

Leopold couldn't help but roll his eyes yet again.

It was a good thing that Vivienne had managed to win over Cecilia so easily, but what Percival hadn't

expected was that since that day, Cecilia had began visiting their residence daily.

Each time, she didn't look for him but headed straight towards Vivienne's perfume studio. One day

she'd take an antique perfume, the next, an antique perfume bottle, and the day after, a sample of a

new scent Vivienne had just concocted.

However, Vivienne only allowed Cecilia to take items from her own collection. She wouldn't part with

the items that belonged to her mother.

Of course, Cecilia didn't come empty-handed either. Each time she came, she'd stuff various pieces of

jewelry into Vivienne's hands like they were candy.

Percival began to wonder if Vivienne could possibly be his long-lost sister because Cecilia kept Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

interrupting their daily routine. Percival found his alone time with Vivienne dwindling, and he was

seriously considering finding a way to send his mother back to Rivenwood.