The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

He didn't mean for it to happen. He was innocent!

The girl he was hopelessly enamored with somehow ended up in his lap, bouncing along with the

motion of the car. Each time she worked the clutch or pressed the accelerator, their bodies would shift

together, sending sparks through his nerves.

He was just a regular guy.

"Move over and buckle up." Vivienne said as her cheeks flushed a deep red.

Percival managed to extricate himself from the awkward position, a maneuver that inevitably led to

some unintentional contact that left both of them blushing.

Safely in the passenger seat, Percival fastened his own seat belt after helping Vivienne with hers.

Vivienne had already floored the gas pedal, sending the car careening forward. She positioned the

vehicle across the road, blocking the path of two oncoming semi-trucks.

The two semis were facing each other, leaving only a narrow gap between them.

"Hold on!" She commanded in a cold voice.

Percival clung to the handle above his door with his uninjured hand. Their car was speeding towards

the semi-trucks.

At the last possible moment, Vivienne swerved. The right tires lifted off the ground, and the car tilted

onto its side.

Percival shot Vivienne a surprised look. Her driving reminded him of a street racer he once knew.

This man was known as Thor, notorious for driving like wild wind, unruly, and untamed. He was a

legend in the racing world.

His record on the winding mountain roads of Seaside City had remained unbeaten to this day.

While Percival was still processing this revelation, Vivienne had already maneuvered the car through

the narrow gap between the two semi-trucks.

The four cars behind them were blocked by the trucks they had arranged as a roadblock, essentially

shooting themselves in the foot.

Once the car was safely back on all four wheels, Percival noticed a flicker of something unidentifiable in

Vivienne's eyes.

He had lost again.

His Vivienne could always surprise him; her strength was beyond his comprehension.

By the time the semis managed to move out of the way, Vivienne and Percival were already out of

sight.

On the way back to Bay Estates, Leopold called. "Percival, what’s the situation?"

"We lost them." Percival responded, his face pale from blood loss. "Did you catch anyone?"

"We were too late." Leopold replied bitterly, "They had already left by the time we got there. But they

left one of the semis behind. We might get something from it."

"Alright, they fired shots." Percival said quietly, "We should have the car towed and check where the

bullets came from."

"They shot at you?" Leopold immediately became anxious. "Are you both okay?"

"I took a bullet to the left arm." Percival replied before hanging up and leaning back against the seat.

"What's wrong?" Vivienne asked, noticing his face was growing paler. It was even slightly blue. Given

the amount of blood he had lost, this didn't make sense.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the blood seeping from Percival's wound was a dark purple

color. This had been masked by his black shirt earlier.

"The bullet was likely poisoned." Percival murmured with his eyes still closed.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?!" Vivienne quickly gave him a life-saving pill and then sped up the car.

"I didn't want you to be distracted." Percival sighed; his main concern had been Vivienne's safety,

especially since their pursuers were armed.

"What happened to the life-saving pills I gave you?" Vivienne asked, her brows furrowed.

"I gave them to people who needed them more.” Percival replied with a faint smile.

His team members often faced life-threatening risks on their missions. Considering his own survival

skills, he had given all the life-saving pills Vivienne had given him to Leopold to distribute among his

team, keeping none for himself.

Vivienne didn’t say anything and just sped back to Bay Estates.

Given that Percival had sustained a gunshot wound, they couldn’t go to the hospital. It would raise too

many questions.

Once they had stealthily parked the now unrecognizable car in the underground parking lot, Vivienne

used a car cover to hide the bullet holes. Then she helped Percival into the elevator, and they

ascended to the penthouse.

Back in the apartment, Vivienne had Percival remove his shirt to reveal his muscular upper body. She

inspected his wound on the couch and found that half of his arm had turned a ghastly purple.

Wolf venom!

Vivienne quickly retrieved an antidote for Percival to ingest.

If they had waited any longer, his whole arm would have decayed and needed to be amputated.

After taking the antidote, Percival's complexion improved slightly.

Vivienne brought out her medical kit, preparing to remove the bullet. She checked the medical supplies

she had brought. "I don't have any anesthetics. This is going to hurt."

"Okay." Percival nodded.

Vivienne didn't waste any more time. She disinfected the wound and then used a small surgical knife to

cut through the muscle of Percival's left arm. Dark purple blood gushed out.

She quickly inserted a few silver needles to stop the bleeding.

Percival clenched his jaw, not making a sound. But the fine beads of sweat on his forehead betrayed This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

the amount of pain he was in.

Vivienne gave him a look, then used a pair of tweezers to remove the bullet and place it on a piece of

gauze on the table.

Once the venomous blood had been drained, Percival's left arm gradually returned to its normal color.

Vivienne checked the wound again and said, "Fortunately, the bullet didn't hit any arteries or bone. But

the venom is problematic. The medicine I have can't completely detoxify you. We need two more herbs.

Star Grass and Seven-Poison Flower. But don't worry; as long as I'm here, you'll be fine."

As she spoke, she disinfected and bandaged his wound once more.

Once everything was taken care of, Percival slumped onto the couch, his muscles finally relaxing after

the intense pain.

Just then, the apartment door was flung open as Leopold rushed in with a doctor. He saw Vivienne

packing up her medical tools and Percival with his bandaged left arm. Slapping his forehead, he said,

“Look at me, all flustered. How could I forget your fiancée is more skilled than any other doctor?”

“The bullet.” Vivienne handed the extracted bullet to Leopold, warning, “It's poisoned.”

“Damn! Who are these people to be so ruthless?” Leopold gingerly took the bullet that was stained with

Percival’s blood. Then he winked at Percival. “Your fiancée is not ordinary, huh? Bullet and poison, yet

her face doesn’t even change color.”

Percival always knew Vivienne was extraordinary from the first time they met.

“Stop talking nonsense and get to work.” He said weakly as he tossed the car keys to Leopold.

“Roger that!” After catching the keys, Leopold quickly left with the doctor.

When the apartment was quiet again, Percival looked at Vivienne's beautiful profile under the lamplight

and said weakly, “Vivienne, it hurts.”

Vivienne paused her cleaning. “There's nothing I can do about the pain. Want me to give you a shot for

it?”

“Come here; let me hold you. It'll hurt less.” Percival whispered.