Chapter 225: Pool party XV

Chapter 225: Chapter 225: Pool party XV

The four of them settled around a square table.

Damian took the seat beside Vivienne.

Across from Vivienne sat Anthony, and beside him, Evelyn.

The silence that followed was immediate and awkward.

No one spoke at first.

It wasn’t tense exactly—just uncertain, as though each of them was quietly deciding what this moment was supposed to be.

Evelyn folded her hands neatly in her lap.

Anthony sat with his usual composure, though his gaze lingered somewhere between the table and the space just beyond it.

Damian glanced once at Vivienne, then away again.

Vivienne, for her part, simply leaned back in her chair as if the silence didn’t concern her at all.

The quiet stretched a little longer.

Vivienne exhaled softly.

She was more tired than she had expected.

Three games had taken their toll, and now that she was finally sitting down, she could feel the pleasant heaviness settling into her arms and legs.

She glanced toward the buffet.

Then at Damian.

"Damian."

He turned immediately.

"Hm?"

Vivienne tilted her head slightly, her expression softening in a way that made her look almost unfairly gentle.

"I’m too tired to get food."

A pause.

Damian looked at her.

"...Too tired to walk ten steps?"

"Yes."

She nodded as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world.

Then, a little more softly—

"I don’t want to."

There was no insistence in her tone.

Just a quiet, almost spoiled honesty.

Damian stared at her for a moment.

Then exhaled through his nose, the corner of his mouth lifting despite himself.

She was... cute.

Too cute, actually.

The kind of cute that made it hard to say no even when he knew he probably should.

But this wasn’t the moment for that thought.

Not with Anthony sitting across from them.

"You just spent half an hour throwing people into a pool."

Vivienne brightened slightly, as if that supported her case.

"Exactly."

"I’ve used all my strength."

She said it so earnestly that it almost sounded true.

Damian shook his head, but there was no real resistance in it.

"You’re unbelievable."

Vivienne leaned forward a little, resting her chin near her hand, looking up at him.

"Please?"

The word was soft.

Not demanding.

Just... expectant.

He glanced briefly across the table.

Anthony was speaking quietly with Evelyn.

But his attention wasn’t fully there.

It flickered.

Just slightly.

Back toward them.

Damian noticed.

He hesitated for half a second longer than he normally would have.

Then sighed.

"What do you want?"

Vivienne’s expression brightened immediately, as if she had been waiting for exactly that answer.

"You always decide what I should eat."

Damian blinked.

She continued, voice light and trusting.

"So you just choose what you think is right."

It was true.

He had done it before without thinking.

Vegetables first.

Something warm.

Something balanced before anything sweet.

He had seen enough of her eating habits to know.

So instead of arguing, he just looked at her for a moment longer.

Then gave in.

"Fine."

Vivienne smiled—small, pleased, almost satisfied in a quiet way.

"Thank you."

Damian stood.

"I’ll be back."

As he walked toward the buffet, Vivienne watched him go.

Not in a calculating way.

Just comfortably.

Like it was natural.

Then, almost absentmindedly, her gaze drifted across the table.

Anthony was still there.

Still composed.

Still listening to Evelyn.

But his attention—just like before—was not entirely anchored.

It kept returning.

To Damian.

To her.

Vivienne didn’t react outwardly.

She only smiled faintly to herself.

Not because she was trying to provoke anything.

But because something about it felt... satisfying.

She wasn’t waiting anymore.

She wasn’t sitting in the same place she had been before.

And she could be taken care of by someone else.

Easily.

Naturally.

Without hesitation.

That was all.

Damian returned a few minutes later with a plate.

"Vegetables first."

Vivienne looked down.

Soup, vegetables, a small portion of meat, fruit.

The same pattern.

She smiled faintly.

"You really do always choose the same things."

"You told me to choose."

"I did."

She picked up her spoon.

Then glanced across the table again.

Anthony was still watching.

Vivienne lowered her gaze to her food, hiding the small smile forming on her lips.

Maybe she was enjoying this a little too much.

--

For a few minutes, Vivienne actually ate.

The conversation around the table remained easy.

Evelyn asked Damian something about the game.

Anthony answered a question from her.

Vivienne listened only half-heartedly.

She was still aware of Anthony across from her.

She didn’t need to look to know.

Eventually, she glanced toward Damian.

His hair was still slightly damp from the pool.

A few strands had fallen across his forehead.

Vivienne smiled.

"Damian."

He looked at her.

"What?"

"Your hair is still wet."

He reached up and touched it.

"I’ll dry it later."

Vivienne held out her hand.

"Give me the towel."

Damian frowned slightly.

"My towel?"

"Yes."

Before he could answer, Vivienne leaned over, caught the towel hanging around his neck, and pulled it free.

"Vivienne—"

She stood.

Then moved behind his chair.

Damian went still.

She began gently rubbing the towel through his hair.

"There."

She smiled.

"You’re going to catch a cold."

Damian stared ahead.

He could feel the eyes of the people around them.

Especially Anthony’s.

His shoulders stiffened.

"Vivienne."

"Hm?"

"What are you doing?"

"Drying your hair."

"I can do it myself."

"I know."

She continued anyway.

Damian closed his eyes briefly.

He didn’t know what had gotten into her.

This was not unusual behavior from Vivienne in isolation.

She could be affectionate.

Playful.

Careless with boundaries when she was comfortable.

But there was something different about it today.

He could feel it.

Especially with Anthony sitting across the table.

Vivienne finished and dropped the towel over his shoulder.

"There."

She returned to her seat.

"Much better."

Damian looked at her.

She smiled as though nothing unusual had happened.

Then she glanced across the table.

Anthony’s expression was difficult to read.

Vivienne felt a small, ridiculous thrill.

There.

She had wanted that.

Not jealousy.

Not really.

She simply wanted him to see.

She wasn’t waiting anymore.

She wasn’t some abandoned fiancée sitting quietly after her engagement ended.

She had someone beside her.

Someone who cared whether she was cold.

Someone who knew what she liked to eat.

Someone who would stand in a pool for half an hour just to carry her around.

Someone who looked at her as though she mattered.

And she liked that.

Perhaps more than she should.

Across the table, Evelyn noticed the exchange too.

She had expected Vivienne to behave confidently.

She hadn’t expected this.

The familiarity between Vivienne and Damian was becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss.

Evelyn glanced at Anthony.

His expression remained controlled.

But she had spent enough time around him to notice the small changes.

The set of his jaw.

The stillness in his posture.

The way his eyes lingered.

Evelyn’s chest tightened.

She didn’t know whether she should feel pleased or uncomfortable.

She had wanted Anthony’s attention.

Now she had it.

But it wasn’t directed at her.

Not really.

Vivienne leaned back in her chair.

Then sighed dramatically.

"My arms are tired."

Damian looked at her.

"You’ve been sitting down."

"I know."

She looked at him with exaggerated helplessness.

"But they’re still tired."

He stared at her.

Vivienne smiled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He looked away.

But something inside him had begun to sink.

--

Tbc