The Stand-In Who Burned the Script novel Chapter 251

Chapter 251

A faint smile touched Vincent’s lips as he pulled out a chair. “Three years really is a long time.”

He sat down and looked up at the woman across from him, momentarily struck by the illusion that nothing had changed. She looked exactly the same as she always had.

“I ordered a few dishes based on the waiter’s recommendations. Take a look and see if there’s anything else you’d like to add.”

“Do you really think I came to see you just to eat?”

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Vivian pressed her lips together, unable to formulate a response.

Her emotions were a tangled mess.

Strictly speaking, ties with her mother’s side of the family had been severed a generation ago.

Back then, her mother had defied the family’s wishes to marry Dominic Fairchild. In a fit of rage, her grandfather publicly disowned her. Her mother was just as stubborn; she never went back home after that, to the point where most people didn’t even know she hailed from Bayport’s prestigious Vaughan family.

That was until Vivian was born.

Her uncle would occasionally check in on them, dropping subtle hints of care, unwilling to let the connection between the younger generation fade away entirely.

But…

The last thing her mother had ever told Vivian was to never become a burden to the Vaughan family.

Perhaps it was out of guilt, or perhaps there was another reason, but Vivian didn’t want to dig too deeply. After all, she hadn’t interacted much with the Vaughans anyway.

She had only met this cousin a handful of times while living abroad. They weren’t deeply intertwined, yet she had inexplicably grown comfortable around him. Still, whenever Vincent asked if she needed help, she never spoke of her own struggles.

Seeing her lowered gaze, Vincent didn’t press her to speak.

He unwrapped both of their utensil sets and rinsed them with hot tea.

“I know you have a knot in your heart, but your mother is gone now, and the Fairchilds…”

He paused.

Perhaps he didn’t know how to word it.

Vincent sighed. “I heard Dominic has started a new life. We can’t control what he does, naturally, but you still have a family. When Grandfather heard I was coming to Northside, he made me promise over and over to persuade you to come back. No child of the Vaughan family should have to suffer.”

“I’m not suffering.”

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Chapter 251

Vivian offered a small smile. “But I was planning on visiting Grandfather anyway. Once I finish up with this busy period… I’ll go and apologize to him on my mother’s behalf.”

“Vivian…”

“Vincent.”

Vivian kept her head bowed, but her tone was resolute. “You have your considerations, and I have my principles. The Vaughan family is my mother’s maiden home, yes, but if it was a place she refused to return to, I have no reason to go back either.”

Vincent frowned, a hint of displeasure crossing his features.

“Are you blaming Grandfather and my dad for not taking care of your mother?”

Vivian shook her head. “I never said that.”

But if they had truly cared, how could they not have known what her mother had gone through?

“Let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s just eat, Vincent.” The waiter had already filled the table with food, the aroma incredibly appetizing. “You should like the flavor of these dishes.”

She proactively served him some food, clearly wanting to steer the conversation away from the heavy topic.

Vincent hesitated, the words dying on his tongue as he finally swallowed them back.

When family reunited, it usually entailed chatting about funny memories and future plans.

But Vivian and Vincent were different from ordinary cousins.

Their lives had no real intersection, making their conversation feel more like a question-and-answer

session.

By the end of the meal, Vivian had given him a thorough rundown of her current situation.

“Hah.”

Vincent let out a scoff.

“Who do the Grangers think they are? What gives them the right to make you swallow your pride?”

Vivian ate her food impassively. That surname hadn’t held the power to ripple her emotions for a long time.

Vincent asked, “Do you need me to teach him a lesson?”

“I already handled it.”

“You call that little stunt a lesson?”

“Then what would you consider a lesson?”

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