Three Years Forgotten, Why Go Crazy When I Say Goodbye? novel Chapter 289

After a long, suffocating silence, Julian finally spoke again.

"A specific message on my phone was altered. I want to know if you were the one who did it."

He was even more direct this time.

Vivienne kept her head bowed, refusing to meet his eyes. "How could I? I know my boundaries. I never look through your private things, let alone reply to messages for you."

She shot a glance at Toby, doubling down on her scapegoat. "It must have been Toby. He probably tapped something by accident while he was playing his game. Don't worry, I'll be more careful next time. I won't let him play with your phone again."

Julian didn't say he believed her, nor did he call her a liar. He just stared at them for another agonizing moment before his voice flattened into total indifference. "Keep playing. I'm going to my room."

The moment Julian was out of sight, the tension snapped, and Vivienne sagged with relief. She wiped a layer of cold sweat from her forehead. Having completely lost the energy to keep up the charade, she tossed the puzzle piece onto the floor and retreated to her seat on the couch.

She knew Julian was highly suspicious of her. But taking that massive risk to reply to the lawyer had been an act of desperation. She simply couldn't endure watching Julian and Willow's endless, messy entanglement anymore. She needed them divorced immediately so she could finally secure her position.

Toby, oblivious to the high-stakes manipulation, only knew that his mother had promised to play with him and had immediately abandoned him again. He whined, "Mommy, why did you stop playing with me?"

"What's there to play?" Vivienne's sweet, patient facade shattered, replaced by a cold, vicious glare. "All you do is play! You're completely useless. What's the point of even raising you?"

"Why?" Toby asked, bewildered.

"Don't ask questions. Kids don't need to know everything. All you need to do is promise me. If you do, Mommy will always play puzzles with you and always stay by your side. But if you don't promise, Mommy won't be able to stay with you anymore. I'll have to give you away to the wicked witch, Willow. Aren't you scared of her?"

Every single thing Toby knew about the world, he had learned from Vivienne. In his mind, Willow was a terrifying monster. He immediately burst into terrified tears. "Mommy, I won't say anything! Please don't give me to her! I'm scared!"

Vivienne finally smiled, deeply satisfied. "Good boy. As long as you listen to Mommy, I'll never give you to her."