The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne) novel Chapter 24

Percival whipped his head around, and his gaze landed on the little girl beside Eartha. His fingers clenched around the edge of his wheelchair, and to his surprise, he found himself standing up. His eyes fixated on her, his throat felt tight, and it took him a moment before he stuttered, "Isolde?" He was usually in control of his emotions, but right now, he could barely get his words out.

Isolde walked over to Percival, smiling sweetly at him. "Percival, it's me. I'm Isolde."

Leopold and Thomas' eyes bulged out of their heads, disbelief written all over their faces as they looked at Isolde. The air seemed to tighten in an instant. After a while, Leopold finally snapped back to reality. He gave Isolde a once-over, barely containing his excitement. "Are you really Isolde? You're not pulling our leg, are you?"

Isolde laughed at his shocked expression. "Leopold, it's really me. I didn't trick you guys! I'm all better now, and even prettier. Are you happy for me?"

Leopold was at a loss for words for a moment.

Happy! Of course, he was happy for Isolde. How much effort had they put into treating Isolde's illness over the years?

Percival even blamed himself every day. But now, Isolde was suddenly all better. How could he not be overjoyed? How could he not be excited? He was so excited that he couldn't even speak.

Percival crouched down, pulling Isolde into his arms, and gently stroking her head, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. After a while, he sat back down in his wheelchair, his gaze shifting to Eartha. “What’s the story here?”

Eartha knew she couldn’t keep it from Percival any longer. “Miss Hawthorn was the one who cured Miss Isolde.”

“Miss Hawthorn?” Leopold asked, confused. “Arabella?”

Eartha didn’t know Vivienne’s real name. Hearing Leopold say it, she could only explain. “When Miss Hawthorn saved Miss Isolde at the mall entrance, she came to visit her once. She said she could cure Miss Isolde, but we had to keep it a secret from everyone, including her family.”

Eartha lowered her head, speaking softly. “Miss Isolde trusted Miss Hawthorn. She begged me to keep it a secret. I also wanted Miss Isolde to get better, so I helped Miss Hawthorn keep it from you. Every morning, after you left the hospital, Miss Isolde would text Miss Hawthorn, and she would come to treat her.”

After finishing, Eartha quickly added, “Sir, I was wrong to keep this from you. Please don’t fire me. I’ve cared for Miss Isolde like my own child these past few years. I”…"

Eartha started to cry, afraid that Percival would be angry and fire her. Others might not have understood Percival, but she did. In the Ellington family, Percival was the decision maker. People thought he was useless because of his disability, but he wasn't. No one knew that the Ellington family's current status in Rivenwood was actually supported by Percival in the shadows. Only Richard and Eartha knew about this.

Percival's gaze drilled into her face. He paused for a moment before slowly saying, "Eartha, you were handpicked by me. You should know what you should and shouldn't do!"

This time they were lucky, that girl was just trying to cure Isolde. If it were someone with ulterior motives, he didn't dare to imagine the consequences.

Eartha quivered, quickly apologizing. "I'm sorry."

Seeing his mood shift, Isolde grabbed Percival's hand, her voice soft. "Percival, don't blame Eartha. I was the one who kept crying and begging her. I was mocked for being ugly, and I was upset. Eartha didn't want me to be sad, so she agreed to keep Ms. Hawthorn's secret."