Chapter 77

The screen flickered, but it wasn't a family montage. They were pictures of her.

In every frame, Vivian’s face was flushed a deep, drunken red. Her hair was a tangled mess, her clothes were disheveled, and she was captured in provocative positions with an expression that was unmistakably suggestive. Although no part of her body was actually exposed, the steamy, dazed look on her face told a story that every guest in the room could easily interpret.

Vivian recognized them instantly. These were the same photographs from two years ago—the ones Fabian had used to interrogate her, the ones that had shattered their relationship.

She whipped her head around, her gaze boring into Fabian. The disbelief she had felt moments ago had curdled into something far more potent: deep-seated, visceral hatred.

She knew Fabian resented her. She knew he believed she had betrayed him back then, and she had even made peace with the fact that he had brought up her "disgraceful history" at dinner earlier to get his vengeance. But she never imagined he would go this far. To project these private, humiliating images for the entire world to see...

He wants to destroy me, she realized, her heart turning to lead. Even if I had truly betrayed him, how could he be this cruel?

Fabian, however, was paralyzed by a shock no less intense than Vivian’s.

He had intended to expose her past to his grandfather, yes—but never like this. To orchestrate a public execution in front of the entire Norton social circle was a level of despicability that even he wasn't capable of. He stared at the screen, his mind racing. How did those files get into the system?

In his panic, his first instinct was to explain, to tell Vivian he had nothing to do with the projection. But when he met her eyes, he was met with a wall of pure animosity. In that single heartbeat, Fabian felt his entire world collapse. He never expected that the woman he had loved so desperately would one day look at him as if he were a monster.

The rest of the hall was in an uproar.

Beyond the immediate Norton family, the room was packed with influential relatives and high-stakes business associates. While they were all technically "well-bred" members of high society, human curiosity was a universal trait. The silence of the shock lasted only seconds before the whispering began.

“My God! Is this for real? Why is the Norton family showing smut at a formal dinner?”

“Don’t be thick—look at the face. That’s the woman Finnick just married.”

“When were these taken? Surely not by Finnick... Look at the setting. Who was the other man?”

“Disgraceful. Truly. I’d be surprised if she isn't out on the street by tomorrow morning.”

The comments were hushed but sharp, filled with the smug satisfaction people feel when they witness the downfall of a powerful house.

Vivian felt the blood drain from her face until she was ghostly pale. Under the table, her fists were clenched so tightly her nails drew blood from her palms. She felt exposed, stripped bare in front of people who were already looking for a reason to despise her.

As for Finnick, his legendary temper finally detonated.

Damn it! The air around him seemed to drop ten degrees. How dare anyone lay a finger on his wife? How dare they attempt to humiliate her in his presence?

The main table was within arm's reach of the control interface. Without a word, Finnick reached for the steak knife beside his plate. With a singular, violent motion, he drove the blade through the control switch of the projector system.

CRACK!

The screen went black instantly.

The sudden violence of the act stunned the room into a deathly silence. No one had expected Finnick to react with such raw, protective fury. The gossiping stopped as if a throat had been cut.

Every eye in the room shifted toward the head of the table—the Elder Mr. Norton. They waited, breathless, to see how the patriarch would handle this stain on the family honor.

“Ahem.” Despite a lifetime of weathering scandals, the Elder Mr. Norton was visibly appalled. However, his years of experience allowed him to regain his mask of composure quickly. He turned a chilling sneer toward his grandson. “Finnick... is there any truth to what we just saw?”

Finnick didn't answer immediately. In fact, he didn't even look at his grandfather. His entire world had narrowed down to the woman beside him.

When he saw the look of absolute devastation on Vivian’s face, his eyes turned to shards of ice.