Chapter 209


    When Ashley arrived at the hospital room, she saw Tristan obediently lying in bed, listening intently as


    Calista briefed him on his recovery and gave him instructions to follow.


    Calista, dressed in a whiteb coat and sporting a pair of golden-rimmed sses, looked elegant and


    sophisticated.


    She held a tablet in one hand and looked at Tristan with a firm yet authoritative gaze as she spoke,


    disying a uniquemanding charm.


    Tristan, on the other hand, was looking at her with unusually soft eyes. There was even a trace of a


    smile ying on his lips. It was such a stark contrast to his usual brooding and intimidating demeanor.


    Ashley couldn''t help but shake her head in amazement.


    Calista had somehow managed to tame Tristan, who was normally as wild and unpredictable as a rabid


    dog.


    “Dr. Pendleton.” Ashley greeted her with a warm smile as she entered the room and ced a basket of


    fresh fruits on the table in front of Calista. “Some fruits for you. They’re all your favorites. Eat them to


    replenish your vitamins.”


    “Thank you.” Calista replied, taking the basket with one hand.


    “How’s Tristan’s recovery?” Ashley nced at Tristan, who immediately resumed his brooding


    expression as he met her gaze, as if his earlier soft demeanor towards Calista was a mere


    hallucination.


    “He’ll be able to walk again. He just can’t participate in any strenuous activities.” Calista answered


    while adjusting her sses and setting her tablet down. “He needs to stay away from any rough sports


    or heavy exercises.”


    Ashley couldn’t help but feel a bit of schadenfreude. She wondered if Tristan would still take part in


    Arabe''s schemes against her now that he was semi-disabled. Would he have ended up in this state if


    Arabe hadn''t persuaded him to provoke Percival?


    Tristan, however, seemed to have already epted this oue.


    “It''s okay. I''m grateful I can still walk; at least I''m not bedridden for life. And it''s all thanks to your


    excellent skills, Dr. Pendleton. I don''t know how to thank you enough.”


    “As a doctor, it''s my duty to heal and save lives. You don''t need to thank me.” Calista replied


    indifferently. “Besides, the Brooks family has paid a hefty sum for this.”


    Ashley almostughed out loud at Tristan’s flustered expression.


    Calista was indeed a straightforward woman.


    With just a few words, she had brushed off any potential sense of obligation Tristan might have felt


    towards her.


    Upon seeing Calista struggling with the fruits and her tablet, Ashley offered to carry the fruits for her.


    “Calista, I can bring these to your office for you.”


    “Alright.” Calista nodded, gave some instructions to the nurse, and left the room with Ashley without


    sparing Tristan another nce.


    Once they reached Calista''s office, Ashley helped unpack the fruits.


    They sat down and began to chat while snacking on the fruits. After a few minutes of idle chatter,


    Ashley brought up Arabe. “Calista, did you hear about thetest scandal involving my cousin,


    Arabe?”


    “Oh?” Calista frowned mildly. She wasn’t particrly interested in gossip.


    Calista had met Arabe when she visited Tristan at the hospital. She had also heard about Arabe''s


    various scandals when she was in Rivenwood. She thought of Arabe as nothing more than a pretty


    face with no brains, an individual not worth a second nce.


    So, when she heard that Tristan had been beaten up because of Arabe, she had even less regard for


    Tristan.


    “Well, she''s pregnant, and she isn’t even married.” Ashley took out her phone and showed Calista the


    news. “And she has the audacity to im that Percival is the father of her child. I don’t even think Paul


    is actually the father.”


    Calista wasn’t interested in Arabe or the notorious yboy Paul from the Ellington family. She


    deemed these mediocre people, including Ashley, not worth her attention.


    The only thing that could possibly pique her interest would be if the once crippled Percival, against all


    odds, managed to stand up and walk again.


    However, as she scrolled through the news article, she paused when Percival’s picture popped up. She


    pointed at the image, asking, “This is Percival?”


    Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    “Yeah.” Ashley replied with a smirk. “Can you believe that my cousin once thought Percival would be


    her knight in shining armor? She’s delusional! She’s only managed to ruin her own reputation.”


    Calista, however, didn''t hear a single word Ashley said. She was too focused on the video of Percival.


    Her eyes fell on the woman Percival was holding in his arms.


    “Who is she?” She asked in a tone that was hard to read.


    “Oh, her?” There was a flicker of jealousy in Ashley''s eyes. “That''s Vivienne. Percival''s fiancée, and


    Arabe''s adopted sister.”


    Calista only focused on the term "fiancée."


    “What''s her educational background?” Calista asked.


    “I think she has a double Ph.D. in medicine and biology from Elite University.” Ashley replied, not quite


    understanding why Calista was asking about Vivienne. “She''s quite impressive. She finished her


    studies when she was just sixteen.”


    And she, Ashley, had just graduated high school at eighteen.


    Sometimes,paring oneself with others was indeed a recipe for disappointment.


    Calista fell silent for a while as she processed the information she had just received. She then asked,


    “So after earning her dual Ph.D., she chose to teach at a small high school?”


    Ashley nodded, still puzzled by Calista''s persistent inquiries about Vivienne.


    “Short-sighted,cks ambition.” Calistamented on Vivienne.


    How could such a woman be a match for Percival?


    ...


    Cloudcrest High School.


    “Achoo!”


    Vivienne sneezed abruptly while attending the high school graduation ceremony with Percival.


    “Is the air conditioning in the auditorium too cold?” Percival asked with concern.


    Vivienne furrowed her brows and shook her head. Why did she feel like someone was badmouthing


    her?


    All the speeches scheduled for the day were almost done, and it was near the end, leaving only room


    for the student performances.


    Suddenly, someone tapped the mic onstage, following it by clearing their throat. "Ahem. Hello,


    everyone. We''re the graduating seniors of ss Eighteen. For our final act tonight, we''d like to


    dedicate this to our amazing homeroom teacher, Ms. Vivienne!"


    Vivienne''s gaze was drawn to the stage. There stood Logan, Oberon, Charlotte, Faye, and Coral.


    Logan clutched a guitar, Oberon held a bass, Charlotte was by the keyboard, and surprisingly, Faye sat


    behind a drum set. Coral was on the mic as her eyes met Vivienne''s across the crowd.


    "Ms. Vivienne, I''ve made many mistakes in the past, and you were the one who pulled me out of the


    mud. You saved ss Eighteen, and in doing so, you saved me too! Now, this song ‘Until the End of


    the World’ is for you."


    The music, a blend of heavy metal and rock, echoed in the auditorium. Each beat of the drum


    resonated with every pump of their young hearts.


    Coral was the lead singer, and her voice reverberated with the intense music throughout the hall.


    The crowd was boiling with excitement.


    The students in the audience rose to their feet, chanting along with the melody.


    However, the eyes of the five on stage were all on Vivienne. She was the only one to whom they


    wanted to convey their emotions.