23: Alana plays the good daughter in law

Vivienne quickly reached for the crystal pitcher on the table and poured a glass of chilled water, her hands trembling slightly as she handed it to her husband. Nolan Blackwood snatched the glass from her fingers without so much as a glance, then drank it down in one go—like a man parched after days in the desert, each gulp echoing the tension that filled the room.

"You should calm down, honey," Vivienne said softly, folding her hands together in her lap with practiced grace. "It's not good for your health to stay this angry. Think of your blood pressure."

Her voice was gentle, but underneath it, there was a flicker of anxiety. She could already feel the storm boiling beneath her husband's skin. And when his piercing steel-grey eyes turned to her, full of fury and disappointment, Vivienne instinctively shrank back into the plush cushions of the elegant sofa.