Hope Crawls Through Ruins by Kain Rwan Vale 55

Chapter 55 

Briana had to admit that she was genuinely impressed by Vivian’s way with words. 

Vivian could flip the script so easily, turning black into white and making up anything she wanted. 

Briana couldn’t help but find it ridiculous. 

But Shepard actually believed Vivian. 

Shepard thought, ‘She does have a point. Why did Briana take so long to step in and break it up? 

‘She only rushed over to help when Charles started losing ground!‘ 

“You two really know how to work together,” Shepard said, his finger tracing the bruise on his cheek. He dipped his head, but his eyes were dark and brooding as he looked up. “You almost pulled it off.” 

Briana wanted to defend herself. 

But the words died in her throat, and a wave of helplessness washed over her. 

Briana thought bitterly, ‘If he doesn’t love me, he won’t trust me either. 

‘Didn’t I stop it? I tried to grab Charles the moment things broke out, but he slipped right out of my grasp. 

‘And with two grown men brawling like that, how was I supposed to step in? 

‘What if I got hurt? I am pregnant, after all. I can’t take that kind of risk. 

‘Besides, with how little strength I had, there was no way I could’ve pulled them apart. 

‘It never occurred to me that Vivian would turn this into ammo against me.‘ 

Briana let out a dry laugh. 

“Alright, I was playing favorites,” Briana said, not bothering to explain herself. It was pointless anyway. She shot back, “Tell me, Vivian. Why didn’t you step in first? You were right there.” 

“When Charles dragged Shep away, I ended up falling too…” Vivian opened her hand for everyone to see, showing off the scraped skin. 

Her palm was scraped raw, blood oozing out and mixed with grit and dust. 

Vivian choked out, “I really wanted to stop them, but I fell so hard that I couldn’t even get up right away, and my whole hand’s still numb.” 

Watching Vivian play the helpless damsel, Briana was itching to march over and slap that act right off her face, much like Charles had just done to Shepard. 

‘How can someone be such a fake innocent and a manipulative bitch all rolled into one?‘ Briana thought, 

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utterly fed up. 

Ex: 50 vouchers. 

In the heavy silence, Charles finally pulled himself together. He wiped the sweat and dirt from his face and got up off the ground. 

“I let you off the hook, Vivian,” Charles growled. “I should’ve dealt with you first and then gone after Shepard. Cheater, homewrecker, none of you are getting away with this.” 

Shepard’s eyes flashed with a dangerous look as he started toward Charles, looking like he was about to lunge. 

Five years together, Briana could read him like a book. She knew exactly what he was about to do. 

Without thinking, she jumped in front of Charles, putting herself between him and Shepard. 

“Don’t be scared. What’s there to be afraid of?” Charles shot back, all fired up. “If he wants to throw down, then bring it on. Let’s see who will win.” 

Charles was drunk. He wasn’t thinking straight at all. 

“Divorce isn’t even final and you’re lovey–dovey in public? Keep it behind doors. Do you want a show? If I see you two together again, I’ll make you regret it. Marry her if you want, but never let me catch you near Briana 

or me. 

“I always thought Briana was naive, but it turns out I was a fool. How could someone like her ever find happiness with a man like you? Now that she’s free of you, she’s finally thriving. You’ll regret losing her. Just wait and see.” 

Shepard pressed his lips into a thin line, his voice cold. “lovey–dovey?” 

‘Is that what we were doing?‘ Shepard thought to himself. 

After wrapping up work at the Carter Group, he picked Vivian up from the hospital and took her to Skyline Restaurant for dinner as she requested. 

After they finished eating, they were about to head out together. 

Vivian was holding a dessert, about to feed him a bite, but before he could taste it, his phone rang. 

He answered the phone. 

Vivian waited sweetly for him to finish the call, but then, out of the blue, she leaned in closer. 

Shepard was totally clueless about what Vivian was trying to do. He was still wondering when Charles suddenly stormed over. 

Even though Vivian was the one he loved most, Shepard always knew where to draw the line. 

He’d never even laid a finger on her in private, much less gotten all touchy–feely in public. 

“Right, exactly.” Charles nodded. Then he let out a derisive snort. “You know what? Let me rephrase that. Calling you guys lovey–dovey is an insult to the word. It’s just cheating.” 

13:12 Tue, Dec 23 M… 

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Briana tilted her head and said, “Alright, Charles. There’s no point arguing anymore. Don’t let your temper run wild. Even if you catch Shepard and Vivian hooking up, just don’t bother.” 

“Briana, can you just put up with it?” Charles blurted out, totally shocked. 

“It’s not about putting up with it. It’s about just letting them be,” Briana replied, her voice steady, 

The more anyone tried to break them up, the more they’d think they were meant to be. 

True love was woven with drama and trials. Even if the world opposed them, it only made their bond grow stronger. 

Briana wanted to see if Shepard and Vivian could really make it work, or if they’d actually end up happily ever after. 

Maybe once they were finally together, their relationship would just fall apart. 

Shepard’s expression turned icy. “We’re just…” 

“Briana.” 

“Charles, Briana.” 

Henry and Eric’s voices sliced through the tense silence, cutting Shepard off mid–sentence. 

They were hurrying over. 

Once they were close enough, they finally spotted the scrape on Charles’s cheek and the bruise at the edge of Shepard’s mouth. 

Henry quickened his pace and made a beeline for Briana, grabbing her shoulders and looking her up and down, worry written all over his face. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” Briana replied. “Let’s get out of here.” 

Every time she ran into Shepard, there was never a moment’s peace. 

He was like a walking disaster. 

“What happened?” Henry asked quietly. “I just stepped away to chat with a client for a while, and suddenly everything went crazy? If I’d known, I would’ve stuck with you. I figured Charles would look out for you.” 

Henry hesitated, already having a pretty good idea. “Was it something Shepard did, or did Vivian start something again?” 

Briana let out a sigh. “It’s over. I don’t want to talk about it.” 

With that, Briana kept supporting Charles as they headed toward the car. “Let’s go home, Charles.” 

But just thinking about having to drop Charles off at Evergreen Estate and then having to drag herself back to Carter Estate made her feel so damn annoyed. 

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If she didn’t go back, Tiffany would definitely call her. 

And the next day, Evelyn would show up at her door to ask questions. 

Briana didn’t even glance back. She hopped in the car, slammed her foot on the gas, and sped off without a second thought. 

Shepard stood there, running his finger over the bruise on his face again. 

It was starting to ache now. 

Charles really went all out. He was ruthless and sneaky. 

Charles caught him completely off guard. If Shepard had seen it coming, Charles would never have landed a punch. 

“Shepard, you really ought to put some ointment on that,” Eric said. “It’ll help with the bruising and get you healed up quicker.” 

Shepard narrowed his eyes at him. “What are you doing here?” 

“I was just grabbing a bite with them, catching up on some things,” Eric replied. 

“Funny how you’re so interested in Briana and Charles.” Shepard shot Eric a skeptical look. 

“We’re all family,” Eric grinned. “If I can pitch in, of course, I’ll help.” 

Shepard gave him a long, knowing look. “So, are you doing this for Henry, or for Briana?” 

“For both, of course,” Eric countered. “Henry is my friend, Briana is my family. We’re just staying connected. Nothing strange about that, right?” He paused, his expression turning more pointed. “So what’s the deal with you and Vivian?” 

Eric was clearly annoyed with Vivian. Anyone could hear it in his voice. 

Vivian just lowered her gaze, saying nothing. 

All she knew was that Eric had insisted she come to Skyline Restaurant with Shepard tonight and play up the romance, acting all lovey–dovey with him. 

But she had no idea what Eric was really up to. 

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Chapter 56