Vivienne Blackthorne (1)

"You can't just waste out family fortune as you please. Please consider seeking help, Daniel." 

A woman's stern voice was followed by a resounding slap. Vivienne's head sharply turned to the side as her elder brother looked at her with disgust. 

"You good for nothing! How dare you raise your voice against me?! If it weren't for you, do you think our family would suffer such humiliation and massive loss?" Daniel sneered at her. 

The two young girls watching the commotion gasped as they saw their mother hit their uncle. Ava's doe-like eyes immediately shone with tears, while her elder twin sister's eyes sharpened as Avery looked at their drunk uncle. 

Vivienne could notice their stares and hide them from her brother's view by standing between them. The stench of alcohol permeated around them, as Daniel was too drunk before her. The slap he'd given her left a red mark on her beautiful skin, but she didn't dare to make a sound before him. 

As for his words, no matter how cruel they were, Vivienne could only endure. The man whom she was set to marry at a young age had cheated on her and married a commoner he had a one-night stand with from one of his friends' resorts. 

"After not winning Alexander's favor and being defeated by Christine, you still dare to act arrogantly before me, Vivienne? You even gave birth to those useless children. Do you have an idea how hard it is for me to find you a suitable husband because of those runts?!" Daniel continued to berate her. 

Vivienne's jaws hardened; her fists clenched on her side as she looked at her brother incredulously. He can insult her to his heart's content, but she cannot allow him to say hurtful things towards her daughters. 

She was about to retaliate when Daniel stopped her. 

"What? Are you going to defend them now? They are nothing but a burden to our family. I cannot believe you would prioritize them over finding a suitable husband for yourself," Daniel sneered.  

Vivienne took a deep breath, suppressing her anger. She knew that arguing with him would only escalate the situation further. She knew there was no point in trying to reason with him anymore. 

Ava and Avery exchanged worried glances as they watched their mother being berated by their uncle. They were only six years old, but they knew they had to stay strong, to protect each other and their mother from those who wanted to harm her.  

Daniel, sensing that his words had no effect on Vivienne, decided to change his approach. He walked closer, his voice low and threatening.  

"You had better listen to me, Vivienne, "he said, his eyes glinting with malice. "You'll do as I say if you want to keep your daughters safe. I will not have you ruin our family's reputation with your foolishness."  

Vivienne bit back a retort, knowing full well the danger of defying her brother any further. She glanced at her girls, who were now huddled together, their eyes wide as they looked at her. Her heart ached for them, for they deserved far better than the life they had with her.  

But there was nothing she could do. Daniel had frozen all her accounts and forbade her and her children to make public appearances for the past seven years. Her peers had distanced themselves from her fear to earn Alexander's wrath by being associated with her.  

Vivienne knew she could not allow this arrangement to continue for her children's sake. She knew she needed them to lead a better life regardless of the sins she committed in the past. But for now, she would need to endure her brother's cruelty and wait for the right moment to plan her escape. She couldn't bear to see her daughters suffer any more than they already had, but she knew that to protect them, she would have to be strong and patient.  

- 

As the night went on, the twin sisters huddled together in their shared bedroom, their hearts heavy with the weight of their uncertain fate.  

"Snow, I thought Vivi is cruel, but I have no idea Daniel is worse than her." Ava whispered to her sister. "Why did you write him like that?"  

Their physical bodies were six years old, but their mentality were those women on their mid20s. Unbeknownst to the people around them, two souls transmigrated into this world and took over the bodies of Vivienne Beaumont's twin daughters.  

It had been a year since they died from their real world and occupy the twins' bodies. Thankfully, the faint memories of the children they possessed gave them some insight to help them understand the new lives they had.  

Avery glanced at her and sighed. She was practically the creator of this world and the people within it, because this was the story she penned herself. But who would have known that after she and Elle died from a shootout, they would found themselves occupying the bodies of the characters from her book? 

"How am I supposed to know he would be this much of a monster? I just wrote him based on the plot I had in mind. Well, at least now we know to be cautious around him and not trust everyone."  

"But how about Vivi? We entered the story just before she reached her pitiful end. We can't allow her to die because of us." Ava reminded Avery.  

"Of course, I know that." Avery bit her lip in frustration.  

Based on the book she'd written, after Vivienne fell from her grace and suffered humiliation from Alexander D'Arcy, she would die while attempting to save her daughters by being run over by her brother. 

The villainess, who never knew love before having the twins, had found redemption in her love for her daughters. But Avery couldn't bear to see Vivienne meet such a tragic end, especially when she knew that she was the one who caused so much pain for the woman who bore them.  

She had to find a way to change the course of the story, to give Vivienne a chance at happiness and freedom. However, Avery also knew that they couldn't directly interfere with the events of the story, as it would disrupt the delicate balance of their new reality. But perhaps there was a way to subtly influence the characters and guide them towards a different path.