Vivienne Cross hadn't even started cooking up her usual excuse before Jasper Vaughn's gaze coolly slid away from her and landed on his younger brother instead. "I understand you suffer from sentinel-aversion, Leo, but there's no reason to be this desperate. Picking fights with Anthony of all people…"
His voice trailed off suggestively, but everyone in the room—Vivienne especially—knew exactly what he meant.
Vivienne "...."
God, With that nasty mouth and god-tier arrogance, I've definitely confirmed you're Leo Vaughn's blood brother.
Leo replied, emphasizing each word, "I. Was. Just. Eating."
Jasper merely hummed nonchalantly, "With a prisoner."
Instantly Vivienne sympathized deeply with Leo Vaughn's daily grievances. No wonder he was permanently irritated—who wouldn't be, with a brother like this always looking down from his lofty captain's perch?
A prisoner, Vivienne fumed internally. So, what if I'm a prisoner? Am I eating your precious rice ? Actually…yeah, I probably am. But considering the credits stolen from mine could've bought a literal shipload of rice !!
Leo's temper immediately ignited, impatience crackling in every syllable. "What's the big deal about sharing a meal?" he snapped, words firing rapidly like a machine gun. "Did you seriously drag yourself over here just to lecture me about this?"
Jasper sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He truly had zero patience left for managing teenage angst—though admittedly, he hadn't really thought Leo was genuinely interested in this seemingly delicate female sentinel. But he definitely didn't want to report back to Beidou headquarters and find his younger half-brother already headlining gossip columns about scandalous affairs with prisoners.
Lydia Vaughn, their mother, was famously results-oriented. Even with his own son, Jasper had explicit instructions to keep Leo under control.
"Mother has already asked Uncle to find you a suitable match. Behave yourself."
A suitable match? Leo sneered internally. Wasn't their mother already eyeing that irritatingly arrogant heir of the Vermilion Bird Organization?
"Yeah, I got it. Still, you're seriously crossing boundaries here."
Jasper's eyes narrowed, patience visibly thinning. "As long as you know your limits. Now hurry and escort her out."
The Big Boss had spoken, and Vivienne was ready to obediently drop her cutlery and leave—
"What's the hurry? She hasn't finished eating," Leo defiantly folded his arms, deliberately challenging his brother's authority. With numb resignation, he turned his sharp gaze to Vivienne and ordered dryly, "Finish your meal."
Suddenly, Vivienne's steak tasted like cardboard, and even her utensils seemed eager to leap from her hands and run screaming from the tense battlefield. For heaven's sake, Leo, I've already been your emotional punching bag for a full twenty-four hours! Can't you spare me just this once?
Jasper's orders were promptly ignored—again—by Leo.
"Leo Vaughn."
"Oh, come on. The great Captain of the Tianshu isn't stingy enough to starve prisoners now, is he?"
"Fine. Then wrap it up for her."
"..."
"Behave yourself, Leo. I'll ask Mother to arrange an initial meeting between you and your matched sentinel ..."
They'd already picked the person and now they expected him to choose?
Leo, who clearly knew far more about this matchmaking charade than Jasper realized, had officially burned through every last shred of patience. Without another word, he roughly grabbed Vivienne — currently enjoying the "glamorous popularity of a villainous concubine" —and turned sharply on his heel. "We're leaving."
Vivienne fought the instinctive urge to glance back, scrambling hurriedly after Leo's furious retreating figure. But wait—
What about her damn takeout?!
Clearly still simmering, the hot-tempered Leo Vaughn had zero interest in conversation. After practically flinging Vivienne back into her quarters, he dramatically stormed off, leaving behind nothing but his backlit silhouette as a moody reminder of his dramatic departure.
But at least Vivienne had gleaned critical information from their heated family drama:
Brothers who couldn't stand each other. A controlling mother wielding considerable power at home, with an "uncle" arranging Leo's matchmaking—probably a remarriage situation or possibly just their mother's secret lover. The captain, Jasper, and Leo might share one or two parents—she wasn't entirely sure. Leo was definitely being prepped for a political marriage. The details were still hazy, but useful enough.
But most importantly—Leo Vaughn had undeniably rock-solid connections. Jasper was already captaining the Tianshu despite his youth. Surely, securing her freedom would only require one tiny word from such a powerful figure.
As long as she stayed clear of their messy family drama and avoided provoking Jasper's deadly wrath, freedom was practically beckoning her forward.
She might not be getting out at Crescent Bay, but improvisation was her specialty. Time to pivot. Plans had officially changed—forget seducing him! She'd focus on becoming Leo's best girlfriend instead !
However, before Vivienne could even fully activate her charm to cozy up to Leo—
A sharp knock on her door interrupted her grand strategizing that very evening.
She hesitated, wary, and checked through the peephole. Outside was a familiar face—probably the most familiar on this entire pirate ship—as Leo's voice came softly through the door.
"Open up, Vivienne. It's me."
Oh, what perfect timing! People were at their most vulnerable and easily manipulated in moments of drunken despair. This was it—time to cement her new status as Leo's confidante!
Vivienne eagerly swung open the door—
Only to be instantly overwhelmed by the intoxicating scent of lemon-sweet guide pheromones.
Leo Vaughn, flushed attractively from alcohol, staggered right into her arms with suspiciously targeted precision.
No, not a helpless "stumble" —this was definitely intentional. He "threw" himself against her chest, body warm, skin practically radiating sensual heat—
Wait, wait, WAIT. Her brain sputtered uselessly. Isn't this developing way too quickly? I haven't even deployed my signature innocent-sentinel-seduction methods yet!
But now a drunkenly irresistible beauty was literally flinging himself at her—and Vivienne, tragically, had to resist the temptation. Jasper Vaughn's coldly dismissive face flashed vividly before her eyes—sleeping with his precious baby brother might actually result in her getting tossed directly out an airlock.
Still, she couldn't just dodge. Big Boss Jasper was terrifying, but Little Boss Leo brought her meals. Dropping him to the floor wasn't exactly a great way to cultivate friendship, so she awkwardly reached out, arms cautiously encircling his waist.
Damn, he's heavy. But she masterfully kept her expression relaxed, perfectly hiding the struggle of supporting a tipsy guide's full weight. Vivienne knew their type intimately. Sentinels who couldn't even handle a delicate guide's bodyweight would rapidly plummet in attractiveness ratings.
"Leo, what's wrong?" Vivienne murmured tenderly, injecting maximum concern into her voice. The question was stupidly rhetorical, of course. She already knew—young guides tragically forced into marriage drank alcohol to cope. Classic.
But why did this whole comforting scenario suddenly feel uncomfortably familiar? Oh right—she'd used precisely this concerned façade on poor Callum Rivers just a few days prior. Was this karma biting back?
Leo lowered his head slightly, his ocean-blue eyes fixed gloomily on the floor, his long eyelashes shadowing delicate cheekbones flushed from alcohol. He seemed lost in thought, lips parting slowly and softly with barely concealed melancholy:
"Kiss me."