His Untouchable Wife

Chapter 4: The Inspection

After work, Vivian got a call from Daniel. "Vivian, Mom wants us over for dinner tonight. You free?"

She frowned, but before she could answer, he added, "Aunt Patricia's going to be there too."

She sighed. "Fine, I'll head over after work." She hung up, fired off a quick message to Claire, and headed for the subway.

Daniel's parents lived in a complex near the center of the district. Property values there had shot up years back, but both his parents worked government jobs with solid pay, so they'd bought in early.

Vivian's family still lived in the place her parents had bought back when she was in high school. They'd talked about upgrading since, but prices had climbed too fast for it to make sense anymore.

By the time she got there, the conversation had already turned to grandchildren.

Daniel's mother spotted her first. "You're here."

Vivian had called her "Mom" exactly once, on her wedding day, and never again since. Some part of her had already accepted that she and Daniel weren't going to last, so she just smiled. "Yeah, I'm here." Then, turning to the older woman across the room, "Hi, Aunt Patricia."

Patricia and her husband both worked in public service — he ran the district's urban management office, and their daughter had just landed a coveted post in another department. Financially, they outranked Daniel's side of the family, which gave Patricia's opinions extra weight at the table.

Daniel's mother looked less than pleased. "We've been waiting on you. Let's just eat his father's still stuck at work." She'd retired years ago; her husband had maybe a year left before he followed.

Daniel came over with an easy smile. "You made it. Let's eat."

Vivian took a small step back on instinct as he approached, then caught herself and nodded, forcing the smile to stay in place. She still couldn't stand having him close, even after all this time, but she'd learned to push through it.

Over dinner, Patricia turned to her with a pleasant smile. "Is your department swamped these days?"

Vivian nodded.

Daniel's mother chimed in. "Some leader from the city, right? Old Preston mentioned your office has been running late constantly. Any idea which department he's landing on?"

Patricia answered before Vivian could. "I heard he's only thirty-five and already a deputy. Whole family's connected at the top, real influence. Word is he's not sticking around long just passing through. And get this, he's still single. Good-looking too, from what I hear."

Vivian ate in silence, half-listening. None of it was new to her.

Daniel's mother brightened. "Well, since Olivia's so lovely, maybe she should make an effort to dress up these next few days."

Patricia beamed. "Our Olivia's not just pretty top university, great position already. Her father's retiring soon, and by then her rank should climb even higher. We don't look down on regular people, but I'll say this much: her standing needs to end up higher than her father's, not lower." She said it with obvious pride.

Daniel glanced at Vivian, who was eating with her head down, then spoke up. "Aunt Patricia's right. Olivia deserves someone good."

Truth was, Daniel's company had gotten off the ground partly thanks to favors from Patricia's husband connections that had smoothed over more than a few obstacles in his early years.

Daniel's mother's gaze slid over to Vivian, unimpressed as always. A wife from a modest background who couldn't offer their son anything useful but what was there to do about it, when he'd chosen her anyway? She wasn't the type to fake affection just to smooth things over.

Vivian had barely said a word the whole meal, eating quietly with her eyes down. She hadn't even called her "Mom" walking in. Bringing her anywhere still felt like an embarrassment.

Eventually his mother turned to her directly. "Vivian, you two have been married a year now isn't it time you thought about a baby? I'm retired, I can help out with the childcare since you're both busy."

Vivian looked up, glancing toward Daniel. "That's"

His mother's tone sharpened. "Don't look at him for permission. This is a decision for both of you. I already talked to Daniel about it he said you'd start trying starting today."

Vivian's eyes went wide with alarm as she looked at him.

Daniel glanced at Vivian, then back at his mother. "Mom, it's not something we can just decide on the spot. Give us some time to prepare. We'll get started, don't worry."

That seemed to satisfy her enough to drop it.

Patricia smoothed things over. "They've only been married a year, and both of them are still building their careers. Since Daniel's already said he's on it, just be patient and wait for your grandchild."

They stayed a while longer after dinner before Vivian caught Daniel's eye.

He picked up on the cue immediately. "Mom, Aunt Patricia, we should head out early morning for both of us tomorrow."

Once they were outside the complex, Vivian stopped and turned to him. "So what's the actual plan?"

Daniel fumbled for words. "You... you can't be with a man, and I can't be with a woman. What if we did IVF? I'd sign everything over to you and the kid. What do you think?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't do that. Your mom clearly wants a grandchild. If this really isn't going to work, maybe we should just get divorced eventually. You could find someone who"

"No, don't," he cut in quickly. "I've told you, my parents would never accept that. It's fine, let me think about it. Where are you headed tonight?"

She figured someone was probably waiting at his place. "I'll head to Claire's."

He nodded and walked off.

Vivian decided then that she needed to find her own apartment. Now that he'd brought her into his family home like that, there was no going back to pretending. She regretted agreeing to the marriage in the first place divorce looked harder by the day, especially with his mother in the picture.

The next morning, Vivian walked into the office to find Natalie already at her desk, touching up her makeup.

Mrs. Carter was busy hashing something out with another department, but she caught sight of Vivian and came over. "Did you get through all the material I gave you?"

Vivian pulled up the documents from two days earlier. "Already went through it."

Mrs. Carter nodded, glanced over at Natalie still fussing with her makeup, and sighed before turning back to Vivian. "The deputy mayor picked our department for his inspection. He's arriving at ten. Go over everything one more time if he asks you something directly, don't freeze up."

Vivian's stomach dropped. "Got it, I'll review it now."

Mrs. Carter felt easier about Vivian than she did about Natalie. She walked over and said, more sharply this time, "It's getting late put that away and start studying the material." Then she turned and left.

Natalie quickly packed up her makeup and pulled the documents toward her.

Once Mrs. Carter had disappeared into the director's office, Natalie rolled her chair closer again. "Vivian, does my makeup look okay? I'm getting nervous."

Vivian smiled reassuringly. "You look great. Don't stress."

Natalie relaxed and went back to her desk with a satisfied smile.

Vivian returned to the files, thinking there was no real chance she'd be the one answering questions she was too far down the ladder for that.

Before long, Mrs. Carter came back around. "Let's go. We're waiting in the lobby downstairs."

Vivian felt her nerves spike. She'd barely crossed paths with anyone senior since starting the job. Natalie was already headed down in her heels, practically glowing, and Vivian followed close behind.

Downstairs, the lobby was packed on both sides. Vivian slipped in and took a spot behind Mrs. Carter.

Director Hayes climbed a step and raised his voice. "Everyone, quiet please. Mayor Cole will be here shortly. Mind your words, mind your conduct."

"Of course, Director"

"No worries at all"

Hayes nodded and moved toward the entrance to wait, and everyone else turned their attention to the door, craning for a first glimpse.

Vivian stood near the back, watching Natalie push her way to a spot where she'd be easy to notice.

That's when she spotted Uncle Richard and his daughter, dressed to the nines, standing right next to Director Hayes.

Richard ran the urban management office, and his daughter worked in the judicial department. What were they doing here?

It clicked immediately this had to be exactly what Patricia had been hinting at over dinner, angling to put Olivia right in front of the visiting official.

Mrs. Carter scanned the crowd, didn't spot Vivian at first, then turned and found her toward the back. "You doing okay? Nervous?"

Vivian nodded. "A little."

Mrs. Carter turned back around with a small smile though truthfully, she wasn't much calmer herself.