𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 [𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝐸𝑑𝑔𝑒𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ]

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𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ||
𝑴𝑰𝑳𝑬𝑺 𝑬𝑫𝑮𝑬𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑻𝑯

【（１９）】

Vivienne had to admit that she was nervous. So nervous that she spent the rest of the day contemplating on what to wear, how to style her hair, and what would best match her makeup. She settled upon a beautiful midnight black sheath dress, letting her hair fall in loose curls, and redid her makeup about three times before finally landing on a light smoky brown color. Vivienne loved to dress up, but never had the opportunity to do so. Sure, she'd gone to plenty of events by herself all fancied up, but it felt different when a companion was around.

Vivienne was captivated by the idea. Glancing at the clock, its hands ticking twenty minutes until seven, she decided to use the time for some light household cleaning. It was nothing too demanding, just tidying up little scraps left behind and wiping down dirty surfaces.

She cleaned diligently, her thoughts occasionally drifting to the awaited response.

She waited, her anticipation growing with each passing minute.

As the day turned into night, the sun setting outside, Vivienne's high heels were discarded in a corner, her hair tied up in a loose bun, and her elegant attire swapped for a comfortable pajama set.

The clock now read 9:37, and there was still no sign of a response from Miles. Vivienne wasn't innocent to the idea of being stood up, but she wouldn't have expected it from Miles. Or maybe she did.

There was no telling who his character brought, but Vivienne was sure, she wanted nothing to do with it anymore.

Frankly, how dare he. Not even a single text or phone call rescheduling for another time. Even sending out one of his assistants to let her know would have been better than this. She had opened herself up, let herself become vulnerable, only to be forced back into this place of solitude. Her father was right, a man really was never to be trusted.

With a heavy sigh, Vivienne shut off the Television, heading for bed. It was late now, later than she anticipated staying up, and exhaustion was burdening on her.

The next morning, Vivienne woke up feeling as exhausted as ever. She didn't get a wink of sleep. She couldn't as she spent tossing and turning all throughout the nighttime. Now she had to force herself out of bed to get ready for work, bags complementing her under eyes. Grabbing a coffee on her way out, she makes a straight line to her office, avoiding anyone and anything in her way. She didn't have the energy to face conversation. Vivienne just wanted to go to work, get some paperwork done, and head straight home.

She groaned, crumbling her head onto her desk and burying it with her arms.

"Uh, Chief, you okay?" A voice called out, and Vivienne had to find a way to ignore her intrusive thoughts of slamming her head on the table repeatedly. Instead, she took a deep breath, preparing herself and lifted her head up to greet Detective Gumshoe with a smile.

"Completely fine, what do you need from me?" Vivienne hummed out, watching the concerned expression on the young man's face grow more worrisome. He reminded her of Samuel in a way. A big bear looking guy with a heart of gold.

Gumshoe shut the office door behind him, "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," She snapped, feeling the smallest relief, quickly masked by the agony of guilt. Gumshoe was surprised by the sudden lash of tone, especially from her. Something really must be eating at her.

"I'm sorry Detective," Vivienne sighed, rubbing the bridge of nose, "I just-had a long night."

"I can see you're going through a rough patch. If you ever need to talk about it, I'm here to listen, no pressure," Gumshoe awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, attempting to give comfort towards the Deputy who has always been so kind to him. Everyone always seemed to lack the benefit of doubt with him. They pushed him around, or said mean things behind his back, Deputy Autry was the few, if only, person he genuinely trusted. He appreciated his efforts, despite his mistakes.

It's okay Detective, You're doing great! Everyone makes mistakes, and it's all part of the learning process. Just keep at it, and you'll get there.

She believed in him. Truly, and endearingly. So to see her in such a state, brought him such misery.

Vivienne shuddered at the idea of vulnerability, at the thought that she could open up to someone, especially after the past 24 hours. However, something about her needed to talk. To express to someone about what happened, someone who knows Edgeworth.

"Well, something did happen, and I'm not quite sure how to wrap my head around it. It's Mr. Edgeworth, do you perhaps know anything about his whereabouts yesterday afternoon? I know you were working here late last night," Vivienne questioned, feeling her cheeks flush red from embarrassment.

Gumshoe nodded, "Yeah, he was down here last night. Picked up some evidence and went down to the courthouse."

Vivienne could feel her last breath heave out, oxygen screaming to enter yet failed to comply as her lungs tightened.

"So, he was at the courthouse?"

"Yeah."

"He stood me up for a case?"