VivianI pushed the form away from me, dropping the pen as neatly as I could while folding my hands.Alex looked at me with a perplexed look. "Mrs. Vivian?" he asked, and I looked at him."The form?" he asked and gestured to it. I looked at the form, then back at him, and his face turned red as a tomato.I always thought of Mr. Alex as a smallish and shy man, and I'm glad I wasn't so far from the truth."I think it's wise if you sign the form," he said, and I remained silent."I think it would be good for my client if you signed it. We can take care of everything, and we can all go back to normal," he continued, and immediately I frowned."Go back to normal?" I asked him, my body vibrating with anger."Really?" I asked, and he went redder."Vivian, you are making a mountain out of a wormhole. Sign the form, and let's get on with our lives!" Nate said through gritted teeth, and my eyes began to water."It's easy for you to say. It's not you who would go through the pain of losing the pr
NateMy breath came out short and angry. How could someone be so stubborn?I watched her back, her waist sashaying away without even sparing a single glance.She walked to her car—a car I had gotten her two weeks after our wedding, and a car that was going to be confiscated among other things.She wasn't thinking. She wasn't even bothering to let all of the facts sink in. If she was really serious about this, the contract would be over, and she would be completely done for. She would have nothing left and she would suffer.The idea that she would go through life's torment gave me a disgusted feeling, and all of a sudden, anger boiled in my stomach all over again.Why was she so nastily stubborn?!From the corner of my eye, I saw the sharp glint of her tinted glass in a breeze, and off she went, as fast and as furious as I was.Suddenly, the entrance to my company, a twenty-story building located in the center of New York, opened up, and Mr. Alex walked out.My eyes were reduced to slit
VivianMy mind whizzed with so many thoughts.Gran was back?Gran was back!But why? Gran has been abroad for years, right after Nate and I got married. He just left, and it's been only postcards and emails from him. Gran was Nate's way of saying granddad, the man who had raised Nate to the asshole he was today. I know for a fact that Gran, who is a sweet, well-disciplined man by the way, wasn't the reason Nate turned out the way he did. Nate was just who he was... Nate.The next day, I got my bags ready, and before noon, Nate's car pulled up at my house. I walked down to the car, where Nate hurriedly took my things from me.A rare gentlemanly move that made my stomach churn. It wasn't as if he was gentlemanly by default; he was simply practicing his facade so nothing seemed off. But not me. I let him handle those bags and walked to the car, opened it, and sat in it.I wasn't about to play some fool's game before we reached our destination.Nate must have sensed my aloofness because wh
Nate Gran let go of my hand, and the familiar scent of cinnamon and incense welcomed me. Without thinking, I breathed in the scent, allowing my body to feel at home instantly. This used to be my home, my solace, and my place of comfort. I unintentionally opened my eyes to see that Gran was looking at me with a smile on his face. “You missed it, huh?” he asked. I shook my head, avoiding Vivian’s eyes as Gran let out a soft chuckle and gave a small grunt. “Come! Both of you,” he said. I looked at Vivian, stretching out my hand to hold hers. I was almost surprised when she gave me a little run to catch my hand. My body stilled as we made contact, and I tried to swallow the goosebumps that came from the touch. I turned my attention back to Gran and saw that he had given a fleeting gaze before walking in front of us and leading us upstairs. “I know my arrival is a bit sudden, but I couldn’t stay one more minute without checking on my grandson and Vivian, my sweet girl,” he said.
Vivian I raced back to the room and banged the door shut, my body fuming with annoyance and anger. How dare he! How dare he insinuate something like that! I looked at the bed and something stabbed at my heart. The evidence of our estrangement was evident but it didn't have to be like this. I shook my head, there was no way that I would start feeling pity for a man who didn't feel an epitome of regard for me and there was no way I was going to stay in this room! I wiped at my eyes angrily and flung the door open, walking out into the starry night and straight to the garden. Gran was rumored to have one of the most exquisite gardens in all of country with rare roses and different flowers. I would never tell anyone or say anything about this place been one of the most comfortable places I have ever crossed paths with. There was a fountain in the middle of the garden, it was peaceful with the slow running of the water, the foundation of the fountain was very solid wi
Vivian Hazel... Those were the color of Nate Stuart's eyes and yet this was the first time I was fully noticing that he had blue surrounding the green and the brown, all a swirl and the more I looked at his eyes, the more I saw how sad they were. Nate cleared his throat and left the stifling space that he had been occupying, walking straight to the bed as he uncuffed his plaid shirt, rolling his sleeves and exposing arms that I only remembered in my dreams or by mistake and I shook my head. "My grandfather and yours made a pact, even before we were born," he said and I raised a brow. "They were some kind of best friends who didn't want their legacy of continued friendship to die and so they decided to embroidery it into a seam of arranged marriage," he said and I scoffed. "I Know the history Nate," I said but Nate only gave a small frown and heaved a good sigh which was odd since Nate wouldn't go down without a fight "Look, you know I don't like this marriage," he s
Vivian it was still dark outside but the light within the room was dim enough to see the veiny arms that rested against my waist. The bottom of my stomach swirled with emotions and I shook my head, this was not the time to be thinking things and besides, it was obvious that Nate was just tired. it wasn't as if he climbed into the bed willingly. I decided that it wouldn't be nice waking up to find that he had slept with me on his bed when it was obviously his room, this mansion had several rooms and I could simply excuse myself and relieve myself of the torture that would come in the morning. I placed a soft hand on his and struggling to take it underneath his hand to make a hole then carefully raise his hand so I can place it at the middle of the bed and I can slip out without a care in the world but after laying down my sweet plan, I placed a hand on his and he immediately stirred, hooking his hand into my waist and dragging me into him. my eyebrows were raised with shoc
Vivian's POVI watched him go, unable to believe what was going on. The door, as it closed behind him, made a soft noise that sounded like a loud screech in my ears. My body began to trembled as if from an intense cold as I continued to look at the closed door. It was as if one small part of me was hoping that he wouldn’t just leave me just like that. That he would come back and stay with me…be with me. But seconds passed and then minutes rolled past and it became clear that Nate had once again acted like the dick that I had come to know him to be. I raised my knees on the bed and then drew them close to my breasts with my arms. As I lowered my head to my knees, tears burned at the back of my eyes. When will you ever learn, Vivian? You knew he was going to remain an asshole? But yet, you still keep falling for his tricks. You still keep falling for him. When on fucking earth will you ever learn?The reproaching voice in my ears was so loud that I had to remove my hands from my kne
Her hands trembled slightly. She was staring out the window of her office at the academy but her mind was somewhere else entirely. She had been transported back in time to the fateful day two weeks ago when the doctor had made the announcement with a wide grin on her face. "Congratulations, Miss Vivian. You're ten weeks pregnant." She had said, flashing Vivian a genuine smile that reached her crinkling eyes. At that moment, a cold sweat had broken out on Vivian’s forehead as the doctor’s words hit her like a bomb. The words had been so unprecedented, so out of left field that it took her a long time to understand the gravity of the doctor’s pronouncement. When she had finally digested her words, fear caused a knot to form in her stomach."The baby is in perfect condition." The doctor had said and Vivian had smiled at her, happy but at the same time, uncertain. "Your husband must be so proud." She had said. But would he? Nate had been so vehemently against a child and even though
VIVIANI opened my eyes. But I was in an unfamiliar place. The darkness that surrounded me was not only palpable, it was suffocating. I tried to breathe but my lungs seemed to be constricted with something. I stretched forth my hands to guide my path but something seemed to be on my way. I tore at the barrier but it only grew thicker. It was the darkness. Was there any way out of here? How could I fight something I could not even see? I opened my mouth to scream but no sound would come out. I was stuck in this deep, dark pit with nowhere to go but down. Below me, it seemed like there was quicksand and if I did not find a way to get out of here quickly, I would be swallowed whole. I clawed at the space in front of me, beside me and above me but the darkness was too dense, too restricting. Where was help when I needed it the most? My determination had started to wane. My resolve which I thought was stronger than steel bars had become considerably weakened the more it dawned on me t
NATEI felt overwhelmed. I had not felt this way in the longest of times, not even when dealing with Richard's stupidity. Why were things going haywire all of a sudden just when I thought the dust had settled down? I could not pretend not to know why. Gran's announcement yesterday had triggered a lot of suppressed resentment and I just had to deal tactfully with it or everything I held dear would be taken away right before my eyes. I had been called to the company the day before because Aston was making trouble. Word had spread that he had gone around contacting all the members of the board and having a secret meeting with them. I was not sure what the meeting had been about but I could guess. "Let's hurry." I said to my driver as I looked through Vivian's mail for the umpteenth time. I was about to send a message thanking her for her hard work when my phone started to vibrate. It was a call from my personal assistant. "They are holding an emergency extraordinary meeting of the
VIVIANI typed away feverishly. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins, fueling my fingers and propelling me to think. What had this not occurred to me before? Why had I glossed over Emily's statement back then like it was nothing at all. Had I been too overwhelmed at the time that I had been unable to put two and two together? Unable to see what was right in front of me? Emily had said three companies. Three companies, but only two were behind bars. So what happened to the last one? It was a question I should have been asking for sometime now. Would I be able to find a connection that would reveal which company was the third? Would I find enough proof? I started by digging into the two companies. Their CEOs had been well known in the business world for taking over small companies after leading them into debt. There were many comments online laying complaints against them and a third name kept popping up. Could it be?... I changed the direction of my research. It w
VIVIAN It all felt awkward. Gran had made the announcement of the century and the room was thrown into chaos. Aston looked like he could combust in anger at any time and stormed off. Gran was unwilling to listen to Nate's protests and Nate's mother just looked surprised. I, on the other hand was unsure how I was supposed to react. I was not very surprised, considering how much affinity Gran held for Nate, I was only a bit skeptical about the timing. But what did I care? I was no longer a part of the family. I was practically a stranger who happened to witness the Stuart family going at each other and it didn't matter what my thoughts were. I just wanted to escape before anyone looked in my direction and thought to rope me into it. Gran shuffled out of the room, leaning slightly on his cane and I saw my chance. Nate was still looking around, confused as ever and there was just a general tension in the air that I was sure no one would notice my silent disappearance. It felt good n
NATEI swore internally. How had Ashton found out? But then again, the same idiot that had the temerity to give out company information had probably babbled again. Vivian looked stricken standing there, staring numbly from Ashton to my mother to Gran. She tried to say something but it seemed like the words would not come out. I wanted to hold her and calm her down like I did yesterday in the hospital but this was not the place or time and I was pretty sure she would push me away. Guilt weighed down on me heavily. This was all my fault. I had brought this situation on her and I wanted to fix it badly but I felt control slipping out of my hands. Ashton was pushing, tearing down the walls of support around me, trying to strip me of my confidence and painting Vivian as the black sheep. I could not understand for the life of me why he had suddenly turned bad. Or perhaps he had always been this way, lurking silently in the shadows, waiting for this chance to ruin me. "Vivian did nothin
VIVIANI sighed for the thousandth time. Why on earth couldn't I be allowed to catch a break? Had all the universal forces aligned to ensure I did not have a single moment of peace? The whole situation seemed absurd to me. I did not yet know what Ethan was going on about but it couldn't be anything good, judging by the tone of his voice. Moreover, he was never one to impose, so if he was in front of my house, it must mean something quite severe was about to go down or was even going down. The taxi came to a stop in front of my apartment and I hurried up the path. I did not have to look for Ethan as his car was parked conspicuously on the driveway and he was sitting on it's hood tapping his phone impatiently. "What the hell, Ethan..." "There's no time for this." He looked worried, confused and most notably, tired. His tie had been drawn down, probably to enable him breathe properly while driving and his hair was tousled as if he had been in too much of a hurry to brush it properl
VIVIANI was elated.I flashed a wide smile back at the sea of smiling faces. I had not felt this way in a really long time, had not felt like what I had to say mattered, like I could dispense joy so freely, so abundantly and still have so much of it left to live on. I was not sad or angry or conflicted here, I just felt like I was wrapped in a bubble of peace, woven softly into a web of comfort and it scared me that this peace was fragile. That it could easily be broken if I didn't protect it. "Do you kids remember what we learnt yesterday?" I asked, leaning towards them and adopting a high pitched childlike voice. "Yes!" They chorused with enthusiasm. I smiled and turned to the board. "Today, we will learn something even more interesting. Are you ready to learn?" They answered with as much enthusiasm as earlier. Their innocence tugged at my heartstrings. Wouldn't my baby have grown to sound like this? To make mischievous jokes and play pranks on others? Maybe it was really not
VIVIANAnother emergency. But this one couldn't be a prank because Nate had delivered the news and we weren't exactly friendly enough to pull that type of joke on each other. Also, it involved my mother. Nate was a premium jerk but he wouldn't stoop so low. Right? I wished he would. I would swear at him and maybe even hit him but my mother would be fine and I would have worried in vain. "Oh God, oh God... Oh God." Night was falling fast but I didn't care. I rushed out of the house and flagged down the first taxi I saw. If anything happened to my mother, how would I cope with the pain, the guilt. If anything happened... Thoughts consumed me and filled my head with scenarios that were probably too far fetched but seemed feasible at that moment. Panic had taken over me and my hands shook terribly as I contemplated calling Nate. What would I say? What was I trying to find out? "No, no..." "Is there a problem?" The taxi driver was looking at me through the rearview mirror and I ave