VIVIAN “OK? Then explain,” I said calmly and Ethan breathed out a sigh. “Tracy called me originally when she heard the news and somehow we both got to know that you were no longer working for Nate because apparently you must have told her that you were planning on quitting your job, she was only looking out for you and when I found out that you no longer worked for Nate, it started to make more sense but at the same time it couldn’t be true that you would do such a thing that they were saying on the news, that was our conclusion earlier today and when you called her for some files, she called me because I was close enough to pick you up and its faster,” he confessed and the anger I had in my chest dropped drastically. I felt a bit of guilt, I really didn’t deserve Tracy. “So, lets get those files?” he asked and I nodded my head, deciding to focus on the evidences I was storing. We arrived at the company and I noticed that despite the fact that the day had gotten darker there were
VIVIANEthan escorted me to the door and eventually, waved me off and that was how the conversation about the crush thing took a turn and died. I tried to invite Ethan inside but he declined and when he turned to leave, he was exceptionally sad and I knew this time I had to drop the issue.I decided to concentrate on the work at hand, I didn’t know why Nate had decided to go to the office or why Eve was there but whatever was happening, I knew that once I took down Richard that I would be done with this, after all there was nothing holding me here asides from my guilt.I began to compile all of the evidences on me and started to arrange it, pointing out all the instances that made Richard’s so called proposal come out as the fraud that it was. I also added proof of how the AI technology that he had made was actually just a way to make sure that he was able to hack into companies databases and steal technology.As I rounded up my collation and mailed it to the company police and some m
VIVIANThe butler led me out of the room but I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to be taken away from Gran or Nate. Something was amiss and it wasn’t pretty.I have never seen Gran quite as angry as he was and it was scary to see.The butler closed the door but I refused to stray away from the double doors.“Mrs Stuart?” he asked suggestively but I placed a fake smile on my face “Why don’t you go on ahead?” I asked and he gave me a look that he knew what I was doing.I wasn’t leaving this place until I could get into this room and be sure Nate was OK.The image of Nate’s blood-stained arms and the small cuts, the throbbing veins on his exposed arms made bile want to rise up my throat as I questioned why on earth Gran would be so violent and harm his grandson like that.I knew that Gran had other Grand kids, Ethan included but it was obvious who was his favorite without even trying. It has always been Nate, so why the bruises?“How dare you, Nate?!” I heard Gran’s unmistakable voice
Vivian's POVMy hands trembled greatly when I opened the doors and found Nate bleeding.I gasped I shock as Gran picked up a teacup and threw it towards his head, his body arching back and whatever strength left in his legs gave out as he crashed to the floor.I knew the sight broke me but when I saw that Gran was about to pick up yet another item to throw at Nate, I rushed forward, my hands and my body shielding his face and body, drawing him into my chest as I used my body to block the attack.Gran’s hands dropped immediately and the item broke.Tears started to run from my eyes as Nate looked up at me with eyes that pleaded for mercy.“Gran,” I said, tearing my eyes away from Nate, while my other hand cleaned what was left of the tears that had escaped.“Please,” I pleaded and I saw the energy and the rage give out from his limbs.Eve came out of nowhere,her hands forming a sort of shed as she tried to block both me and Nate. I frowned almost immediately.“I will not let you hurt h
NATEI looked at her as though my eyes couldn’t get enough but in actuality, I wanted to shed tears.“Its late, maybe you and Nate can stay here for a bit then leave for tomorrow,” A glimmer of hope rose up within me as I caught some Vivian’s movement.“You’re right!” I tried to hard as everyone suddenly looked at me in shock.“You are absolutely right! Its too late for me to call an Uber and I am too bandaged up to drive, so lets stay, we are staying Gran,” I said and he looked at me with satisfaction.“I don’t really think…”“I’ll help you get settled, you can even have the other bedroom,” I could see Gran frown in confusion and I knew I had to fix that loose end fast. Gran didn’t know what was really going on behind the scenes and having another beating from him would make me faint.“She’s squeamish and hormones…” I said, although realizing that the lie was as stupid as I was. If she was really squeamish as I put it then she wouldn’t have been able to clean my body and then bandage
VivianI didn't know what I was thinking. I didn't want to think. I didn't want to know. I just wanted ... him. My hands moved quickly, seizing his neck and pulling his lips into mine. I could taste those salty tears dancing on his face and I refused to acknowledge that I also wanted to release some tears but I made a promise to myself to always keep up the pace and never let the line that stood between business and pleasure mix up ever again. After all that was what had caused all of the problems in the first place, wasn't it? I had allowed myself get carried away by the love I held in my heart for Nate, get in the way of what I was supposed to be. A contract wife and now? Now that I was done with all of that bullshit. I was in no way going to subject myself to those rubbish feelings, so this was a mercy death, for my feelings for Nate and hopefully for his. His tongue worked their way into my mouth and pulled my hair, letting me in. I moaned into his mouth, my hands pulling
NATESun light trickled from my window, casting warm shadows on my eyes.I moaned awake, stretching my hands to bring Vivian closer to me. A smile crept on my face as I recalled that last night had to be the best night of my entire existence.I never believed that I would have ever had sex with Vivian but yet I did and I loved every part of it.I could tell just from our encounter that I had really been her first even though that was the second time that we were having sex and somehow I blamed every moment of it on me.If I had put more effort?If I had paid more attention?I couldn’t possibly imagine the sort of sexual torture I must have been doing to her, all those times? I am a horrible man.A horrible, horrible man.I had even tortured her the more when we were at this same house months back, where I let her almost let me in and then I just walked out on her.I didn’t know why I didn’t know that that was a horrible thing to do.My hand hit the bed and my eyes snapped open.The wel
VIVIANMy eyes fluttered open. It took me a minute to get accustomed to the dreary darkness of the room. My eyes were still sleep laden but I was conscious enough to understand that what was at stake was greater than my exhaustion. I needed to get away from here, and quickly too. My hands groped the bed and lightly brushed the fabric of Nate’s silk pajama trousers. He was still sleeping soundly, the sound of his breathing like music to my ears. I wondered how he could sleep so soundly when my night had been fitful, overwhelmed and torn by the dilemma of a decision I knew was both inevitable and ultimate. I turned in his direction. It might be the last time I would be in the same room with him as man and wife. I got out of the bed and silently made my way to the bathroom to wash my teeth and my face. By the time Nate woke up and realized what had hit him, I would be gone, having expertly avoided a conversation that is unnecessary and surely incapable of ending amicably. I grabbed m
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