Vivian’s POV“Vivian, are you busy?” Marie asked me.It was evening and I had done everything she needed me to do, but as soon as she asked the question, I got up energetically.“Not at all,” I answered, because I wasn’t busy, and I wasn’t equally tired.“Are you sure?” Marie asked; she was always very thoughtful and kind, and I could never get enough of it.Since I started to work here, I had to literally pinch myself everyday that this wasn’t a dream. It was a reality! “I am certain,” I answered. “Is there something you want me to do for you?” I asked.“Uh, yes,” Marie answered.“What might that be?” I asked.“I shipped in some things I bought, and they have arrived. I would’ve picked them up myself, but Vale is having a little headache, and I cannot leave him right now,” Marie said.“Oh my goodness, is he okay?!” I asked, genuinely worried.“Yes, he is,” Marie said, but she sounded downcast. “It’s just a mild headache,” she added softly.“I know I shouldn’t pry, but is something w
Vivian’s POV“You?” I asked in utter disbelief, disappointment, and shock.Why on earth was everything happening to me at the same time?Leon rolled his eyes dully. “Trust me, I have no pleasure in seeing you as well, but Diana is tied up with a customer, so you either take or, or forget about it,” Leon stated.I thought of returning into the house, but Marie would ask me why I changed my mind. I was their housekeeper, and whether I liked it or not, it was my duty to run errands for them without giving excuses, and also, I still wanted to get away from them for a while, at least. It was as though I was between the devil and the deep blue sea.“Are you coming or do I have to leave?” Leon asked impatiently.Grudgingly, I walked to the car and sat in the backseat, because I really did not want anything to do with him. Sitting at the backseat was as far as I could get from Leon, even though I still had to breathe the same air as he and tolerate his aggravating presence for a few hours.Le
Syrus’s POVSyrus had been in the learning room with the Frenchman for hours learning the ropes on how to bring his father’s crumbling company back up.“In business, you must make up your mind to choose the company above anything else,” the Frenchman was speaking. “As you begin to flourish, there will be times when difficult choices will be thrown at you, even regarding the people you love dearly, but remember to always choose your inheritance and legacy,” he continued.Syrus nodded diligently. They had been on rigorous training and tutorship for months now since Anderson referred him to the Frenchman in order to save his legacy from collapsing. His father might have abandoned it, but Syrus couldn’t; he shouldn’t, because it was his legacy. Without the company, he would be left on the street with his mother and sister, and Syrus could never allow that to happen.“I knew your dad before now,” the Frenchman continued. “His name and company were on the lips of virtually everyone in the c
Syrus’s POVSyrus got into his car and drove off without his driver.He needed to handle this alone and he could not do that if he went with anyone else. Ken had made him believe that he killed the Frenchman and he had lived with that guilt for years ever since, but now, Syrus wondered if that was true. The last thing he remembered was drinking the coffee that Ken served him which he prepared when no one was looking at him. He could not fathom how he stood in front of the Frenchman all of a sudden. Syrus could not tell what happened around that time. After he took the coffee, everything around Syrus had just fizzled out.And now, Ken was using the incident to hang threats above his head. No, he could not just sit idly by and watch Ken destroy his life. Syrus even wondered why he hadn’t thought of that day’s incident before now. It was a long drive to the small town where Syrus was certain Ken’s small hospital was located. He had never been there, so he could not tell exactly where it
Vivian’s POVI waited for Marie’s package to be brought to me, but it was taking longer than necessary.“Ma’am, please how much longer is this going to take?” I asked, because my legs were beginning to get weak.“A little while longer,” the attendant responded politely.I waited and waited, and I wondered why it was taking so much time. I began to feel sweaty and hot in my stomach, and extremely uncomfortable, but I did not know what else to do.“Here,” Leon turned.I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard his voice. Then I turned around and saw him holding a glass of juice. “I have been watching you, and you look like you are about to pass out,” Leon added when I didn’t make any move to collect the juice from him.“Where did you get this from?” I asked him skeptically.“There’s a restaurant just by the corner,” Leon answered, his hand still stretched at me.I took the juice from Leon, because I realized that I highly needed it, especially with how long I have been standing and wai
Vivian’s POV“I still want to know,” I told Leon insistently even though my heart was pounding greatly.I was asking myself if I truly needed to know about it, because Leon’s words sounded dreadful, causing my heart to beat faster than usual. Maybe I should just let sleeping dogs lie, especially now that I had gotten far away from Ted, but how far away can I ever possibly get? Each time I think I have successfully run away from a problem, it pops right back up and stares at me squarely in the face. For instance, the last person I expected to run into in this peaceful town that I had gotten a job was Leon, the same man whom I had seen with Ted who had a dangerous look in his eyes. These were signs that I could never actually run away from my reality. There was Ken and the conniving inspector that I had fled from. There was Ted who had verbally threatened me right in a house that I had called home for years. I couldn’t continue running away from difficult and harsh truths, especially the
Syrus’s POVSyrus got home at past midnight, drenched and drained. His mission with Ken had failed woefully. After asking Ken that question, Ken had laughed at him to scorn.“If you didn’t, then who did?” Ken had asked without remorse. “You were the one with the wedge hammer that day; I only walked in and saw that you had just murdered the Frenchman,” Ken had said.Syrus had almost fallen defeated, because on a face level, that had been what had happened, but Syrus was determined to get to the bottom of it. More than anything else, he wanted to get this guilt hanging over his head; this guilt that Ken was now threatening to use against him. Syrus was a businessman, and he knew what deadly scandals could do to his company. Once the news got out and the world knew that he had murdered someone, he would never recover from it, and Syrus had gone too far to let anything stop him now. He had sacrificed too much to let a sin from the past crawl up to destroy everything. “I don’t remember an
Vivian’s POVThe revelation I got from Leon still had me reeling with shock. Hearing that Dad had used up our inheritance and wanted to give me out in a contract marriage to pay off his debt, I had thought that that was the height of betrayal from my family members, but this was worse than I could take.Ted now had blood in his hand!I shuddered at the remembrance of it. Thankfully, when Leon brought me back to the house, Marie and Mr. Vale had been too engrossed with having their lover’s time together to even notice that I was drenched in dread, so I had just delivered what I was sent and I went into my room. I could not even bring myself to eat anything. In fact, the thought of food made my stomach retch.This was no longer a case of drug dealing; it was a murder case. First of all, Ted had gotten involved in drugs, which was even a great crime in the country. Then he had killed Jane in cold blood simply because she had betrayed him. To make things even scarier, he had planted a pi
Vivian’s POV“Today, we have gathered in holy matrimony to join two love birds, whose love could not be altered with the wave of time; Marie and Vale,” the priest started beautifully.I couldn’t stop smiling as I watched Marie and Mr. Vale, dressed to perfection: Marie in a white flowery down and Mr. Vale in black pair suits. Nancy wasn’t present, because she wasn’t invited, which was understandably so, even though they had all resolved things amicably. However, Bonnie, easy to forgive now that her mother had asked her to, was in attendance. Actually, she had flown in some days before, just so that she could have moments with her father too. I noticed that she was nice to me as well, and she even brought gifts for the triplets who would be coming to the world any time soon.Bonnie sat behind Syrus and I, squealing in delight.“This is the most beautiful wedding I have ever attended!” Bonnie whispered happily, but her voice was loud enough for us to hear her.Then Syrus turned to her
Vivian’s POVI sat on the patio just resting and thinking yet again about everything that had happened. This time around, my thoughts weren’t exactly filled with bitterness or anger or sadness. A lot had happened since Diana showed up here and hugged me. She had confessed that she was deeply hurt and begrudged, but after carefully thinking about it, and of course, discussing it with Marie, she had come to the realization that her brother had fooled her for years. While she had struggled and worked hard to achieve everything she had achieved, Leon had chosen to go through the illegal and seemingly wrong path, and she knew that he would have to face the consequences of his actions. Our conversation also brought me to the same resolution with Ted, and the rest of my family.The trial was held about three days ago. I couldn’t attend, because my due date was gradually drawing near, and deep down, I didn’t want to see Ted’s face and break down all over again. The drug lord, his men, along
Vivian’s POVEverything seemed to be happening in such a rush that it was all too much for me to handle. Syrus’s reappearance and his conscious efforts to win back my forgiveness and affection was also overwhelming.He had lived with Mr. Vale and Marie for over a week now, and he had not stopped persisting. Initially, I thought that he would have given up and run back to his company as he always did, but he hadn’t…yet. Syrus kept trying by words and in actions to prove that he was truly sorry, and I maintained the cold shoulders I gave to him, but still, he refused to relent. Syrus had been ordering flowers and notes for me every single day without fail. According to him, he wasn’t trying to buy my love and forgiveness with gifts, because he knew that I wasn’t that kind of woman, but flowers only indicated his genuineness and love for me, which was even why he wasn’t including any other gift. Also, his determination to restore his broken relationship with his father was evident, and
Syrus’s POVSyrus discovered that his father’s house was not as big as the mansion he grew up in, but it was a very homely and cozy bungalow. The moment he entered, he felt more at home and at peace more than he had ever been.“I will show you to your room,” Marie told Syrus as she led him to a room beside the room that Vivian was staying in.When they got into the room, Syrus was impressed at the neatness and warmth of the room.“Thank you, Marie,” Syrus told her deeply.“I am going to make some pasta and we will all eat at the dining table, so use this chance to rest and freshen up,” Marie said politely.She was about leaving when Syrus stopped her. “Do you think she will ever forgive me and talk to me?” Syrus asked.After he had made himself known as the extra traveller, he noticed that Vivian went cold. She had vehemently refused to share a seat with Syrus in the plane even though Mr. Vale had intentionally arranged the ticket in that format. Syrus could not deny that the hostili
Vivian’s POVBelinda and I hurried to the airport, because after all she had told me, I was afraid that Georgia might somehow know that I was in the city, and she would find a way to hurt me. I was heavily pregnant now, and if anything happened, I did not even have the strength to fight or defend myself.“I will come with you and wait for your employers until they get here. If anything were to happen, I don’t want you to ever have to face her alone,” Belinda said firmly when I tried to dissuade her from going with me to the airport.It wasn’t until we got to the airport safely that I became less worried. Also, even though I had wanted Belinda to return to her apartment initially, I was very grateful to have her here with me. We were able to get a safe place to sit and wait where the cops were always watching and patrolling about.“Do you want me to get you anything from the cafeteria?” Belinda asked when she noticed how weak and tired I was after we sat down.“No, I am fine. I was jus
Syrus’s POVSyrus drove home like a lunatic. He could barely wait to confront his mother for everything he just heard. His entire being was boiling with anger and rage.For years, his mother had lied to both him and Bonnie, and she had made them hate their father unjustly. More so, they had grown up without their father’s love and affection all because of her selfish and greedy desires! His mother was just as cruel and cunning as Georgia; there was literally no difference between them, and now, Syrus understood why she chose Georgia over Vivian. For all Syrus knew, evil always aligned with evil.“Damn, I have been such a fool to let Georgia, my mother, and the company come in between what Vivian and I shared,” Syrus said to himself painfully and regrettably.He wanted exactly what he saw between his father and Marie; love, loyalty, friendship, and companionship, and he did not want to enjoy that only when he was old. He had all that with Vivian, but he had ruined it. To Syrus, he beli
Georgia’s POVGeorgia was frantic. Things were getting out of hand. Syrus had been unreachable for hours since today, and she did not know what to do.“I cannot lose,” Georgia told herself as she paced about in her apartment. She had come too far to lose. She had done too much to lose now.“What do I do? I can’t let Syrus win over me,” Georgia said.As she was pacing about and thinking, Ken knocked on her door. Georgia answered it, but she was irritated. Ken was gradually becoming a nuisance to her; why would he keep showing up at her apartment?“You can’t just come in here whenever you like, Ken,” Georgia berated him.He hardly even gave her enough time to think things through and decide on what she wanted to do. “Why not?” Ken asked, making Georgia more disgusted. “We are a bound team now, remember?” Ken said.“You have your apartment, and I have mine. Stay at yours unless it is exceptionally necessary for crying out loud,” Georgia told Ken.She did not even bother masking her ann
Syrus’s POVAll these years, Syrus had felt horribly sorry for his mother, being that he felt that she was unjustly abandoned, but from what Vale said, it meant that his mother swindled and manipulated her way into his life.Syrus shook his head; he did not want to believe that about the woman he had loved, adored, and respected all his life.“That cannot be true,” Syrus argued.“Do you think that after all these years I would lie to you?” Vale asked. “The years I spent being married to Nancy were the worst years of my life. I tried to love her, but I just couldn’t. She knew I was in love with someone else. She knew that I would never love her, but she refused to let me go. I know that you might not like the sound of this, but I went as far as taking a secret DNA test on you, because I wanted to find every reason to leave,” Vale said as tears streamed down his face in sadness and regret.Syrus’s heart was shattered beyond words. He had no idea that the story between his parents was de
Syrus’s POVSyrus walked over to where Mr. Vale sat solemnly, backing him. Marie stood behind Syrus, urging him to go to Mr. Vale.People had left the cemetery now, and they had all moved to Anderson’s house, or most of them, for the next batch of the funeral celebration. Syrus’s plan had been to pay his last respect here at the cemetery, then he would return home, but everything changed, including his plans. More so, Syrus could not believe that he let his father’s mistress, the woman he hated so much talk him into listening to Mr. Vale, something he had equally vowed that he would never do. Syrus swallowed hard, the words finding it difficult to come out from his throat. “Vale?” Marie called softly, since Syrus was taking too much time in talking, and with how sad Vale was, he was not likely going to turn around even in the next one hour.“I was counting on this opportunity, Marie, and I have lost it,” Vale said, his voice dripping with sadness and regret.Marie knew that if truly