Syrus’s POV“Mum, do you have an idea what Bonnie did? Did she tell you? Are you also in on this?” Syrus asked his mother, fuming.He had gotten a worrisome call from the family’s finance officer who expressed his deep concerns about how huge amounts of money was being withdrawn from the family account. First, it was Bonnie, then Syrus, and now Syrus was requesting for another amount of money.Syrus would be really upset if his mother was in on this.“You can at least start by talking first, Syrus,” Nancy demanded authoritatively.Georgia just sat there watching the family drama, and hoping to God that Bonnie would not be forced into mentioning her name, otherwise she would be doomed. This was the only family that she pitched her tent for now.“Bonnie had five thousand dollars wired out of the account, and I demand to know what she used the money for!” Syrus bellowed.“So you refused to answer mum’s question, but you want to force me into answering yours, right?” Bonnie stated stubbor
Vivian’s POVI have been reminiscing on the things that Belinda revealed to me, and I could barely make sense of it.I watched Belinda getting dressed for work as I stayed lazily in bed, my mind trying to understand everything.“Vivian!” Belinda practically yelled my name, making me snap out of my reverie. “Jeez, you were lost for a moment,” Belinda said.“No, I have been here,” I lied, and Belinda knew I was lying. I really do not understand why I lie to her when she could read me like a book. “I have been talking for about ten minutes, and you completely zoned out, so stop lying to me,” Belinda said.“Okay, what were you saying?” I asked, somehow sensing that she was yapping about silly things.After talking at length yesterday, I had pleaded with Belinda to spend the night with me. It was my first night in the apartment, and I did not want to sleep alone. Trauma from that small town still haunted me greatly; which was even why I switched off my phone. Thinking about it now, I had
Vivian’s POVAfter Belinda left for work, I began to contemplate whether or not I should go. I wouldn’t have gone if Ted hadn’t been taken away, which should have given me enough confidence, but now, I just felt horrible going, because all this problem was because of me.I hadn’t spoken to Manny since the last call when he told me to run to safety. Maybe he must have been trying to reach me, but my phone was switched off.“You don’t have all the time in the world to contemplate, Vivian,” I told myself, because if I don’t go now, I might not catch Manny at home before he goes to work.So I got dressed and left the apartment, taking the key with me.On my way there, my heart began to pound heavily, and I wondered why I was feeling this way about visiting my family. I used to be very comfortable around them, and even though we have had our rough patches, we were still a family.Standing in front of the door now, I inhaled and exhaled.“You have got this, Vivian,” I encouraged myself befo
Vivian’s POV“What does that even mean?!” I asked, angrier now.“What doesn’t it mean? Vivian?” Manny responded, equally upset, even though we were both equally trying to keep our voices down so that we would not wake dad up.“He does not want to see you, or speak to you! I wouldn’t even have let you in if he was awake!” Manny spewed.His words hit me like a punch in my guts, making me stagger backwards. So this was what life had become for me. My dad who accepted me when I returned after the divorce no longer accepted me.“This is not fair!” I said as hot, bitter tears began to fall from my eyes. “This is not fair at all.”It was as though my words aroused the anger that Manny had been trying so hard to keep at bay.“It is not fair? Vivian, do you have any idea the pain you have caused us?!” Manny bellowed. “First of all, you ran off with a man that none of us approved of!” Manny said.“I know that. I know that,” I was crying now, in deep regret.“That alone, caused dad to have his f
Vivian's Pov"Bullshit!" I cursed from the bottom of my chest as I watched the TV. The news channel headlined "Top actress and supermodel Goergia see linking arms with CEO of Vale Tech - Syrus Vale." I threw the coffee mug I was holding shattering the television. I had seen these reports before, but this one hurt more.That good for nothing husband promised to come home for my birthday, yet here he was, not just late, but fooling around with another woman, not just any woman but his ex-fiance to boot. I was the one who married him in the end, but it never felt like Syrus left her behind.I looked at the dinner table, still set with candles and the meal I spent hours making. The cake I baked sat there, untouched, its frosting melting. My hand shook as I picked up my phone and saw a message. It was a photo from Georgia. She rested her head on Syrus’s shoulder while he smiled, a smile I hadn’t seen in years.My breath caught in my throat. I felt stupid for holding onto hope. My frie
Vivian's PovI didn’t take a single penny from the divorce settlement. Syrus scoffed as I walked away, probably thinking I was foolish for leaving behind the wealth and status his name came with. What he never understood was that I had never touched the money he gave me. I had supported myself all these years, refusing to depend on him for anything.When I returned to the mansion to collect the last of my things, I heard laughter from the living room. I paused, recognizing the voices of my mother-in-law, Nancy and Georgia.“She said she’s divorcing my son! As if that greedy woman would ever walk away from this family’s wealth,” my mother-in-law cackled.“It’s a shame,” Georgia added, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. “If things had been different, I might have been your daughter-in-law instead.”“Oh, don’t say that, dear. Vivian and Syrus were never a good match. You two would have been perfect together.”I pushed open the front door, and the two women on the couch went silent. A
Vivian's PovI stood there, watching the man I once loved display his blind devotion to Georgia, and I couldn’t help but question how I had been so foolish for so long. I felt no desire to linger in their twisted drama any longer. As I turned to leave with my belongings, Georgia’s voice stopped me.“I would never admit to something I didn’t do! Why can’t you believe me? Do you really think I ruined your marriage out of spite? I’ve barely been around you two. I’m only here to film a movie. Why must you target me?”Though she spoke to the room, her words were clearly aimed at me. I almost laughed at how ridiculous this family had become—one fool blindly in love, another conniving for personal gain, and Syrus, seething with misplaced hatred, ready to lash out at me any second.Syrus turned to me, venom dripping from his voice. “If you didn’t set this up, then who did? Who else would go after Georgia like this, besides you?”I sighed, too tired for this nonsense. I addressed Georgia direct
Vivian's PovTwo hours later, Georgia emerged from surgery, and the doctor’s awkward expression caught my eye.Syrus, absorbed in concern for Georgia, didn’t seem to notice. “How is she? Will she be okay?”The doctor cleared his throat. “Her injuries weren’t severe. We’ve stitched the cuts and are running some tests as a precaution. She should stay overnight for observation, but she’ll be fine.”I couldn’t help but smirk to myself. Just as I suspected, the whole ordeal had been blown out of proportion. The medical staff seemed embarrassed by the fuss, dragging out the process to cover up how minor it really was.Syrus, relieved, hurried after Georgia’s stretcher. He didn’t spare me a single glance. I watched him go, a deep ache spreading through my chest. The man I had loved for so long didn’t even see me anymore. I wanted to scream, but I stayed silent, letting the grief settle over me.My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I froze when I saw the name on the screen. I let it go to voicema
Vivian’s POV“What does that even mean?!” I asked, angrier now.“What doesn’t it mean? Vivian?” Manny responded, equally upset, even though we were both equally trying to keep our voices down so that we would not wake dad up.“He does not want to see you, or speak to you! I wouldn’t even have let you in if he was awake!” Manny spewed.His words hit me like a punch in my guts, making me stagger backwards. So this was what life had become for me. My dad who accepted me when I returned after the divorce no longer accepted me.“This is not fair!” I said as hot, bitter tears began to fall from my eyes. “This is not fair at all.”It was as though my words aroused the anger that Manny had been trying so hard to keep at bay.“It is not fair? Vivian, do you have any idea the pain you have caused us?!” Manny bellowed. “First of all, you ran off with a man that none of us approved of!” Manny said.“I know that. I know that,” I was crying now, in deep regret.“That alone, caused dad to have his f
Vivian’s POVAfter Belinda left for work, I began to contemplate whether or not I should go. I wouldn’t have gone if Ted hadn’t been taken away, which should have given me enough confidence, but now, I just felt horrible going, because all this problem was because of me.I hadn’t spoken to Manny since the last call when he told me to run to safety. Maybe he must have been trying to reach me, but my phone was switched off.“You don’t have all the time in the world to contemplate, Vivian,” I told myself, because if I don’t go now, I might not catch Manny at home before he goes to work.So I got dressed and left the apartment, taking the key with me.On my way there, my heart began to pound heavily, and I wondered why I was feeling this way about visiting my family. I used to be very comfortable around them, and even though we have had our rough patches, we were still a family.Standing in front of the door now, I inhaled and exhaled.“You have got this, Vivian,” I encouraged myself befo
Vivian’s POVI have been reminiscing on the things that Belinda revealed to me, and I could barely make sense of it.I watched Belinda getting dressed for work as I stayed lazily in bed, my mind trying to understand everything.“Vivian!” Belinda practically yelled my name, making me snap out of my reverie. “Jeez, you were lost for a moment,” Belinda said.“No, I have been here,” I lied, and Belinda knew I was lying. I really do not understand why I lie to her when she could read me like a book. “I have been talking for about ten minutes, and you completely zoned out, so stop lying to me,” Belinda said.“Okay, what were you saying?” I asked, somehow sensing that she was yapping about silly things.After talking at length yesterday, I had pleaded with Belinda to spend the night with me. It was my first night in the apartment, and I did not want to sleep alone. Trauma from that small town still haunted me greatly; which was even why I switched off my phone. Thinking about it now, I had
Syrus’s POV“Mum, do you have an idea what Bonnie did? Did she tell you? Are you also in on this?” Syrus asked his mother, fuming.He had gotten a worrisome call from the family’s finance officer who expressed his deep concerns about how huge amounts of money was being withdrawn from the family account. First, it was Bonnie, then Syrus, and now Syrus was requesting for another amount of money.Syrus would be really upset if his mother was in on this.“You can at least start by talking first, Syrus,” Nancy demanded authoritatively.Georgia just sat there watching the family drama, and hoping to God that Bonnie would not be forced into mentioning her name, otherwise she would be doomed. This was the only family that she pitched her tent for now.“Bonnie had five thousand dollars wired out of the account, and I demand to know what she used the money for!” Syrus bellowed.“So you refused to answer mum’s question, but you want to force me into answering yours, right?” Bonnie stated stubbor
Georgia’s POVGeorgia was upset and disappointed at Bonnie for making her waste her time going all the way to that property only to discover that there was no one there.In as much as she would like to, she could not show off her anger and disappointment towards Bonnie. If she didn’t need both mother and daughter to reach her goal, she wouldn’t bother with a dumb head like Bonnie.“Sometimes, being born with a silver spoon just makes them really stupid and silly,” Georgia said to herself, referring to Bonnie. Georgia was not particularly a fan of these rich kids, because half of them were not remotely as smart as she was, and that was because they had everything practically handed over to them in a platter of gold.Georgia arrived at Syrus home, and for the first time, she really hoped that Syrus would not be at home. She did not want to see him, at least not now, and she was still very upset that after that interview, he never bothered to reach her. Instead, he had gone to be the kni
Georgia’s POVGeorgia arrived at home in a lighter mood, because a few minutes after she left Brenda’s apartment, she got a call from Brenda.“Have you changed your mind?” Georgia teased. She already knew the answer, but Georgia just enjoyed toying with her victims.“No, I haven’t,” Brenda responded, and from the sound of her voice on the phone, Georgia could tell that she was still shaken.Very good, just the way Georgia liked it!“I wanted to inform you that the interview video has been deleted completely, and it would never be out in the public,” Brenda said.“How am I certain that this isn’t a lie just so that I would not expose you?” Georgia asked.She was not a fool. In fact, she was way smarter than a bunch of people, and she knew how these things worked, because she had been in the game long enough, which was why she did not even talk about her other blackmail request yet.“Because you have just been crowned our star of the season,” Brenda announced.Georgia could not believe
Vivian’s POVBelinda threw her head back and laughed when I asked her that question.“Belinda, what did you do?” I asked her again, eager to know.“I didn’t do what I wasn’t supposed to do,” Belinda said vaguely, but I was not having it.“What are you talking about?” I asked her, my curiosity nearly overriding me.“Okay, let me give you the full gist, since you are this eager,” Belinda said.“Please do!” I said.We both settled in the bed, holding and hugging each other tightly, yet tenderly. It was as though we had been apart for eternity, and now that we were together again, we were afraid that being slightly apart might make one of us disappear.“That day when I left, I got a call from my clique of friends,”“You have a clique of friends now?” I asked Belinda, slightly jealous. All these years, she was the only one I ever had as a friend, even up till now, so realizing that Belinda got a whole bunch of friends and shared friendship with other people that I was not a part of just g
Vivian’s POVAfter the tight hug that lingered for minutes, we finally untangled and I led Belinda into the living room.Having her around just felt downright relieving and so right.“Vivian, what happened?!” Belinda was the first to speak.I guess she was the first to come out of whatever emotions it was that kept us quiet, and just taking in each other. It felt like I hadn’t seen Belinda for years. This was nothing like the time I left to be with Syrus; now was just extremely different. I just feel that with what I experienced, I had come to realize that the people who have been in my life are very special.“It’s a very long story,” I said.“One of which I have all the time in the world,” Belinda said, staring at me.“Don’t you have a job to be doing right now or something?” I asked lightly.“I see what you are doing, but I should tell you, Vivian, I took the rest of the day off just to be with you,” Belinda said. Then she stopped abruptly and she looked at me. “First things first,
Vivian’s POV“Vivian. Vivian?” I snapped out of my reverie when Syrus’s voice of him calling my name kept ringing in my head.“Are you okay?” Syrus asked, looking at me with deep concern.“Yes, I am fine,” I said, shaking my head to get rid of the thoughts in my head.I was reminiscing on that night when I had happily and freely given myself to Syrus in an apartment just like this one when his words had interrupted me. I shuddered at the thought of things almost replaying itself years later; we were both alone, standing in an apartment.The only difference was that now, we are divorced.“Are you done? You can leave now,” I told Syrus, causing him to be surprised at my dismissal. But I just wanted to be alone, at least, until the effect of what our past that I just reminisced cleared from my head, and also, I needed time to think deeply about what happened to me in the last couple of days, and the way forward. Having Syrus here would prevent all that.“Are you sure everything is fine