Vivian’s POVI definitely freaked out!I opened my mouth to scream; it was obvious that Jane had been murdered, and my first instinct had been to scream, but the picture on her made me stop. Ted’s face was there. Manny’s face was there. My face was there. The picture was taken a few months before I chose Syrus over my family, so we were all easily recognizable. If I screamed now, and the cops arrived, it would definitely put me in a more complicated situation. I stood there, scared, speechless, stunned, clueless.I should have acted faster, I know, but this was the absolute first time I was being in this situation and space. I was so dazed that I did not even realize that Ken had entered the room.“Heck!” He almost yelled.I turned to him with pleading eyes, asking him not to scream.“What happened here?” He asked.“I don’t know. I walked in and saw her this way,” I told Ken.“This is incriminating, Vivian. Is she still alive?” Ken asked. He could not exactly tell because I was block
Vivian’s POVKen did not have the chance to respond before the cops barged into Jane’s room, so I did not know if he agreed to what I had pleaded with him for or not.“We are from the police department, and we got a call from Doctor Ken about a murder crime,” one of the cops said.I looked at Ken briefly, shocked. I didn’t know that he had placed a call through eventually. This very well shows that I cannot trust him at all. My heart began to thump rapidly.I was done for.The other cops began to wrap up Jane’s body in a big leather bag. I looked at them, and I began to shiver. Jane was dead. The same person with whom I had waited tables at the coffee shop for days, spent time together at a club, and shared a night at my room was dead and gone, just like that. Then I began to feel horribly bad and guilty for pushing her away after her several attempts to get close to me. It dawned on me that she could have been murdered by the drug lord, although I wasn’t certain, because I did not kn
Vivian’s POVThe interrogative officer stared long and hard at me, fishing for fault. He still hadn’t talked about Ken’s statement, which even got me really scared and worried, but I tried to maintain composure so that I would not be easily roped in.I even began to think of a possible convincing lie I could come up with even if Ken had decided to sell me out just to save his name and reputation.“What is your relationship with Jane?” He broke the ice after a couple of minutes and asked. I almost suffocated out of relief, if that was even possible, because I hadn’t expected to be asked that question. He thought he was begin to prod me about what I had found when I entered Jane’s room, or even inform me whether Ken’s account on the incident checks mine as well. I itched to find out what Ken told them, but asking would also draw suspicions, and I wasn’t ready for that. I wouldn’t even get out of it if I dragged myself into it.Anyway, I thought about my response deeply, because every r
Syrus’s POV“Davis, what is going on? Why haven’t I seen or heard from Vivian?” Syrus barked at his lawyer. He was almost about to burst open in anger.“Mr. Vale, please calm down,” Davis said over the phone, cringing at Syrus’s yelling tone.“Do not ask me to calm down! You said the court has signed the legal action against her, and it has been delivered to her, but I still cannot see her!” Syrus bellowed. He was almost tearing the roof of his office down.“I said it was delivered to her residential address, not exactly to her directly,” Davis tried to clarify.“You must be playing with me! Isn’t it your job to deliver it to her by hand?” Syrus queried Davis.“Mr. Vale, I understand your predicament, and I sympathize with you, but that is exceeding my job,” Davis said, trying not to get as offended as he really was about Syrus’s tone. “My job as your lawyer is to draft out the legal action, push it to the court, convince them to sign it, then make certain that it reaches the recipient
Vivian’s POVI did not know I would survive the night, because of the nightmare I had.Last night, after I got back from the station and went straight to bed, I saw Jane in my dream.She looked scared and sad, and she continued to plead with me to save her, but I kept giving her the cold shoulders. She had tried to hold onto me, but I shoved her off and walked away from her.I jerked awake, shivering and afraid. I grabbed the bottle of water by my bedside and gulped thirstily. I could no longer return to sleep for fear of seeing Jane in my sleep again, but even being awake was scarier, because I kept feeling and thinking that every creepy sound was her.The entire night, I was haunted by the thought of Jane.I brushed and showered early in the morning; never have I been grateful that it was dawn already, because the night had been too scary and creepy for me. When I heard a knock on the door, I jerked and even almost passed out in shock. Who the heck could be at the door this early? T
Syrus’s POVSyrus went back to his office, leaving strict warnings to his secretary not to let anyone into his office.Then Syrus soaked himself in grief.Vivian’s father had hit him where it hurt the most. Syrus remembered the first time he had realized his father’s absence; he had eavesdropped on his parent’s argument without his knowledge.“Are you going to keep doing this?! What about Syrus and Bonnie? How do I keep making excuses for you?!” Nancy had yelled at Syrus’s extremely absent father.Growing up, Syrus had barely seen his father. He and Bonnie only saw him once a year, or twice if he was being generous to them. “I don’t care what you want to tell them, Nancy!” His father had bellowed angrily.Syrus had been shocked and hurt. Their mother had told them constantly that their father could not attend their school parties, prom, school games, birthdays, because he was extremely busy with building the company, and she had made them understand that it was necessary that their f
Vivian’s POVAs I sat across from Ken on the table, I asked myself how I got entangled in all of these.“Would you like some cheese and eggs?” Ken asked with a smile. “They are definitely good for you, especially for the babies,” Ken said, and without waiting for my response, he turned to the waitress standing by and said, “Kindly get two plates of cheese and eggs, and lukewarm glasses of water for us.”“Coming right up,” she said and left.Ken turned to me. “Does she remind you of Jane?” He asked.I shook my head, unwilling to indulge in the conversation. The last thing I wanted was to be here with Doctor Ken, having lunch. Surprisingly, Lori had come to me with a flowing gown that had rose petals all over, and yapping about Ken, her cousin.“I am so delighted that Ken seems to have developed some sort of interest in you,” Lori had said as she pushed the dress gently to me. “He has been way too single for long, and that needs to change,” she had said with a girly giggle. It was the f
Vivian’s POVIt was as though I was dreaming, because what kind of conversation was I having with my supposed doctor? How did I get into this mess? I definitely did not do anything to deserve this! All I had done had been to get registered just like every other pregnant woman, so this just doesn’t make any sense to me.“What do you know about me?” I asked, my heart beating rapidly. Somehow, I was scared of what Ken would say. I know I had met a couple of tricky and bad people; Georgia was one of them, but this was on a different level, and to think that I just walked right into it.“I know that you are the ex-wife of Syrus Vale, who is still very much alive,” Ken divulged.My mouth fell open in shock.“How did you know?” I asked Ken, shocked to my very core. This was a random meeting, not planned, right? Lori could not have set me up like this. She did not strike me as someone who was capable of doing such, besides, she had given me a harmless recommendation, so how did Ken know? “I
Georgia’s POVGeorgia stayed hidden in that spot and watched everything play out. She had planned everything with Adrian, but she needed to be sure that nothing was going to go wrong. Georgia watched Bonnie give Adrian a side look, and she raised her nose up.“All of you from wealthy homes are always looking down on people at first look,” Georgia said to herself in disdain.She was familiar with that kind of look all too well, because when she was trying to make her way to the top, she faced a lot of criticism from wealthy and influential people. Georgia also knew that if she wasn’t where she was now, Bonnie would not give her a first look at all.“Well, all that is about to change,” Georgia said as she paid attention to the pair. She arranged it in such a way that made her hear everything they were talking about.“I am waiting on someone, and you are in her seat,” Bonnie said in her rich, proud, and sophisticated voice that made Georgia want to drag off all the wealth and influence
Georgia’s POVIn private now, Georgia held her hand to her chest and released the breath that she had been holding.“That was freaking close!” Georgia said in shock.While she sat there and watched the banter among Syrus, Nancy and Bonnie, Georgia had been praying that Bonnie wouldn’t be pressured into telling the truth, thereby mentioning her name.She was really smart enough to have told Bonnie to wire it over to her, because she knew without a doubt that Syrus definitely tried to trace that money. “I have to think of something,” Georgia said to herself in thought.She received the mail of her officially approved contract with the TV show, which meant that the money would soon be paid to get. It also meant that she would soon begin her tour. All things seemed to be working well for Georgia. Now, her only problem was Bonnie. Georgia had a deep feeling that if Syrus applied just the right pressure, she would slip. She knew Bonnie and the soil she was made from. Bonnie was too soft at
Vivian’s POV“Twenty thousand dollars?!” For a moment, I thought my ears were playing tricks on me, but from the look on Manny’s face, I knew he was not joking. Why would he? Who would joke about something as important as this?Manny took a seat, dejected. He looked like he was dressed for work, but I couldn’t ask him.“Dad’s medical bills certainly shouldn’t have cost that much,” I said with certainty. Not like I had any valid proof, but I just couldn’t believe it at all. “You weren’t here, Vivian, so you have no idea what it was like,” Manny said.There was still the underlying tone of anger and resentment which I just recently figured out, and it really broke my heart. Well, I guess everyone in my family now officially hates me.“I know that, but…” I tried to talk, but Manny interrupted me.“What about that Jane girl?” Manny asked out of the blue. I blinked several times, because for a moment, I could not understand Manny’s question, and he noticed my confusion.“The girl you m
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