Vivian’s POVFor a moment, we both stood staring at each other. I could feel the hate from his stare, and it made me very uncomfortable. I knew that I had been told that he was coming back, but I hadn’t expected him to be back now, or worse, walk into the house and find him standing there.“What are you doing here?” He asked venomously.“Ted,” I said breathlessly.For years now I haven’t spoken to or called his name, and it sounded strange on my tongue. Ted winced at the sound of his name from me.“I asked you a question,” Ted said. The more he spoke, the angrier he sounded.Before I stubbornly moved out of the house, Ted and I were the closest sibling, even closer than how Manny and I were, but after I moved out, he completely closed up on me and I did not bother to reach out or mend the broken wall between us. I had been too engrossed with trying to make the marriage between Syrus and I work that I had neglected the people that mattered most to me.“I…” I started, then stopped, beca
Vivian’s POV“Ted, don’t be silly,” Manny warned.None of us had expected him to say something like that. I knew he was upset, but I never imagined that it was that upset to not want me in the house, or worse, willing to leave forever just to avoid me.“Ted…” I called Ted, but he glared at me furiously.“Don’t you ever!” Ted barked at me. “You have lost all rights to call my name. I hate you so much, and I would never accept you back as a member of this family,” Ted said bitterly.My knees became weak and I staggered backwards. Thankfully, the door wasn’t far from me, so it held me back, otherwise I would have fallen to the ground. The hatred and venom in Ted’s voice was very thick. “Ted, that is too hostile,” dad scolded him.“Hostile? Did you say hostile? She turned her back on her damn family! That is an unforgivable offense!” Ted queried.“I am sorry,” I said as I began to cry. I meant it when I said I was sorry. If I had known that things with Syrus would turn out this badly, I
Georgia’s POVGeorgia walked into her apartment tired, frustrated, mad as hell, and bitter.“Why the heck did that bitch call Syrus right when things were about to get down?” Georgia asked herself.She had bitten the pillows and groaned in frustration after Syrus had dashed out after taking Vivian’s call, and no amount of cajoling and cooing had worked to make him stay.“This is important, Georgia,” Syrus had said and rushed out hastily.They had almost kissed and Georgia knew that would have been it for her. It wasn’t exactly difficult to get Syrus to have an affair with her before; he had been a wandering husband seeking the fruit that resided outside his marriage and she had been more than willing and available to indulge him, but indulging him had made Georgia want him all to herself, so she had worked hard and tirelessly to make sure that the marriage between Syrus and Vivian crashed.Georgia knew that getting Syrus back into her bed wouldn’t be that much of a hassle now. Althoug
Vivian’s POVI racked my brain trying to come up with the next best solution to my problem. It was gradually getting dark, and very unsafe and unhealthy to be out here on my own. My phone rang, and it was Belinda. I picked up, sighing.“Hi, Bel,” I said weakly. The noise in the back indicated that she was in a very lively place. “Vivian, did you get my text? I am currently out of town,” Belinda yelled into the phone. She also sounded very excited, and it was obvious that she was having lots of fun. “Yes, I did,” I told Belinda. Instantly, I felt guilty for interrupting Belinda’s fun. She had always been available for me, and it was no fault of hers that I was outside at this time, pregnant and stranded. It would be unfair of me to ruin her fun with my predicament.“What’s up?” Belinda asked. I bet she was struggling to hear me. She laughed heartily at something someone said over there, and it pinched my heart.“I was just calling to check up on you,” I lied. I was already causing t
Vivian’s POV I opened my mouth in shock at what I was seeing, and I did not even realize when I screamed, making Dan to rush into the room.“Are you okay?” Dan asked.I stared at him, speechless. “What happened?” Dan asked, a mixture of dread and confusion in his face. The words hung in my mouth, unable to say out the words. My eyes darted from Dan to my phone, and I could barely believe what I was reading.Dan carefully walked closer to the bed and stretched his neck, trying to get a sneak-peek of what was making me act all weird and scary, and at the same time, maintaining distance. I decided that it was time to put Dan out of the torture of his worries.“The headlines,” I said.Dan looked at me, more confused now. “What is going on with the headlines?” He asked me.“There is a news about me there,” I said, “About us, actually,” I corrected.Dan’s brow furrowed in more confusion. “What are you saying?” Dan asked.I decided then to read out exactly what I was seeing instead of exp
Vivian’s POVI walked around the block, hoping to grab a taxi soonest. It was a good thing I freshened up before coming out to see who was calling, so I looked around, waiting for a cab to take me to work. I felt irritated and angry at Syrus, because now he had caused me to miss Dan’s delicious and sumptuous breakfast.“Vivian!” I heard the angry and yelling sound of Syrus’s voice behind me. I was startled at first, but I did not make any attempt to turn when I realized that it was Syrus. I felt him walking towards me, and I groaned my teeth in annoyance. “Why the heck is he following me now?” I asked no one in particular. I thought he would have gotten into his car and driven off without a care in the world, so why was he on my heels now?Syrus got to where I stood and grabbed my hand, causing me to twirl around and face him. “Vivian!” Syrus yelled angrily again, even though he was already close to me now.I forced my hand away from his grasp, and it was easy because Syrus’s grasp
Vivian’s POVI walked briskly to work, more pissed than I had been when I left Dan’s apartment. How dare Syrus insinuate that I was a loosed woman? He would never see me as anyone else other than what he thinks of me, and it made my stomach churn in annoyance. Every time I thought I could tolerate the excesses of Syrus, he just went ahead and exceeded my expectations.I got to work way earlier than I used to and I stopped short when I saw Manny standing outside, waiting for me.I sighed and walked up to him after I had gotten over the shock of seeing him there. “Don’t tell me you are also here to scold me,” I said to Manny.“We have been worried about you,” he said instead, ignoring my earlier statement.By ‘we’, I knew Ted was not included, but I let it slide. Manny had a worried expression on his face and it made me worried as well.“Is everything okay?” I asked.“Is it okay to talk here?” Manny asked me.We were still standing outside the office and in a few minutes time, staff wou
Vivian’s POV“What are you talking about?!” I asked Manny, my voice shaking with fear and dread. I just knew that for Manny to be like this, something was awfully wrong. He always knew how to hold things together, and with Manny around, we were barely worried about anything, but as he sat across from me, he looked dejected and shaken, and he looked dreadfully scared out of his mind.Manny shook his head.“Please, Manny, I know you all always wanted to protect me while going up, which was why you all kept some sensitive details away from me, but I am a grown woman now. In a few months, I would even be a mother, so you have to tell me what is going on,” I urged Manny.“Dad wants to protect your emotions at all cost. He doesn’t want you in the know, or according to him, he does not want you worrying your pretty little head about our mess,”“Look at me, Manny, I am not a freaking baby!” I said, my voice rising uncomfortably loud and drawing the attention of the workers who were setting t
Syrus’s POV“As an institute for business in this city, we are here to sign and seal the deal, as we have officially decided to award Mr. Syrus Vale a contract, just as we have told him during his party,” Mr. Dobson, the head of the City’s Business Council said confidently.They were all seated in Syrus’s boardroom; Syrus and his lawyer, Davis, and members of the City’s Business Council that came along with Mr. Dobson. After Mr. Dobson’s declaration during the small party hosted by Syrus’s mother for Georgia’s pregnancy, they had scheduled an appointment there and then to seal the deal at Syrus’s company.“Thank you, Mr. Dobson,” Syrus told the lead representative, knowing how important and big this deal was to him.Once it was signed and sealed, a general public announcement would be released to the general public to inform them that Syrus’s company had been included in the list. It was a rare opportunity that rarely came, and one that would boost up the company in a few months; som
Vivian’s POVI laid on the bed and cried bitterly and regrettably.Syrus’s response was clear and audible. I listened to the full conversation between Syrus and his mother, and in the end, he had chosen his inheritance over me.“You were such an idiot, Vivian,” I told myself in regret.My mind flashed back to standing in front of dad, Manny and Ted, and Belinda, and telling them that I chose Syrus over all of them, but now that it was Syrus’s turn to choose me for once, he blatantly refused.I felt used. I felt foolish and stupid. I felt horrible.It was because of my actions that my family had experienced everything that we had gone through. So many things had gone wrong since the day I left my family for Syrus, yet, he could not do the same for me, and that was why he had stood with Georgia right in front of the camera with smiles. My heart broke into a million pieces, and just when I thought I could not hurt anymore, my heart ached some more. I wanted to just die as I cried and cri
Vivian’s POVI began to breathe faster, and I could not even tell if it was a panic attack or not; it had never happened to me before, but I felt as though my heart was giving way because of the headline.I didn’t have anything I particularly hoped to see, but even if I had thought about it, I would never have come to this. Manny noticed my mood and he came closer to me, worried, and he paused the show right after.“Do you need me to turn it off?” Manny asked, worried about me.“Is…is this what you wanted me to see?” I managed to get the words out.My voice was shaking.“Yes, because I thought you might want to see it, but I never knew that it would trigger you,” Manny said apologetically. “I could turn it off right now,” Manny added.I saw that he meant it, because he had already taken the remote and was about to switch off the TV, so I shook my head.“Leave it on; I will watch it,” I told Manny.My voice was shaking a little, but it was firm.“Are you sure?” Manny asked and I nodded
Vivian’s POVI got up and followed Marcus to the living room, because I was more interested in getting away from that hurtful and regretful thought than what he even wanted me to see.“What is it?” I asked Manny.It was not until I left the store room that I realized that I had no clue what Manny wanted me to see. It could be something I wasn’t prepared to see, and I had just followed him without asking.“It’s on the show,” Manny told me.I scrunched up my nose in disgust, because I wasn’t a fan of watching shows. In fact, they made me really sick. I wanted to turn back instantly, because I was certain that whatever Manny wanted me to see would be irrelevant, but then again, I didn’t, because I was not fully accepted back into the family, and the earlier I did what they liked, the better for me. At least, I just believed that it would help me get closer to them. Deep down, I wanted to mend every broken fence so badly that I was literally ready to do right about anything. They were the
Vivian’s POVI cramped myself in the store room trying to sleep, but the sleep was not forthcoming.I could not stop thinking about how hurt I was. At first, it seemed as though I wanted to regret leaving the apartment, but then again, my self-worth and dignity which Syrus had destroyed over and over again were on the line. I knew that without Syrus Vale and his financial support, I could take care of myself and my babies, especially now that it seemed as though my family had accepted me now.Well, except for Ted.The last time that I had seen him was when he appeared at my door and warned me to stay quiet about the pictures that I had seen, and I noticed that he had locked up the room. I couldn’t say a word of it to dad or Manny, but I couldn’t just let it slide as though I didn’t see anything as disturbing as that. For now, I was more bothered about my predicament with Syrus and the recent development with Georgia to worry so much about Ted, after all, he was free and back home now.
Georgia’s POV“You need to get him to marry you.”Those were the firm words of Nancy that kept tugging at Georgia’s heartstrings. For the first time, Georgia highly respected Nancy, because she was a woman who got everything she wanted, and at last, her son turned out to be the CEO of Vale company. Georgia had wanted to leave, but Nancy insisted she slept over. “You are family now,” Nancy had said. “Begin to act like it.”Georgia had been ecstatic that she was already accepted by Nancy and Bonnie, and she knew that it would not take much for her to get Syrus to accept her too. She had to act up and claim what was supposed to be hers, but Georgia did not end up like her. Nancy did manage to get Syrus’s father to marry her and even had two children for him, but at the end of the day, he still left her to be with the same woman he had loved from the very beginning. Nancy did not exactly say that, but Georgia knew from the way Nancy told the story to her that she knew that Syrus’s father
Georgia’s POVGeorgia could hardly contain the joy in her heart when Syrus told those representatives that things were officially between them, and she was more than certain that the bloggers around definitely got that information. Georgia had never been happier in her entire life!The party lasted for another hour and Syrus was able to seal the deal, but the moment the guests dispersed, Syrus entered into his car and drove out of the house.“Ignore him,” Nancy told Georgia as they made their way to the living room. “He can only sulk like a child, but what is done is done,” Nancy added.Soon, they settled into the couch in the living room beside each other. Georgia could not tell where Bonnie was, but she did not care much. Somehow, this was just a moment between she and Nancy.“Thank you for this party, Nancy. It was amazing,” Georgia said and meant it.“You belong here now, Georgia,” Nancy said in response to Georgia’s appreciation, making Georgia’s heart melt.“I love all of this,
Syrus’s POVSyrus plastered a smile on his face and went to join everyone else at the party. It was obvious that everyone was enjoying themselves except Syrus. The only thing he wanted right now was to ensure that Vivian had not fallen into the hands of Ken a second time.Nancy started by giving the opening speech. “I want to thank you all for honoring our invitation even though it was on a short notice. I am Nancy Vale as you all know, and this is the first grandchild that my son, Syrus Vale is producing,” Nancy began.Syrus ground his teeth in annoyance. Unfortunately, he could not correct his mother’s statement while she was making her speech, and he had to smile through the godforsaken lie. He had told his mother countless times that Vivian’s babies were his, but somehow, she adamantly refused to accept it, and she chose to drop that announcement right in front of everyone that mattered, and in a situation when Syrus could neither correct nor stop her. There were a few confused st
Syrus’s POVSyrus would give anything to be anywhere else other than at this godforsaken party, but his mother had threatened him and forced him to be here, so now he had to put on a fake smile and pretend to be happy.When they arrived at the party in their home garden, Syrus was surprised at the guests his mother had invited in just a few hours. Worse, they were men that Syrus highly respected.“My mother has finished me,” Syrus muttered to himself.There was no way he would be able to act otherwise in front of these people. Syrus was growing increasingly up, and his cheeks were beginning to hurt him from displaying fake smiles. Syrus came out of the mansion with his mother and sister behind, while Georgia clung to his side, holding his hands. There were cameras flashing at them, almost blinding Syrus, and still, he could not frown or show that he was greatly displeased by any of these. After he had managed to endure all that, Syrus managed to pull his mother away while Georgia cont