Vivian’s POV“You are definitely wearing this dress,” Belinda said and tossed a red dress at me.I could not believe that she brought out that dress from my wardrobe. I took the dress and stared at it; it was a red dress with tiny hand straps low v-cut at the back, and a long slit.“How did this dress get here?” I asked Belinda.“Are you kidding?” Belinda asked as she stared at me like something was wrong with me. “Were you drunk when I picked this dress at the boutique the other day?” Belinda asked giggling.“You did?” I asked her. In truth, I had no idea that she had picked the dress, because the entire time, I was reminiscing on what had happened with Georgia and I just let Belinda do the shopping for me.“Gosh, you are a sorry case,” Belinda teased.“Belinda, we are having a co-parent meeting as arranged by the hospital, that’s all. It is not a date,” I tried to remind Belinda even though I already knew that it was a complete waste of time.“If they didn’t want it to be a date, wh
Vivian’s POVI sat in a cab and wondered if Syrus would fall for Belinda’s crazy idea. Left to me, I would have gone without making an effort, but then, again it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get Syrus jealous after treating me like I meant nothing at all to him.My phone rang and when I checked the caller ID; it was Syrus. I wondered why he was calling me. If it was to cancel, it would really break my heart after all the effort I put into getting dressed. I took out a tiny mirror from my purse and stared at my reflection again. I could not deny that Belinda did an outstanding job on my face, and involuntarily, my mind drifted towards Georgia, and I started to wonder if Syrus would still think Georgia was finer and hotter than I was.“No, Vivian, you shouldn’t be doing this,” I shook my head and said to myself. “You are beautiful and enough and Syrus was the wrong man for you, that was why he couldn’t value you,” I told myself.Then I focused more on the beauty that Belinda had made of my
Vivian’s POV“Why would you call me that?” I asked breathlessly. Hearing Syrus call me “Viv” just brought a whole lot of unpleasant memories. It made me recall all the times we were good together even though it was fleeting, and because I didn’t see it coming, my breath got stuck in my throat for a minute.Syrus cleared his throat as though he had made a mistake. “I shouldn’t have,” he said instead.I sighed and let it slide, reminding myself that this was not a romantic date no matter how stunning I looked, and I should not take anything of Syrus seriously. He had me once and he had lost me. According to Belinda, never give a man the chance to treat you badly twice.“It’s fine. Let us get to why we are here,” I told Syrus.Suddenly, the urge to get through with it and leave Syrus’s presence became overwhelming. We began to talk about what we wanted for our babies and the kind of parenting that would suit us both. Like we had been advised, we talked about things that would work for u
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 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