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 “She must be made to face the full wrath of the law!” I kept hearing Nancy’s voice the moment we arrived with the cops at the station. I was right after all.Belinda glared at her, and if looks could kill, Nancy would surely be dead by now. Somehow, I am grateful and relieved that someone who looks out for me is with me to face the sharks in Syrus’s family.“She came into the house and stole from me!” Nancy was yelling at the top of her voice. Belinda made to respond to her, but I grabbed her hand gently and whispered to her, “Don’t pay attention to her now, Bel. We will handle her when the time is right,” and for once, Belinda obeyed me. We maintained our calm and allowed Nancy do all the shouting and raving. Not too long after that, Syrus walked in with Georgia. I didn’t even notice they had come until Belinda drew my attention.“Just take a look at them,” Belinda said. “They look horrible together. I wonder what man in his right senses would ever want to be with a
Vivian’s POVIt has been three weeks since the incident with Syrus and his egoistic and manipulative mother. The nights have become better for me as I now sleep peacefully.“Great job, Vivian, you have made us proud,” my boss, Dan, called out cheerily. Ever since I started working here, he had been showering me with praises. At first I was uncomfortable, because I did not want the old staff to feel jealous or threatened, but then again, I got to realize that he extended the accolades to everyone, which is why everyone loves Dan.“Thank you, Dan,” I responded with the same energy and went on to doing my job, but Dan walked up to me, staring down at me with a scrutinizing gaze. “What is it?” I asked him.But Dan kept staring at me. In fact, as I raised my head to ask him what the problem was, he stared deeply into my eyes, making me a little uncomfortable. “Is there something on my face?” I asked Dan as I used my hand to wipe my face.“Are you unwell?” Dan eventually asked me.His ques
Vivian’s POV“I cannot be pregnant! I cannot be pregnant!” I yelled and cried at the same time in the living room.My dad, Manny and Belinda sat still and watched as I rant and pace about the room. The least thing I was expecting was pregnancy, and to think that it was right after I divorced Syrus.“Don’t you want a baby?” My dad asked gently, not wanting to piss me off further.“You mean babies,” Manny chipped in.The word ‘babies’ rang a loud bell in my ears. Babies! What would I do with triplets as a single mother? I was only beginning to find my bearing after a nasty divorce. How am I supposed to cope without a husband? Fine, I know my family and Belinda will ever be present for me, but this is not how I had hoped to live life for heaven’s sake!“Don’t you want a baby?” My dad asked again, more gently this time around.It was obvious to all of them that I was furious and mad as hell. Unable to respond, I broke down in tears and wept bitterly. My dad and Manny looked at each other
Vivian’s POVI stared at him, dumbfounded. For a moment, we both stared at each other without saying a word, more like taking in each other. The last time we had seen each other had been at the station when Nancy had me arrested.I cannot dispute the fact that Syrus looked extremely good-looking just standing there in his pants that clung to his thighs and leather jacket that held onto his muscles. I would have been swooned by his appearance, but I wasn’t, and it actually made me happy that his presence was not affecting me that much as it used to. “What do you want here?” I asked without bothering to be welcoming. Syrus certainly did not deserve any form of hospitality from me, not after all that he has done.“Can we talk?” He asked me. I was a little taken aback that his tone was very much calm instead of angry and shouting the place down, just like his mother.“Are you here to accuse me of theft again?” I said crossing my hands over my chest as I stared up at him. Our height diff
Vivian’s POV“What in God’s name did you do that for?” Belinda asked, looking at me in shock, but before I could respond to her, the knock came again.I turned immediately and opened the door, and there stood the delivery lady.“Excuse me, ma’am, but you are Vivian, and you sure know Mr. Syrus Vale?” She asked.“Yes, and yes, but I still do not want any of them,” I said firmly, my voice sounding a little harsher than I intended it to, but I was already getting too upset to care about how I sounded.“Ma’am, it has all been paid for, I assure you, and they are all special orders,” she pressed.“Are you deaf or something?” I lashed out at her, and she threw her head back in shock.“I was just doing my job,” she said, less pushy now.Well, I guess she now realized that there was no talking me into accepting what I already clearly did not want to accept in the first place. Belinda hastily jumped in front of me, and in the middle of the tension that had begun to build between us.“Uh, I am
Vivian’s POVWhen I heard the doorbell ring later that evening, I jerked in shock. Did Nancy return to continue with her threats and harsh words?I just sat there, contemplating. It was early evening, and I doubted anyone else would be visiting. Besides, I didn’t have any friends, and the only friend I had was Belinda. It couldn’t be Manny, because he did not know that I lived here. It couldn’t be Syrus; since the last time I told him to leave, he hadn’t returned or even called, and he would probably be nose deep into work right now, so my best guess was Nancy. She probably forgot to throw in a few more threats and punching words, and she decided to return to say them. Yes, Nancy Vale was petty like that.So I just sat there, contemplating while the doorbell continued to ring, although I already concluded somewhere in my mind that I did not want to let her in. Perhaps, if she continued that way, the neighbors would alert the cops on her, because she was threatening the peace of the e
Syrus’s POV“Yes, please have all of those delivered to the address I attached to the purchases,” Syrus said over the phone. He had just ordered a few things for Vivian; some of the things that would make her comfortable for now, and this time around, he was paying with his personal funds. He did not want to have to deal with anyone policing him about his finances, especially his mother.Syrus was still troubled about the huge sum of money Bonnie moved from the family account. This was the first time that she was doing something like that, and he was even more surprised that his mother took her side, or was she in on it too? He never got to know.“What in the heavens did she use that money for?” Syrus asked himself, greatly troubled. “What could she have needed it for?” He pondered.He was beginning to develop a mild headache as a result of trying to understand why she would do something like that, because Bonnie was well catered for. In fact, she had everything she needed, and all t
Vivian’s POVI froze at the sound of her cold and harsh words to me. It was the first time I was hearing her voice, and those were the words that came out of her mouth.I opened my eyes in the apartment now and turned around to face my reality. “How did you find this place?” I asked her as I turned and saw her looking around the apartment.“Why can’t you leave my family alone?” Nancy turned to me and asked, her eyes as cold as ice.“I have divorced Syrus,” I reminded Nancy, refusing to feel intimidated by her presence and words.When I was still married to Syrus, I tolerated every trash they threw at me, because I desperately wanted to make things work. I desperately wanted to be accepting and feel the sense of belonging, because I had neglected my family, and I had never lived without the presence, love, and joy of being around a family. But now that we were divorced, I realized that I did not need to accommodate any of her hostility. In fact, I realized that right after the divorce
Vivian’s POV“Mrs. Nancy Vale,” I said breathlessly.I wasn’t particularly expecting anyone, but definitely not Syrus’s uptight, sophisticated, condescending and downright blunt mother. Without even asking if she was welcome in or acknowledging that at least I said her name in exchange for a polite greeting, she shoved me off the door and sashayed into the apartment, her exotic and expensive cologne lingering in the air.I stood by the door, frozen in shock, and maybe a little bit of fright. Since I divorced Syrus and moved out of their house, I completely stopped thinking about her and her cruelty and hostility towards me, until now, everything just came rushing back, especially the first day I met her.“Where are you taking me today, Syrus?” I had asked, giggling happily as I rode with Syrus in his brand new car.He had insisted that he wanted to see me, so as usual, I went out of the house with the constant lie that I had something to do at Belinda’s house.“Do you want to guess?”
Vivian’s POVI had been fuming with anger since I left my home. How could Manny suggest something as outrageous as that? Why would he even think that I would want to collect such a huge amount of money from Syrus.I got into the apartment and slammed the door angrily. I grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen first to calm my thirst, but it did nothing to quell the anger deep inside of me. It was bad enough that they were already treating me as the black sheep of the family, and now, they want to guilt-trip me into this.I called Belinda on the phone immediately. I knew she was at work and probably busy, but if I did not talk to anyone, I might explode, and Belinda was the only one I could talk to. Belinda picked at the first ring, making me super relieved.“Girl, you do realize that I am at work, right?” Belinda said in her light nature, as always. “Do you want me to order that breakfast now?” She asked.“I am sorry, Bel, but I just needed to talk to someone,” I said, and now that
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