Vivian’s POVI stayed with Marie in the hospital after we took Mr. Vale to see his doctor at the hospital. We hadn’t exchanged a word, and there wasn’t even a need to. As we sat close to each other, I heard Marie mumbling words of prayer to God for Vale. I couldn’t hear the words she spoke, but somehow, I was deeply touched. As much as I would love to resent them, there was no doubt that they loved each other like never before.“Marie?” The doctor called.We both stood up straighter and looked at him. Marie had been so soaked in her supplication and I had been immersed in her devotion to him that we both hadn’t noticed the presence of the doctor.“How is he?” Marie asked instantly. I found myself praying and wishing that nothing bad would happen to Mr. Vale. Not that my feelings towards him for abandoning his family had changed, nor my feelings towards Marie for taking a man away from his family had changed, but I still didn’t want him to die.If I didn’t want someone as dangerous as
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 stayed with Marie in the hospital after we took Mr. Vale to see his doctor at the hospital. We hadn’t exchanged a word, and there wasn’t even a need to. As we sat close to each other, I heard Marie mumbling words of prayer to God for Vale. I couldn’t hear the words she spoke, but somehow, I was deeply touched. As much as I would love to resent them, there was no doubt that they loved each other like never before.“Marie?” The doctor called.We both stood up straighter and looked at him. Marie had been so soaked in her supplication and I had been immersed in her devotion to him that we both hadn’t noticed the presence of the doctor.“How is he?” Marie asked instantly. I found myself praying and wishing that nothing bad would happen to Mr. Vale. Not that my feelings towards him for abandoning his family had changed, nor my feelings towards Marie for taking a man away from his family had changed, but I still didn’t want him to die.If I didn’t want someone as dangerous as
Syrus’s POV“I have been asking you if you have anything to say to me, but you keep evading the question,” Nancy said as she stood in Syrus’s bedroom. Bonnie was also present.Syrus felt like a piece of shit, because of the news that was flying around on the internet. He should have known that confrontation with a man like Ken alone was a bad idea, but then again, no one knew this part of Syrus’s life. Even Vivian who almost got to know, Syrus managed to keep her in the dark, but now, things were slowly getting out of hand. Ken had been so good and smart with what he was doing that he ensured that his face was faced out of the camera. The only person the world could see was Syrus, and of course, to them, he was trying to kill an innocent citizen simply because he was wealthy and powerful. Syrus had stayed holed up in the house, because right now, he could not bear to face the judgmental faces of everyone that knew him, including the colleagues that he hired himself.“What the heck
Vivian’s POVThe revelation I got from Leon still had me reeling with shock. Hearing that Dad had used up our inheritance and wanted to give me out in a contract marriage to pay off his debt, I had thought that that was the height of betrayal from my family members, but this was worse than I could take.Ted now had blood in his hand!I shuddered at the remembrance of it. Thankfully, when Leon brought me back to the house, Marie and Mr. Vale had been too engrossed with having their lover’s time together to even notice that I was drenched in dread, so I had just delivered what I was sent and I went into my room. I could not even bring myself to eat anything. In fact, the thought of food made my stomach retch.This was no longer a case of drug dealing; it was a murder case. First of all, Ted had gotten involved in drugs, which was even a great crime in the country. Then he had killed Jane in cold blood simply because she had betrayed him. To make things even scarier, he had planted a pi
Syrus’s POVSyrus got home at past midnight, drenched and drained. His mission with Ken had failed woefully. After asking Ken that question, Ken had laughed at him to scorn.“If you didn’t, then who did?” Ken had asked without remorse. “You were the one with the wedge hammer that day; I only walked in and saw that you had just murdered the Frenchman,” Ken had said.Syrus had almost fallen defeated, because on a face level, that had been what had happened, but Syrus was determined to get to the bottom of it. More than anything else, he wanted to get this guilt hanging over his head; this guilt that Ken was now threatening to use against him. Syrus was a businessman, and he knew what deadly scandals could do to his company. Once the news got out and the world knew that he had murdered someone, he would never recover from it, and Syrus had gone too far to let anything stop him now. He had sacrificed too much to let a sin from the past crawl up to destroy everything. “I don’t remember an
Vivian’s POV“I still want to know,” I told Leon insistently even though my heart was pounding greatly.I was asking myself if I truly needed to know about it, because Leon’s words sounded dreadful, causing my heart to beat faster than usual. Maybe I should just let sleeping dogs lie, especially now that I had gotten far away from Ted, but how far away can I ever possibly get? Each time I think I have successfully run away from a problem, it pops right back up and stares at me squarely in the face. For instance, the last person I expected to run into in this peaceful town that I had gotten a job was Leon, the same man whom I had seen with Ted who had a dangerous look in his eyes. These were signs that I could never actually run away from my reality. There was Ken and the conniving inspector that I had fled from. There was Ted who had verbally threatened me right in a house that I had called home for years. I couldn’t continue running away from difficult and harsh truths, especially the
Vivian’s POVI waited for Marie’s package to be brought to me, but it was taking longer than necessary.“Ma’am, please how much longer is this going to take?” I asked, because my legs were beginning to get weak.“A little while longer,” the attendant responded politely.I waited and waited, and I wondered why it was taking so much time. I began to feel sweaty and hot in my stomach, and extremely uncomfortable, but I did not know what else to do.“Here,” Leon turned.I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard his voice. Then I turned around and saw him holding a glass of juice. “I have been watching you, and you look like you are about to pass out,” Leon added when I didn’t make any move to collect the juice from him.“Where did you get this from?” I asked him skeptically.“There’s a restaurant just by the corner,” Leon answered, his hand still stretched at me.I took the juice from Leon, because I realized that I highly needed it, especially with how long I have been standing and wai
Syrus’s POVSyrus got into his car and drove off without his driver.He needed to handle this alone and he could not do that if he went with anyone else. Ken had made him believe that he killed the Frenchman and he had lived with that guilt for years ever since, but now, Syrus wondered if that was true. The last thing he remembered was drinking the coffee that Ken served him which he prepared when no one was looking at him. He could not fathom how he stood in front of the Frenchman all of a sudden. Syrus could not tell what happened around that time. After he took the coffee, everything around Syrus had just fizzled out.And now, Ken was using the incident to hang threats above his head. No, he could not just sit idly by and watch Ken destroy his life. Syrus even wondered why he hadn’t thought of that day’s incident before now. It was a long drive to the small town where Syrus was certain Ken’s small hospital was located. He had never been there, so he could not tell exactly where it
Syrus’s POVSyrus had been in the learning room with the Frenchman for hours learning the ropes on how to bring his father’s crumbling company back up.“In business, you must make up your mind to choose the company above anything else,” the Frenchman was speaking. “As you begin to flourish, there will be times when difficult choices will be thrown at you, even regarding the people you love dearly, but remember to always choose your inheritance and legacy,” he continued.Syrus nodded diligently. They had been on rigorous training and tutorship for months now since Anderson referred him to the Frenchman in order to save his legacy from collapsing. His father might have abandoned it, but Syrus couldn’t; he shouldn’t, because it was his legacy. Without the company, he would be left on the street with his mother and sister, and Syrus could never allow that to happen.“I knew your dad before now,” the Frenchman continued. “His name and company were on the lips of virtually everyone in the c
Vivian’s POV“You?” I asked in utter disbelief, disappointment, and shock.Why on earth was everything happening to me at the same time?Leon rolled his eyes dully. “Trust me, I have no pleasure in seeing you as well, but Diana is tied up with a customer, so you either take or, or forget about it,” Leon stated.I thought of returning into the house, but Marie would ask me why I changed my mind. I was their housekeeper, and whether I liked it or not, it was my duty to run errands for them without giving excuses, and also, I still wanted to get away from them for a while, at least. It was as though I was between the devil and the deep blue sea.“Are you coming or do I have to leave?” Leon asked impatiently.Grudgingly, I walked to the car and sat in the backseat, because I really did not want anything to do with him. Sitting at the backseat was as far as I could get from Leon, even though I still had to breathe the same air as he and tolerate his aggravating presence for a few hours.Le