Syrus’s POVSyrus arrived home later than usual after the long conversation he was forced to have with Davis and the plan that they had ended up making.The words of Davis still hung in the air and as much as Syrus tried not to be bothered about it, he realized how unsettled he was.“What if Davis is right about Georgia blackmailing me?” Syrus had asked himself as he drove back home.But then again, he had known Georgia way before now, and she had been nothing but caring, supportive, and helpful. Even when he had left her for Vivian, Georgia was still understanding enough to maintain a cordial friendship with him; even Vivian would not be that nice. Heck, hadn’t Vivian angrily left simply because Georgia declared that she was pregnant for him? Syrus knew that if it was Georgia who was in Vivian’s position, she would have treated Vivian with love and care.So Syrus decided not to dwell on the words of Davis about Georgia. “He doesn’t know who Georgia is,” Syrus concluded to himself.H
Vivian’s POV“Vivian, what are you doing?” Marie asked as she strolled into the pantry, but my mind was afar off, so her voice was only a distant echo to me.Since the call with Manny where he told me that they had all lied and pretended that Ted was in grave danger because he owed a deadly drug lord a huge amount of money, I hadn’t been fine. In fact, I had walked around the house like a robot, just going about my tasks. Thankfully, Mr. Vale and Marie had been too consumed with each other to take much notice of me.“Vivian?”Marie’s voice cut through my thoughts sharply like a sharp knife, and I snapped out of my reverie. “Yes,” I answered abruptly, as though she had just called me. “Are you okay?” Marie asked with concern in her voice.“Nothing, ma’am,” I lied.“No, you shouldn’t be lying to me; I have seen how you have been acting around the house recently,” Marie observed, and my mouth almost dropped open in shock. “Even Vale has expressed concern,” she added.“Oh my goodness, I
Georgia’s POVThe moment Georgia had stepped into her new house, the words of her mother disappeared from her head, and she had been having the best time of her life ever since.Today wasn’t an exception.As Georgia made lunch, she still reminisced on the fact that she now owned a house. The papers were with her, so it definitely wasn’t a dream or a joke, and this was fully and completely her property! This was something that would never be taken away from her. Finally, Georgia had gotten out of that dungeon where she suffered emotional and psychological abuse from an embittered and failed woman who called herself her mother.“You are the best at what you do, Georgia!” Georgia praised herself. In fact, she had been toasting to her immeasurable success ever since she moved in.It was not just fully furnished, it was also bigger than what Syrus had rented for Vivian. Oh, Georgia made certain of that. It was even a good thing that she saw the apartment for herself, because it gave her th
Vivian’s POV“He is your what?” I asked, still unable to tear my eyes from the picture.“That is Leon, my twin brother,” Diana said, completely oblivious of my mood.Maybe it was because she was standing behind me, which was why she didn’t know that color had drained from my face, my knees were weak, my heart was beating really fast, my hands were becoming sweaty, and I couldn’t even think straight.Just when I thought I had succeeded in running away from every danger I knew!“You must be Vivian,” Diana was speaking behind me. Her tone was light, friendly, and accommodating, even though she was just meeting me for the first time and I was acting really weird. If I didn’t know better, I would have mistaken her for Marie’s daughter, because the aura of joy and peace that came with being around Marie was all over the store since Diana came in, but the picture on the wall and his haunted look the day Manny and I went to pick up Ted from the location that was given to Manny did not allow
Vivian’s POV“Vivian?” Diana called, drawing me out of my frozen state.I shook my head to get my head back in shape. “What did you just say?” I asked.“I said that it would be nice of you to meet Leon,” Diana said.This time around, she was looking at me with a worried expression on her face. My reaction to what she said was glaringly obvious that there was no way she would not have noticed, and I couldn’t have pretended even though I wanted to.“Is everything okay, Vivian?” Diana asked, placing her warm hand gently on mine in concern.“Did you say he was on his way here?” I asked, hoping that I had heard wrongly.“Yes, I did. He should be here in less than two minutes, actually,” Diana answered, flashing a quick glance at her wristwatch.I sprang to my feet as though I had been bitten by a poisonous snake immediately, making Diana also stand up, extremely worried.“What is wrong?” She pressed.“I have to go; Marie would be expecting me back by now,” I lied.“That’s not true,” Diana
Georgia’s POVGeorgia sat in her doctor’s office and waited for him to be done with his appointment so that he would attend to her. She also had something else to fix as quickly as possible before the scheduled time for the pregnancy test appointment.“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” the doctor said the moment he entered and sat on his seat.“I understand,” Georgia said. “I hope no one knows I’m here,” Georgia asked.She was still being extra careful. The fact that his clinic was in an isolated neighborhood and he had fewer patients who stopped by occasionally did not mean that Georgia would be reckless. She knew the depth of what she was doing, so she always had to double-check and look above her shoulders at all times. “My clients and patients’ confidentiality matters to me; I thought you already knew this,” the doctor responded.“Of course I do,” Georgia agreed. “You wanted to see me,” she began. “I hope you have gotten what I want, because I cannot stay here for long,” Georgia
Georgia’s POV“How dare he?!” Georgia barked.She was still boiling with anger and rage as she made her way out of her doctor’s clinic. “How dare he tell me what to do? How dare he suggest such nonsense?” Georgia fumed some more.She almost went back into his office to lash out at him even more, because he had no right. Georgia had managed to climb the ladder of success on her own accord without the help of anyone. She had single-handedly made a way for herself in a world that only cared about people with the money, power, and influence, and so she did not need anyone to tell her what to do or not. Her mother had tried for years to project her bitterness, anger, jealousy, and negativity on her, but Georgia had managed to weave through all that. She knew what she was capable of, and she would not allow the mere words of her doctor to pull her down. If she had listened to him when he had advised her to keep the baby and tell her older fling about it, she would never have gotten this f
Vivian’s POVI hardly slept through the night, because I kept thinking about my encounter with Leon. There was obviously another lifestyle that he lived that Diana did not know about; one that entailed shady deals.Whether or not Manny and Ted connived together to lie about Ted owing a drug lord some money, one thing was clear; Ted and Leon were into something illegal and dangerous, because Jane was killed, and somehow, Ted was involved. My heart beat faster. It was as though my head would explode from trying to piece everything together. I stayed in bed thinking and trying to wrap my head around everything, so much so that I didn’t even know that time had ticked by so fast.By the time I got up from my bed, freshened up and hurried out of the room, it was already past 8am. I ran into Mr. Vale in the living room.“Good morning, Mr. Vale,” I greeted.He had his eyes on the TV, watching highlights.“Please call me Vale,” he responded. “All that formality makes me feel like I am in an of
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