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“Do not complicate things,” he replied impatiently. “Vivian is recovering and needs rest. What do you want... money, a gift? I’ll make it up to you.”

I noticed the smug glint in Vivian’s eyes, and before I could stop myself, I felt my temper flare. “Greyson, how do you not understand that it’s never been your money I wanted?”

Enough!

Spinning around, I walked away, feeling utterly dejected. 

Greyson watched me leave, pinching the bridge of his nose as if I were just a problem to be solved.

Vivian sighed, her voice soft and calculated. “She should be angry with me.”

Back in the solitude of my room, I slowly changed out of my nightgown, the fabric slipping away like the remnants of my shattered dreams. 

As I lay down on the cool sheets, an overwhelming ache settled deep in my chest, a heavy weight that felt as if it would crush me under its sorrow. 

The silence around me was deafening, amplifying the emptiness I felt within.

Suddenly, a knock on the door pierced through my melancholy thoughts, causing my heart to leap. 

Could it be Greyson? 

I rushed to open the door, hope flickering inside me. But as I swung it open, I froze. 

There stood Vivian, radiating an ethereal beauty that seemed to outshine everything around her. 

I felt the air grow thin. “What the hell are you doing here?” I managed.

Vivian’s expression was cold, her eyes resolute, as if she’d rehearsed this moment a thousand times. 

“You and Greyson may have been married for three years, but I am the only one he loves." Her words struck me like a dagger, and I felt the warmth in my soul dimming with each passing second. "Up until recently, I was receiving treatment overseas. I did not think I had much time left, so I let Greyson leave me and marry you. But now that I’ve recovered, I hope you’ll respect our love and divorce him.”

Desperation clawed at my heart. “But we’ve been married for three years. Greyson and I...”

She cut me off, her tone sharp and unyielding. “Married or not, it doesn’t change the truth. You were nothing more than a placeholder while I was away, fighting for my life. Greyson’s heart belongs to me, and now that I am well again, I want him back.”

My world began to crumble, piece by piece. 

“Did he know you were coming back?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

“Of course not." Vivian’s lips curled into a bitter smile. "I wanted him to experience life without me, to realize what he was missing. Now that I am back, he’ll come to his senses, and we can finally be together again.”

I was too dignified to let her see me squirm. “You, a fucking miserable mistress, are asking a wife to divorce her husband? Do you even realize how ridiculous that sounds?”

The smile on her face vanished. “Watch your mouth, Lara. I am not a mistress. When it comes to love, the one who isn’t loved is the miserable mistress!”

The tension between us escalated, but I felt a newfound strength surge through me. 

She could win Greyson, but she would never receive my sadness as a trophy! “As long as I do not divorce, I am Greyson’s wife, and you are nothing more than a mistress.”

But Vivian wasn’t one to be dismissed so easily. Her face twisted with rage and desperation as she shot back, “do not get complacent, Lara. Let’s see what Greyson does when something happens to me.”

A chill ran down my spine, and an unsettling feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. 

What was this crazy woman capable of?

There was a hidden threat in her words, a dark implication that she had no intention of stepping aside quietly. Fighting a surge of fear and anger, I demanded, “What do you want, Vivian?”

Her face contorted into a wicked grin, and before I even had a moment to process what was happening, she lunged at me, her fingers locking around my arm with a ferocity that sent a jolt of pain through me. 

"Vivian! Ky... stop!"

Her grip was like a vice, cold and unyielding, and with a force I hadn't expected, she began dragging me towards the stairs. 

I struggled against her hold, but it was ironclad, her fingers digging into my skin.

Panic surged through me as I struggled to break free. My heart pounded loudly in my ears. “You can’t do this!” I cried, desperation tinging my voice. “Let go of me!”

But she seemed possessed, fueled by jealousy and a fierce desire to reclaim what she believed was hers. 

My heart was in my throat, and fear mingled with anger as a desperate plea escaped my lips. “Please, Vivian, do not do this.”

Her grip remained unyielding, and her eyes burned with a chilling intensity. “You had your chance,” she hissed. “Now it’s my fucking turn to be with Greyson.”

As we reached the top of the stairs, my heart raced wildly, my body trembling with fear and adrenaline. 

Jesus...

I knew I had to act quickly to escape, but before I could react, her voice sliced through the air. “Greyson! Help! Lara is trying to kill me!” she screamed.

In a frenzied blur, Vivian threw herself down the stairs, still holding onto me with a malicious grip, dragging me down with her in a horrifying tumble.

Desperately struggling to break free, I felt myself being pulled down the stairs in a horrifying descent. Each step I collided with blurred the world around me, and a sense of helplessness consumed me. 

Pow! Pow!

Pain radiated through my body, but the fear and disbelief were even more overwhelming. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, yet I was powerless to stop it, helpless against the grip that had thrown my life into chaos. 

The sound of impact reverberated through the air as my body tumbled down the flights of stairs, helplessly colliding with each unforgiving step. The torment of the fall felt endless, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Pow! Pow!