Lucas stood at the apartment door where he had lived during his contract marriage with Vivi. He looked hesitant, feeling that it was inappropriate to bother Vivi again after their contract ended, but he had to deliver his late mother's will to Vivi.
Lucas raised his hand to press the bell. Once. Twice. Three times. But the door didn't open.
"Maybe she's not home," Lucas thought.
"Did you come to see the house?"
Lucas turned his head as he heard a voice approaching. It was one of the security, he smiled broadly at Lucas when he recognized the man as one of the residents of this apartment.
"Oh, there you are, sir. Haven't seen you around for a while," greeted the security.
"Is Vivi out?" asked Lucas, causing the security to frown.
"Yes," the middle-aged man replied. "She was moved out a few days ago."
The security's answer surprised Lucas, which made the security even more surprised that Lucas had no idea that his wife ha
"Why should I feel so guilty? It's her fault for not serving me until I had to take it out on another woman. She's the one who should feel guilty."In the bathroom, Darren stood under the shower with an uncomfortable feeling of irritation that even he couldn't understand why he felt this way.In his 32 years, countless women had come and gone in Darren's life. But of all those women, not one had ever really bonded with him, let alone stayed by his side. Vivi was the first, though their marriage contract bound her to him.And that was a new feeling for him. Guilt made him very upset that the woman who was his contract wife knew what he had done with the flight attendant in the airplane toilet earlier."Why am I acting like this? What if he misunderstands and thinks I'm jealous of the flight attendant?"Meanwhile, just as Darren was feeling upset with himself, Vivi who was sitting on the sofa near the window, was also upset with herself."No,
"Are we going to take a gondola ride afterward?" asked Vivi before she stuffed her food into her mouth.Vivi and Darren were enjoying their breakfast on the balcony of the best room in the hotel, overlooking the Rialto Bridge. Darren glanced at Vivi as he cut his bread, which made him gloomy when he saw how bright the woman's face was."Aren't you tired?" asked Darren as he placed the plate of bread he had cut into small pieces in front of Vivi, causing her to look at him with a slight blush at the man being so sweet to her on such an early day."No, no. I've rested well, and now I have plenty of energy to explore Venice," Vivi said with a smile.Darren stared at Vivi's face without saying anything, and although her smile looked beautiful, he didn't feel happy about it. He realized that Vivi was smiling and looking so happy because she had been texting Lucas.It was not Darren's attitude to harbor his frustration like this. Based on his usual behav
"Get in," Darren said as he opened the passenger door on the driver's side for Vivi. She got in and sat down, but Darren couldn't leave because her hand, still holding Darren's hand, didn't let go of his."What's wrong?" asked Darren gently."Are you good or bad?" asked Vivi."I'll be good or bad depending on how you treat me, Vivi," Darren replied. "So, do you choose to be good or bad to me?"Darren gave Vivi two choices between being good or bad, but she gave him another answer he wasn't expecting."Can't we just be neutral? We don't love each other, and this marriage is just a contract. Then why are we hurting each other now because of this unnecessary feeling of betrayal?"***" Do you want some ice cream?"Vivi, who was looking at an ice cream van not far from where she was sitting in the Rialto Bridge area, turned her head to Darren, who had just asked her."N
"Enough, right? ENOUGH, HUH?!"Darren didn't care about Bryan's emotions as he asked him in a snarling tone while glaring at his eyes. He casually took his phone from Bryan's hand to check the picture of him and Vivi that Bryan had taken, which subconsciously made him smile as he saw himself and Vivi posing together in one of the most famous flower gardens in Venice."Look, look!" And Bryan, the only one who continued to look angry at being used as a photographer by the newlyweds on their honeymoon, pointed back at Darren's face as he glared at what the man was doing with one of the photos he had taken."How many times have you changed your wallpaper? Why do you keep changing it every time you take a picture like this?" protested Bryan."It's up to me how many times I want to change it, why do you seem so annoyed?" replied Darren. "Let's go over there! The flowers there look nice.”Bryan shook his head at Darren, who was already walking to an
"Would you like to order something?" "No, I don't. I don't feel like eating." Darren signaled the flight attendant to leave after Vivi declined his offer to order food. They were on a private plane that would take them home after their two-week European honeymoon. Darren could understand if Vivi looked exhausted because they had a very long flight ahead of them. But the problem was, Darren knew she had been looking this way since they left the hospital after Vivi's pregnancy test. The pregnancy test result, which showed a double line, certainly surprised Vivi and Darren. Although they had always had unprotected sex, having children wasn’t in their plans. Darren didn't know if he was happy with the news or not. He was just surprised and decided to keep his reaction until they went to the doctor to confirm it. And the results of the doctor's examination said that Vivi wasn’t pregnant. Pregnancy test kits sometimes give inaccurate results
Vivi slowly opened her eyes, and when Darren's sleeping face was the first thing she saw, Vivi decided to close her eyes again.When she had slept earlier, exhausted from Darren's 'punishment', Vivi had suddenly dreamed of Lucas. Even when she was Lucas' wife and saw him often, Vivi rarely dreamed about Lucas, even though she thought about him every day. But tonight, she suddenly dreamed about Lucas, even though she hadn't thought about him.Vivi couldn't remember exactly what her dream was like. In the dream, she felt like she was living her old life as Lucas' wife. Then, when she woke up and saw that Darren was sleeping with her, Vivi felt slapped by a very harsh and painful reality.Her married life with Lucas is not good, and Vivi often feels hurt because she secretly loves a man who already belongs to another woman. But it feels much better than having to live a married life with Darren, who makes it like a roller coaster ride. He makes her life go up, down
"He's not here."Vivi left the bathroom, drying her wet hair with a towel. She was relieved that Darren wasn't in the room so she could go straight to bed before he got back, so he couldn't mess with her because she was already tired after a dozen hours of flight.But Vivi was immediately disappointed when she saw the balcony door of the room open and Darren sitting in a gray pajama suit."Aren't you going to sleep?" Vivi asked after standing in the doorway of the balcony because she was afraid that Darren would be angry with her if she ignored him and just left him to sleep."Come have a drink with me," Darren asked, handing Vivi a glass of red wine."I don't want to get drunk tonight," Vivi refused."Just a little. You won't get drunk." But Darren insisted and pushed the glass closer to Vivi for her to take. "To celebrate the last day of our honeymoon because tomorrow I have to return to work.""You're going straight to work tomorro
"This is embarrassing! How could I be unconscious, and Darren see it first?"In the luxurious bathroom inside her room, Vivi couldn't stop grumbling as her hands continued to brush the blood stains on the white sheets that had previously covered her bed. She could have asked the maid to help her with the menstrual blood stains on the sheets. But she was too embarrassed and decided to take care of it herself, even though she continued to grumble.But the movement of Vivi's hand brushing the sheets was stopped when she suddenly remembered Darren's face when he saw her menstrual blood staining the sheets.It was normal for Darren to show a disgusted expression when he saw blood on his bed, and even though it would offend her, Vivi would understand it because for men who were not used to it, finding menstrual blood on the bed would feel like something disgusting.But Darren didn’t look disgusted. At first, the man looked surprised to see blood on his be
Bang!"Oh, my goodness!" Lying on the bed and playing with his phone, Bryan jumped in surprise when the door to his room suddenly opened. And he immediately glared at Vivi as he saw the woman with the big belly walking toward him while ruffling her waist."What? Where are your manners, huh? Why did you just barge into a virgin's room?!" Bryan snapped."Where are you hiding him?" Vivi asked with an annoyed look."Hiding who? Can't you see I'm busy, huh?" Bryan argued as he was busy with his phone again."Seriously, Bryan! I don't have much time. The plane is leaving soon!" Vivi raised her voice in an annoyed tone, but Bryan just shrugged."Then hurry up and get going! Why are you lingering in my room?" snapped Bryan–who could comfortably call one of the rooms in Darren's house 'my room' due to the number of times he stayed there and used it."You don't want to tell me?" asked Vivi, and Bryan shrugged again. "Just watch out if I find him here!"Vivi turned to leave Bryan, causing the ma
Lucas put his cup down on the table after taking a sip. It hadn't been ten minutes since he'd sat down in this cafe to meet Vivi, but he'd almost finished his coffee before Vivi arrived. Unconsciously, the nervousness he felt was making him thirsty.Lucas didn't know why he felt so nervous. But the feeling came only after Vivi, whom he hadn't heard from in 5 months, suddenly contacted him and invited him to meet.Since Vivi returned to Darren, his relationship with Vivi, which was once intense, has been severed. He never hears from Vivi again, and even Bryan, who is still on good terms with him, never mentions Vivi or Darren in his presence.Lucas was very worried and wanted to contact Vivi at least once to check on her. But Lucas tried to suppress his curiosity for fear of putting Vivi back in a bad relationship with Darren. He assured himself that if there was no news, everything was okay because if something happened to Vivi, he would hear about it from Bryan."Have you been waitin
"Because there is a childhood wound that I want to heal.""What wound do you want to heal?" asked Vivi."My wounded heart from parents who never loved me at all," Darren says, causing Vivi to fall silent as she remembers Bryan's story about Darren's mother killing his father."As a kid, I wanted a lot of trivial things. But because I was afraid of my parents, I never said it and grew up without ever feeling those things. Now that I can get everything easily, I will no longer feel happy. So I want to heal the wound my parents left in my heart by giving my future child all I never had in my childhood," Darren explains."This child is so lucky," Vivi said as she gently rubbed her belly. "I am so jealous that he has a dad who loves him so much because I never really felt my parents' love." "Why would you be jealous? This baby's daddy is your husband. He's all yours," Darren said."I like this kind of feeling. Feeling happy without much effort. Just being in your arms and chatting without
"No need to go to the hospital!" Vivi immediately rejected Darren's invitation in a panic. "It's probably not because I'm pregnant. Maybe... Maybe it's just fatigue or a cold."Darren looked at Vivi worriedly–more worried than ever because Vivi refused his offer to go to the hospital."It's okay if you're not pregnant, Vivi. You should still go to the hospital for a checkup. We can't go home if you're sick," Darren said. He tried to say it softly so Vivi would not feel depressed because she thought he wanted her to be pregnant.Although, in truth, Darren was very upset to hear Vivi's suspicion that she might be pregnant with his child."You looked very happy when I said I might be pregnant." But it seemed that Darren had unconsciously made it clear enough for Vivi to see. "I didn't want you to be disappointed because–“"I told you I wouldn't force it. If you're not pregnant, if you're not ready, then it doesn't matter. But please, you should still go to the doctor and get checked out
"You're just in time." Standing in front of the stove with an apron attached to her body, Vivi greeted Darren's arrival with a warm smile. "I just finished making lunch. Wash your hands and..."Vivi stopped talking when Darren, who was walking towards her, suddenly hugged her tightly. It surprised Vivi that the man hugged her like that without saying anything."Darren?" Vivi called Darren's name softly. "What's wrong?" she asked in a worried tone."I miss you so much. So let me hug you like this for a while until my longing goes away," Darren said, which made Vivi hug him back immediately."Vivi." Darren then called Vivi in a soft way that he only used to call his wife. And after Vivi answered him with a soft murmur, Darren asked, "Are you happy with me?"Vivi did not answer Darren's question right away. She put her arms around Darren so she could see his face. And she felt that Darren must have said something that had shaken Darren's heart to ask her such a question.And without answ
"A- Ah! Shit!"Bryan cursed in annoyance that his gaming fun had to end when his phone suddenly rang. And he was even more annoyed when he saw Vivi's name on the screen."Hel-""What, huh? WHAT?!" Bryan didn't need to hear Vivi finish a word to immediately interrupt her with a yell, which surprised the woman and made her hastily move the phone away from her ear."Why are you yelling-""You don't remember how arrogant you were to me this morning about getting back together with Darren, do you?!" Bryan interrupted Vivi again, still yelling, which surprised Vivi very much because she was being scolded like that."Have you been fighting with Darren again? Did he hit you again? Hah! Enjoy it! I don't care anymore, so you don't have to call me to tell me-""What's wrong with you?" Vivi, who couldn't stand Bryan's incoherent tirade, finally interrupted him. "Are you secretly hoping that Darren will hurt me again?""So he hasn't hurt you?" Bryan asked, lowering his voice, while Vivi only answ
"Why do you look so upset? Is there a problem?" Lucas asked after sitting down in front of Bryan.A few moments ago, Bryan called him and invited him to dinner at a restaurant near his office. At first, he thought that Bryan just wanted to have dinner with him, but when he saw the annoyed look on the man's face, Lucas wondered if Bryan might have some problem."Yesterday, you said you were going to Vivi's apartment, right?" Bryan asked as Lucas nodded. "So it must have been you who beat up Darren so badly?"Lucas didn't answer Bryan's question right away. Because Bryan was so nice to him, he sometimes forgot that he was Darren's best friend since he was a baby. And it made him a little sad to think that Bryan had come to him with such an upset face because he was disappointed in him for beating up his best friend."Yesterday, I lost control of myself and beat him up like that," Lucas said in a low voice that sounded like a mumble.But Bryan's reaction was unexpected. In an angry tone
"Good morning, darling."Since her parting from Darren, Vivi had never seen anything like this, not even in her most beautiful dreams. To wake up from her sleep and to be greeted by a good morning from Darren, and then to receive a loving kiss on the forehead from the man.And the best part of it was that Vivi experienced it directly, not just in her dreams or wishful thinking."Good morning," Vivi answered Darren's greeting with her hoarse voice. She pulled the blanket over her body, which felt cold because it was not wrapped in any cloth. "What time is it?""It's very early. Go back to sleep if you're still tired," Darren said, tucking Vivi's messy hair behind her ear.Vivi turned her head to the window, which made her squint when she saw the sunlight shining brightly."Looks like it's already noon," Vivi said as she looked back at Darren. "Why aren't you getting ready for the office yet?""I'm not going to the office today," Darren replied as he shifted his body to get closer to Vi
"For the last time. If the same thing happens again, I'll let you go myself. Please give me another chance to prove how much I've changed for you."Vivi listened to Darren's plea while looking directly into the man's eyes. And it touched Vivi's heart when she saw how sincere and how much love Darren showed her with his gaze.Vivi had never received so much from anyone else. She had never felt so much sincerity from anyone. But Darren always gave her more than she could bear, whether sincerity, love, or fear. And Vivi felt thrown back into the abyss of dilemma when she couldn't decide if the love Darren gave her was strong enough to overcome her fear of him."You can have any woman you want. Easily, without all this struggle. You can make women crawl under your feet. But why did you go to all this trouble just for me?" Vivi asked about the confusion that had always been in her heart.The question of what exactly Darren saw in her made him willing to give up everything for an ordinary w