It served as such a forceful plunge into despair that Edward lost all sense of guilt. Pure lividity began to fill the vacuum as a rage that could not be harnessed by rationality surfaced.“What do you want me to do, Vivian Carraway?!” he fumed through gritted teeth as his hands clutched her shoulders tightly. “What the f*ck should I do to make you forget? What must I do to satisfy you?! I’ve killed Morris Baker on your behalf. I’ve murdered his entire family on your behalf. What else is there le
Vivian chuckled softly. “Which ‘thing’ are you referring to?”Renne was bright not just by name but in character. She understood Vivian almost immediately, and after a long pause, offered, “Say, wanna hang out?”It was an invitation straight out of left field. Regardless of her surprise, Vivian was disinclined to disrupt her best friend’s peace or to drag her into the quagmire. With lightheartedness in her tone, she answered, “Nah. I’ve not been in the mood to go anywhere lately.”Renne was quie
Vivian quickly stowed the porcelain doll back before haphazardly wiping her tears away. Picking up an album and hugging it to her chest, she opened the door and answered, “What’s the matter?”It was hard to ignore the fresh trails of tears faintly glistening on her face. Wade considered her carefully before asking, “Are you, uh, alright?”Vivian never liked hiding the obvious, so she did not try. “I’m fine. I just couldn’t help crying over pictures of bygone memories,” she conceded with a sorrow
For someone who was so trained in compartmentalizing his emotions to the point that he hardly batted an eyelash at snuffing someone’s lights out, he was surprisingly skittish about this little action. In fact, he was so averse to being called out about what he had done that he balked at returning to the couch, preferring to stand a few feet away and gawking at her with his cup of water in hand.Vivian, for her part, ignored him. After snipping away every picture in the pile, she put her scissors
“It’d be great if that’s true,” Vivian said with a doubtful expression after taking a glimpse of Edward.Edward wanted to tease her further. However, she did not seem keen on continuing the conversation. After sorting out the photos and placing both her pictures as well as Renne’s photo into two separate bags, she got up from the couch and walked toward the bedroom. However, Edward did not want to let her go, so he stopped her without hesitation. “Viv.”She stopped and turned back with a fro
Renne lifted her head and took a glance at her, then lowered her head again to continue flipping across the photos. Softly but rapidly, she whispered, “I should be the one asking this question. Can you tell me what’s happening? Do you know how Liam got my contact? He got Jono to help him, the guy I used to have a crush. Liam sent me an email using Jono’s email!”Renne glared at Vivian as she lifted her head again. “Are you planning to be a spy? What are you hiding from me? What has Edward done
Vivan’s gaze remained unchanged and she refused to give any comment.In fact, she was having an inner conflict. While she was glad that Edward murdered Morris, she was also feeling guilty that the entire Baker family had died because of her. Even though Morris deserved to be killed, his family was innocent. Somehow, she was also the victim when she pondered further. She was already as helpless as prey that had been caught by the predator, yet unbelievably, she still bothered to sympathize wit
Without waiting for Vivian to ask, Edward tried to casually explain out of guilt as he pointed at the corporate office, “I was running some errands there, and coincidentally saw you.” Wade heard him as he walked toward them. He smiled as he slightly lifted his chin and gazed at the corporate office located far away with a fountain and numerous statues built before it. Secretly, he wanted to mock his boss, ‘Wow, your eyesight is amazing, Mr. Levin! How could you have seen Miss Carraway sitting
Did you know, Vee?I’ve thought of this more than once. If only our beginning from that night wasn’t so unbearable, how wonderful would it be?… The light from the setting sun spilled towards her from the side, casting a glow on the piece of paper, illuminating the words on it, and giving them a slight shimmer. Just like last year, when she emerged from the ultrasound room in the maternity hospital, weak after a mere two steps, she had to lean against the corridor. She covered her mouth with
Vivian arrived home a little late. She parked the car at the side of the road first, then collected her subscribed newspapers and magazines from the mailbox at her gate. She flipped through the mail as she walked in. To her surprise, she found a letter. It was an envelope made from kraft paper with her name on it.It was a rare handwritten letter with the faint print of a bamboo tree, drawn with Chinese calligraphy ink. The bamboo was tall, straight, and fierce just like the script on the lette
“It’s been three months now, why isn’t the little one moving? When will the baby quicken?” he asked her, “Can it hear me? Will it remember my voice?”He even asked, “Who do you think it’ll look like, Vee? Will it be a girl or a boy?”She knew very well that he was harboring evil intentions, but she gave into him and crumbled anyway. She sobbed and screamed, “Kill me, Sean Jackson. Kill me. I will never give birth to this child even if I die! Never!”He soothed her, “Alright. Don’t give birth
His lower jaw tightened. The lines on his face stiffened icily like the cold edges of a knife. In reality, he had given up long ago. His heart was as dead as ash. However, refusing to accept this, he grasped at everything, hoping to find a straw that could save a life, not to save himself but to save his child’s life. That was how well he knew her. He knew that once she escaped, she would never spare his child. Did he hate her? Yes. He hated how he couldn’t shoot her dead. Love triumphed over ha
“Then, what should we do?” his aide asked.A hero’s end was, inevitably, death. He wasn’t afraid of death, but he was simply plagued with remaining grievances. After a bout of silence, Edward calmly said, “Do something for me. Once that’s done, just slip away. There are no lives in your hands and you aren’t in the cops’ database. No one will notice you.”This aide had received a great debt of gratitude from Edward once, so he was solely loyal to him. He became distressed when he heard this, so
“You deserve it for all of the crimes you’ve committed!” Vivian screamed, losing control. Her emotions felt strangely steady after that scream. She threw the gun away as her sparkling, dark eyes were filled with renewed determination. She stared at him and spoke, enunciating every word, “Sean Jackson and those brothers of yours, you’ve all got your justice. Beaten to death, right? Arrested, was it? But when you willfully hurt others and view their lives as nothing more than weeds, you should hav
She hadn’t slept the entire night, and she was extremely high-strung. However, she was feeling slightly fatigued. Perhaps because of the comforting glow from the brightening day outside, she lay down on the bed with her clothes on after a bout of hesitation. She had only intended on taking a nap but unexpectedly fell into a deep sleep.Vivian suddenly woke up, startled. She had lost track of how long she had been asleep. She found a figure standing in front of her bed when she awoke and was gre
Vivian was taken aback by his question. “You haven’t caught him?” she exclaimed in astonishment. She thought that they had already apprehended Edward based on the expression on Jake’s face.“Our men have surrounded the condominium,” he answered simply, “He and Wade seized a hostage and hid inside the study. Both sides were caught in a deadlock for a while, but when they burst the study door open, they only found Wade and that hostage inside.”Vivian trembled uncontrollably as she listened to h
The wedding day was drawing to a close. Vivian stayed at the condominium until the day before the wedding. Then, she moved to Edward’s villa by the lake to wait for the wedding ceremony. Edward drove her there himself, feeling reluctant before he left. He turned around and looked at her, then softly said, “Wait for me. I’ll come for you tomorrow, first thing in the morning.”Vivian didn’t respond and simply stood at the doorway, quietly watching him.For some reason, the sight of her like this