Vivienne
I didn't even remember falling asleep after the celebration ended. The exhaustion of the preparations and the physical labor, the humiliation, and the crushing weight of Roman's indifference got to me. When I got home, I collapsed into bed with the midnight-blue dress still on me.
But peace was a luxury I wasn't allowed, especially in this household.
While I was starting to enjoy my morning sleep, a familiar high-pitched scream tore through the silence of the room, vibrating in my every bone.
"Vivienne! Get up this instant!"
I jerked upright, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. My mind was a fog of confusion at first as I scrambled out of bed, nearly tripping over the hem of my dress. I didn't even have the time to think before rushing out of the bedroom and down the grand marble staircase, my bare feet cold against the stone.
In the living room, Phoebe was perched on the edge of the velvet sofa. In her arms was a Persian Chinchilla cat with long, silver-white fur. She stroked the creature with a slow motion while her eyes were fixed on the television screen.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" she shrieked without looking at me. "The sun has been up for hours and you are still lounging in bed like a guest in a hotel! Have you forgotten your chores? The house is a mess, breakfast isn't even started, and you are up there dreaming while my son is already out of the house working!"
"I… I am sorry, Phoebe," I stammered, rubbing my eyes. "I was just so tired from the hall setup and…"
"Shut up!" she snapped, finally turning her icy green eyes towards me. "I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses."
At that moment, Cassandra strolled into the room. She wasn't dressed for the day and was in blue pajamas.
"I knew you were going to be a huge problem for this family," Cassandra said, stepping in front of me. With a sudden forceful movement, she slammed the newspaper in her hand hard against my chest. "Look at the mess you have caused for our family!" she yelled.
I caught the paper before it hit the floor, my eyes dropping to the front-page headline.
There was a photo from the night before. It was a blurry, candid shot of me on my knees, covered in wine. Written on the paper was a humiliating headline: "WEST FAMILY'S CLUMSY SECRET: BILLIONAIRE'S WIFE RUINS ELITE CELEBRATION."
"Look at that," Phoebe said, her voice dropping into a low, dangerous hiss as she continued to stroke the cat. "You have mocked this family. You have mocked my son's success on the very day he achieved something huge. Now we are a mockery of every social circle, all because of your incompetence."
"I didn't mean for it to happen," I whispered, clutching the paper. "Adrian tripped me…"
"Don't you dare lie and blame your brother-in-law for your own clumsiness!" Phoebe yelled, standing up.
The cat meowed at me, its yellow eyes narrowing. "You are a stain on Roman's reputation, and I can't help but wonder why he still has you by his side. You should be down here on your knees thanking this family for not throwing you out onto the street the moment that photo was taken."
Cassandra leaned in closer to me and whispered into my ears, "Everyone knows you are not a wife now but a liability after last night. You should be ashamed of yourself." She pushed my shoulder backward.
"If it weren't for Roman, I would have sent you out of this house. While you were lazily sleeping on your bed, you didn't get up to help your husband prepare for work," Phoebe sneered, her fingers digging into the thick fur of the Persian Chinchilla. "He's been out since dawn, attending meetings and securing the future of this family while you were busy snoring. He's working himself to the bone to feed your poor, pathetic self, and this is how you repay him? By being lazy and irresponsible?"
Phoebe stood up, tucking the cat under one arm like a royal accessory, and jabbed a finger toward the newspaper in my hand. "Do not think for one second that you can continue to taint my son's image. People are talking, Vivienne. They are whispering about the poor, penniless woman Roman is married to, and I am tired of it." She stepped closer.
"Just so you know, your days in this house are limited, and I will do everything to personally make sure you are sent out of here soon. Now get out of my sight and go do your chores."
"Yes, sister-in-law," Cassandra chuckled. "I have clothes that need to be washed. Kindly help me take them to the washing machine and sort them out. It's not like you would use your hands," she laughed.
"And serve me some breakfast. I am famished," Adrian's voice sounded from the staircase as he made his way down.
I said nothing, keeping mute until they all were done talking. Then I turned around with the newspaper still in my hand and climbed back up the stairs to my room.
When I reached the sanctuary of the bedroom I shared with Roman—or what I used to think of as our sanctuary—I closed the door and let out a long, shuddering sigh.
The silence of the room was heavy, smelling faintly of Roman's expensive cologne and the ghost of the man he used to be.
I walked over to the armchair where he had tossed his used clothes and picked them up for laundry. As I held the heavy fabric, a memory flashed through my mind from two years ago.
Back then, Roman would have never left for a meeting without waking me up. He used to shower me with kisses until I laughed, and hugged me to sleep. He used to call me a genius, his secret weapon, his everything whenever I came up with new ideas for the project.
But today, he hadn't even looked at me before leaving. He hadn't asked if my face was hurt from his mother's slap. And worst of all, the date on the calendar, January 3rd, meant nothing to him now.
Our third anniversary had passed without a single word of love; instead, it was replaced by his successful project.
Where did it all go wrong? I thought as I let out another deep sigh, my shoulders sagging. I was married to a man who lived in the same bed with me but treated me like a ghost he was waiting to exorcise.
As I reached for the white shirt he had worn under his tuxedo, I saw a red lip mark at the front.
I gripped the shirt so hard my knuckles turned white. I knew the shade of the lipstick—deep red, just like the one I had seen on Isabella's lips all night.
Was he with her? I thought as I stared at the shirt, having no idea what to do.
I couldn't help but wonder just how far things had gone between my husband and her, because I had seen their closeness last night.
While my mind spiraled about the thoughts of them having an affair, my hand brushed against the silk handkerchief the stranger on the roof had given me.
I untied it from my palm and stared at it. Despite the misery of the morning, I smiled because that man was the only person who had looked at me with genuine kindness in a very long time.
I raised the handkerchief up and noticed a subtle, elegant embroidery in the corner. It was a set of initials: L.H. and next to the letters was a small, intricate symbol that looked like a sharp vertical sword.
"L.H.," I thought, tracing the cool silk. I knew 'L' stood for Lucien, but I had no idea what his last name was.
The sword looked like a family crest of a powerful family, but I had no idea whose family it belonged to. I was certain that Lucien didn't seem like one of Roman's usual business associates.
"Lucien," I whispered his name, and just then, my phone vibrated on the nightstand beside the bed. I rushed immediately to pick up the phone, and on the screen was the name of the orphanage I had grown up in.
"Hello?"
"Vivienne dear, this is Sister Mary," one of the sisters' voices came through, sounding a bit sad. "I am so sorry to call you, but I bear bad news and you deserve to hear it immediately. Sister Martha… she passed away peacefully in her sleep last night."
"Sister…" I stuttered as tears welled up in my eyes.
Sister Martha was the one who had raised me, the one who had stood by me while growing up. She was the closest thing to a mother I had ever known.
"How? What happened? I spoke to her last week and she didn't tell me she was sick?"
"She didn't want you to worry, Vivienne," Sister Mary continued, sniffling softly. "Please visit us soon. There are things of hers… things she wanted you to have"
I squeezed my eyes shut as the tears spilled down my face. My world was crumbling at home, and now the only family I ever had that truly loved me was gone.