Vivienne had just gotten into the higher institution and was finding it hard to fit in. She was either always late for class or her dorm mates made fun of her, calling her an outcast even though she wasn't. They either picked on her or bullied her for no reason.
One faithful day, she was already late for class. Her roommate had locked her inside the hostel the same way they always did.
“Is anyone here? Please, is anyone outside to help me out?” She knocked on the door while shouting. She had a test today and couldn't afford to miss it.
Meanwhile, in class, Aurora had searched everywhere for her. The test was coming up any moment now, but she couldn't find her. She was nowhere to be found. Aurora called her phone, but it wasn’t going through.
“Hey, please can you help me out? My best friend isn't here, and I don't want her to miss the test. Can you come with me to her place so we can find out what's wrong?” Aurora asked Ethan.
“I don't think I can do this. Besides, what if they start the test without us? Should we fail because someone isn't here?”
“You know they won't conduct any tests without you here. So please, let me make use of you for my friend.” Aurora pleaded.
“What if she intentionally doesn't want to come to class? What would you do about it?” Ethan asked.
“I know my friend. There's no way she'll miss this kind of test, especially in her first year. Something must be wrong somewhere, and I can't figure it out, but I need to be there for her.”
“I'm not doing this for you guys. I'm doing this for myself. So let's go. Lead the way.”
They both ran to her hostel.
“I think I'll wait for you here,” he said.
“Why? Is anything wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong. This is a female’s hostel, and I can't just barge in like this. I'm the opposite gender, don't you know? Or did you need to be reminded?”
“Okay then. And please don't go yet. Just give me ten minutes. I'll be back with her.”
“Okay, I'm counting on you then.”
She went inside to know what was wrong when she heard the constant knocking and screaming.
“Vivi, is that you?”
“Aurora, you came for me? What about the test? You need to go back. You can't miss this test.”
“What's wrong with you?”
“I was locked inside my own hostel by my roommate.”
“Thank goodness I came here. If not, how would I have known what was going on?”
“Please, can you just help me out?”
Aurora tried opening the door from the back but couldn't. She had no choice but to call on Ethan to help them out.
“Please, can you help me out? My best friend is stuck inside, and I'm finding it hard to open the door.”
“So you're saying I should help you out, right?”
“Yes, please. Come help me out.”
He went inside to help her out, and they both opened the door. The moment he opened it, he fell in love with Vivienne immediately. He looked at her passionately and couldn't take his eyes off her for a minute.
“Hey, thanks for helping me out,” Vivienne said in appreciation.
He stared at her and didn't answer. She looked at him, and their eyes met. She then waved at him as if everything was fine. That was when he came back to his senses.
“Emmmm... hi... sorry... we need to go so we won't be late.”
“Yeah, we need to. The test will be coming up soon,” Vivienne said.
The trio ran down to class immediately. After the test was over, Vivienne ran over to meet Ethan and personally thank him for saving her.
“Hey, I want to thank you for helping me out. I really appreciate it.”
“It's okay. At least you didn't miss the test. I'm happy I could help.”
She stretched her hand towards him. “I'm Vivienne Bennett. Nice to meet you.”
He stretched his hand to meet hers, and they shook hands. “I'm Ethan Kingston. Nice meeting you too.”
***
“What? Is this a prank or what, because I don't understand you?” she said, looking confused.
“I know this looks weird to you, but I need you to trust me, and I'm really serious. I want you to marry me.”
“Did you know I just got rejected by Ethan, your own junior brother, and now you want me to marry you? Are you people even okay at all? What do you take me for? A pushover? Something you can just take, toy with, and trash when you're done?”
“No! Please don't misjudge me. That's not what I meant,” Damien said, trying to explain himself.
“So what is it that you're saying? You clearly said you want to marry me instead of your junior brother, or isn't that what you said?” Vivienne asked.
“Yeah, that was what I meant, but I didn't mean you're a pushover or something I can trash when I'm done with you. I won't do such.”
“Wow, it runs in the blood.”
“What runs in the blood? I don't understand you,” Damien asked confusingly.
“The sweet-talking, of course. You remind me of the way Ethan sweet-talks to me. But anyway, that's that. I need to know why you want me to get married to you,” she asked, looking calm and anxious at the same time.
“It's hard for me to explain, and I don't know how you'll see it or even understand it if I explain it, but just trust me.”
“Trust you? That will be the last thing I'll do on this surface of the earth, especially to you and your family members.”
“I know, but I'm serious about it, and I really mean it. But I'm not in the position to explain what's going on right now,” Damien said.
“I know you're just trying to mock me because of what Ethan did.”
“No, there's no way I'll mock you. Things like this hurt a lot. Besides, I witnessed part of the scandal, and I know his true character.”
“You knew?”
“It's not like that. Please believe me. Okay, let's do this. Why not get married to me to get your revenge on my younger brother? It'll benefit both of us.”
“How will it benefit both of us? What about you? How will it benefit you?”
“You don't need to know how it will benefit me, as long as you're able to take your revenge. Then no problem.”
“I'm sorry, I can't do something like this. What if you also want me for something I can't afford? I'm not interested in this marriage, and please let me be.”
She left Damien alone there and walked a little before getting into a cab to Aurora’s place. When she got there, she knocked on the door. Aurora hugged her tightly the moment she saw her.
“Vivi, are you alright? Are you okay? Why are you looking like this? Please come inside. OMG, what have I done to deserve this?” Aurora said, looking worried.
“Rora, I just want to sleep and never wake up. I just wish this whole thing is a dream and someone can wake me up from it. This whole thing needs to end,” she said sobbingly.
“No! You can't say that now. Never wake up? How? You'll always sleep and wake up. That I'm sure of.”
“Did you see the way Ethan humiliated me in front of everyone? In front of my guests, my family, and everyone I invited to the wedding? And to think he said I'm emotionally unstable is something I don't understand. I'm not unstable. I'm alright, and he's the one who's unstable.”
“I know, but at least you're happy, and I think you need to talk to Ethan about it. Why would he cut off your wedding like that? In public? He had all this time to cut you off from his life, and he chose your wedding day. No, that was really bad, I must confess.”
“Did you even know why he cut off the wedding?”
“Isn't it because you're emotionally unstable? Or is there another reason for that?”
“So, you want to tell me you believe that crap that came out of his mouth?” Vivienne asked her.
“Okay, then explain to me. Let me know what's wrong. What conspired between you two that would make him cut off the wedding?”
Vivienne lowered her head, her fingers tightening around the mug of tea Aurora had placed in her hands. The image of Ethan and Sophia together refused to leave her mind.
“He didn't call off the wedding because I was unstable,” she whispered. “He called it off because I caught him with another woman.”
Aurora's brows knitted together. “Who?”
Vivienne closed her eyes, and a tear escaped despite her efforts to hold it back.
“My sister.”
“What? Did you mean Sophia?”
“Yeah, Sophia. He wasn't even remorseful. He told me he didn't want me to find out this way.”
“Wait! How did he expect you to find out? I don't understand this guy anymore,” Aurora said.
“Same here. I don't understand him anymore. Why did he change, and when did he change? He was never like this to me. He even said they've been dating for close to a year. Can you imagine?”
“And he proposed six months ago.”
“He said our marriage wasn't going to work anyway and that I've always been boring.”
“What? You mean Ethan said all these things?”
She didn't answer; she continued spilling everything Ethan had told her. It was as if she finally saw a chance to free her mind.
“He said I never challenged him. I never understood what someone of his status actually needed, and he didn't cheat—he just moved on before the wedding.”
“If I was told Ethan could say something like this, I wouldn't believe it, because he has always been the perfect husband for you, and I was happy you had someone like that. I'm so sorry, dearie.”
“Should I tell you the more shocking news?”
“Is there more than this?”
“Damien, Ethan's elder brother, asked me to marry him instead of his junior brother.”
“What are these people up to? What do they want from you? Isn't it more than enough what Ethan did to you? Anyway, just leave them alone and let's focus on the next step to take now.”
“I just want to sleep off. I'll go see my parents once I'm awake. They'll be dead worried about me.”
She slept off, woke up, and took her leave to her parents' house.
***
“Ethan, that was wild. Why would you say something like that in public? Did you know you just humiliated my dear sister in front of her so-called well-wishers?” Sophia said mockingly.
“No, I didn't. I just had to put her in her place and remind her where she belongs.”
“Anyway, I love what you did. I really love it, and I'm happy you cut ties with her. Now we won't be scared or cautious of everyone and anybody.”
“And who says I was scared or cautious of anybody? I do what I want and what I love, and I'm happy I did that. At least I got to be with you, my darling.”
“I love you, Ethan, and I'll forever love you.”
They both kissed. Ethan turned back to enter his car and drove off.
Vivienne stood there for a while. She had left Aurora’s place to go home and explain to her parents what actually happened when she encountered this scene. She had wished Ethan would call her to apologize, but seeing this, she knew it was actually over.
Angrily, she decided to give Damien a call. Earlier, he had given her his card in case she finally made up her mind.
She went back to Aurora’s place.
“Hey, Rora, please I need to make an important call. Can you lend me your phone?”
“Is everything well? You're back from your parents' place so soon?”
“No, I haven't gone to meet them. I saw another scene, and that's a story for another day.”
“So who do you want to call right now?” Aurora asked her.
“I need to talk to someone important right now. I'll explain to you later.”
She picked up Aurora’s phone and called Damien. The moment he picked up at his own end, she said, “I'll marry you.”
“What?”
“I said I'll marry you.”
