Bitter Vows, Sweet Revenge

Chapter 5:Accidental Miscarriage

Aria’s breath hitched. "How... how are you?" she managed, her voice thin and reedy.

Julian's response was clipped, dismissive. "We're through. It's over." He then proceeded to serve Vivienne, his attention entirely focused on her, as if Aria's carefully guarded two-year marriage was nothing more than a fleeting inconvenience.

Marcus cleared his throat, attempting to salvage the strained atmosphere. "Aria, dear, how have you been feeling?"

Before Aria could answer, Tina, her stepmother, delivered a sharp kick under the table. Tina shot Marcus a glare before turning her saccharine smile on Aria. "My Vivienne just returned, and her leg is in such a terrible state. Shouldn't you be showing some concern for our daughter?"

"I'm fine, Mom," Vivienne chimed in, her voice a delicate performance of forced stoicism. "Sister just got out of the hospital. Of course, she's more important." Her eyes, however, met Aria's, a subtle challenge in their depths. Despite doing nothing, Aria felt Julian's warning gaze bore into her.

"I'm fine, Dad," Aria murmured, pushing her untouched food away. The sight of Julian's solicitous attention towards Vivienne was a physical ache in her chest. She found an excuse to retire upstairs, the forced gaiety of the dinner party too much to bear.

A maid led her to a guest room near the top of the stairs. Even with the door closed, the sounds of laughter and conversation from the dining room below drifted up, a constant reminder of her exclusion. She caught her reflection in the mirror – pale, drawn, utterly alone. This was not her home. No one here truly wanted her.

Sometime later, she drifted into an exhausted sleep, only to be jolted awake by a soft knock. Standing in the doorway was Vivienne, a gentle smile gracing her lips.

"Sister, why don't you come down for some afternoon tea? You barely ate lunch."

Vivienne's concerned tone was so disarming, Aria momentarily questioned her past perceptions of her sister. Then, her gaze met Julian’s, his eyes fixed on her from across the living room, a silent warning. Unsure of his motives, but unwilling to refuse, Aria nodded and followed Vivienne, who was now being assisted into her wheelchair by a maid.

The process of getting Vivienne's wheelchair down the stairs was an elaborate production involving planks, carpet runners, and two maids pushing with careful precision. Aria watched, surprised by the sheer effort involved, and wondered why Vivienne had even bothered to summon her. Feeling awkward standing by, she stepped forward, intending to help.

"What are you doing?" Julian's sharp, panicked roar echoed from the bottom of the stairs.

Aria froze. Julian rushed forward, roughly shoving her aside.

"Julian, please, don't be like that," Vivienne said, her voice a soothing balm. Her innocent face turned to Aria, a placating smile on her lips as she extended a hand.

Aria would replay that moment countless times in the lonely nights to come, wondering what would have happened if she hadn't reached out. But there was no "if." Mesmerized by Vivienne's performance, Aria took her sister's hand. The instant her fingers brushed Vivienne's icy skin, a piercing shriek tore through the air. Then, a brutal shove to her lower back sent her tumbling backward, down the unforgiving flight of stairs.

The world spun into a chaotic blur. When Aria finally registered her surroundings, she was sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, every inch of her body screaming in agony. A searing pain radiated from her abdomen, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead. She looked up, her hand reaching out towards Julian, who stood at the top of the stairs, Vivienne trembling in his arms.

Vivienne buried her face in Julian's chest, her sobs seemingly genuine. But as everyone else's attention was fixed on the drama, Aria saw it – a faint, triumphant smile playing on Vivienne's lips.

Julian's gaze, cold and filled with loathing, locked onto Aria. "Aria Thorne, I never imagined you could be so devious. And after everything, you would do this to your own sister?"

Aria opened her mouth to protest, to explain, but Julian's verdict was swift and brutal. A sickening wetness spread beneath her, a terrifying sensation of something vital draining away. Blackness encroached on her vision. Her last conscious thought was a desperate prayer: Let this be a dream.

Aria drifted in and out of consciousness, a haze of white light and the sterile chill of a hospital bed. Doctors in masks moved around her. Another wave of searing pain radiated through her, and she succumbed to unconsciousness once more.

When she finally woke, the only person in the room was Vivienne, seated serenely in her wheelchair, dressed in a flowing white gown, a faint smile on her lips.

Seeing Aria awake, Vivienne's smile widened, but her words were shards of ice. "How does it feel, Aria? To lose the one thing you loved most? You were so careless. Ruining your own life, all to frame me?"

The events of the fall clicked into place. Aria remembered standing near Julian, the sudden shove, Vivienne’s wheelchair inexplicably rolling towards the stairs. The chaos. The servants. And Julian, standing between them, his choice made in an instant. A single turn of his body, a single hand reaching for her, and none of this would have happened. Instead, he held Vivienne, his eyes filled with disgust as he looked at Aria.

"You... you framed me!" Tears streamed down Aria's face, hot and relentless. The child, her last vestige of hope, was gone, taking a piece of her heart with it. Shaking with a mixture of rage and grief, she faced Vivienne, who was alone in the room.

"Why did you come back, Vivienne? You know what happened. You know it was your fault. And now you’ve hurt my child!"

Vivienne's gentle facade shattered. Her eyes contorted with malice. "Yes, I made mistakes. My biggest mistake was leaving this place and giving you the opportunity! Julian is mine. How dare you carry his child? You don't deserve it!"

Her transformation was terrifying. The innocent act was gone, replaced by pure, unadulterated hatred. Aria, still weak from the surgery, felt a crushing wave of helplessness.

"Julian and I are over, Vivienne," Aria whispered, her voice raw. "This child was all I had left. Why would you take that from me?"

"It's what you and your mother owe me," Vivienne spat, her smile returning, a chilling mask of angelic sweetness. She rose from her wheelchair with an unnerving agility, looking down at Aria. "My legs are fine, Aria. I just needed Julian to feel guilty. You lost. This time, you lost completely."

A cold dread snaked down Aria's spine. This woman was far more dangerous than she had ever imagined.

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell everyone the truth?" Aria challenged, her voice barely a whisper.

Vivienne merely smiled, a strange, unsettling curve of her lips. Then, she let out a piercing scream and deliberately threw herself backward, hitting the wall with a sickening thud.

Julian burst into the room, his eyes widening in alarm as he rushed to Vivienne's side.

"Sister, I know you're upset about losing the baby," Vivienne sobbed, her voice choked with tears. "But it was an accident. You can't do this to me..." She clung to Julian, the picture of a wronged, fragile victim.

Aria hadn't even noticed Julian enter. Now, his furious gaze fell upon her. She opened her mouth to speak, to defend herself, but the words wouldn't come.

"Aria, you didn't get what you wanted, did you? Pushing Vivienne down the stairs. And now you've lost the baby. This is your karma. What you did has come back to haunt you through your child. This is the price you pay!"

"It was your child, too," Aria choked out, her heart constricting as if in a vise.

Julian ignored her, turning his full attention to Vivienne. "Vivienne, I know you have a kind heart, but this woman is beyond pity. You shouldn't even be here."

"But... Sister lost the baby because of me..." Vivienne sniffled, batting away tears that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Aria stared, stunned, as Vivienne's innocent mask dissolved, replaced by a venomous accusation. "It wasn't like that!" Aria cried, her voice ragged. "She framed me! Her leg injury... it's all fake!"

Julian's expression remained unchanged. He rose, his voice like ice. "Aria, even now, you refuse to give up? You continue to slander your sister? I saw everything with my own eyes. Stop these pathetic games."

The twisted smile on Vivienne's face suddenly made horrifying sense. She wasn't afraid of being exposed; no one would believe Aria. A profound sense of powerlessness washed over Aria. Looking at the man she had once loved, she felt only a bottomless disappointment.

"Aria Thorne," Julian said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Given the past two years, I won't hold this against you. But remember this: from this moment on, you and I are completely finished."

He turned, and with one last look at Julian guiding Vivienne away, Aria watched her own heart sink into the abyss.