THE REVENGE OF THE SCORNED BRIDE

Vivian clenched her fists and continued walking forward. The sound of her heels clicking against the clear marble floor was the only sound in the office hall. It took a lot of effort for Vivian not to show the frustration and fear that she was feeling deep down in her heart. “Wait ma. Mr. Damien is busy with a client.” The shrill voice of her husband’s secretary shouting and walking towards Vivian brought the angry woman out of her thoughts. Vivian continued walking towards her husband's office without caring about the secretary. She was here because she knew that something was wrong, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. The secretary was still rushing towards Vivian in a bid to stop her from getting to Damien’s office, but Vivian was not a woman to be stopped by a simple no. The door to her husband’s office was ahead and Vivian could tell that it was not locked because she could see that the door was slightly ajar, and she could hear the sound of laughter drifting out of the room. Vivian walked straight towards the office and, with hands that were slightly trembling, she reached for the door and pushed it open. Vivian stopped moving the moment she pushed the door open, shock ran down her spine as she tried to process the image in front of her. It was of her husband – Damien, sitting shirtless at his desk and in his lap was the person she trusted the most in this world, her twin sister, Vicky. Vicky was whispering into his ears when Vivian had opened the door, so they had both turned towards the door with a shocked expression on their faces. The atmosphere in the room thickened as the two of them shifted towards Vivian. “What is happening here?” Vivian asked, her voice quivering. It felt like the room was closing in on her. Damien's face drained of all color and Vicky scrambled out of Damien’s lap as she quickly buttoned her blouse with a flustered expression on her face. “Vivian…” Damien stuttered. He was clearly nervous, and his voice was cackling. “Don’t you dare say my name,” Vivian said, cutting him off, “You are not only cheating on me, Damien, but you are doing it with my own twin sister, Damien. My own twin,” Vivian said, her voice breaking and with tears beginning to build up in her eyes. “Vivian please.” Vicky started as she finally finished buttoning her blouse, “This is not what it looks like.” “Save me the explanation, Vicky. What do you mean by it is not what it looks like?” Vivian asked with a chuckle, “Tell me Vicky, what does it look like then? Please explain to me how you kissing my husband on the lips is different from what I think it looks like.” “Please. but. plea…” Vicky started stuttering. She was trying to say something, but the words could not get out of her mouth. “Stop Vivian.” Damien said as he looked up at Vicky and saw that she was about to break down. “This is not her fault Vivian, it’s mine.” “Oh, so it’s just you right?” Vivian asked sarcastically, her hands shaking as she resisted the urge to lunge at the two traitors. “So, you forced my sister on top of you and forced her to kiss you right?” Vivian asked, “Oh, stop Vivian, stop acting like you are so innocent,” Vicky answered, regaining her courage. She smiled down at Damien when she realized that he had her back. “None of us are perfect, especially you.” Vivian turned her gaze away from her husband and towards her twin sister, her face stern and her gaze icy. “Of course, I am not perfect, but this is not about me, Vicky. This is about my only sister, my twin, betraying me and sleeping with my husband.” Vivian shouted, Vivian finally stopped holding back and walked straight towards her twin sister who was standing still from the shock of her outburst. “Was it nice Vicky? Isn’t this what you always wanted? I always knew you were nothing more than a traitorous b***h,” Vivian said as she reached Vicky and slapped her. The force of the slap immediately sent her to the ground. Vivian was just about to follow through with her attack when she felt a strong firm hand behind her holding her back. Without Vivian even realizing it, Damien had gotten up from his chair and walked behind her. “Stop Damien, don’t you dare touch me,” Vivian said as she quickly shrugged off both of his hands. She took one long glance at her sister on the ground and resisted the urge to lunge at her again. “Please just stop and listen to me, Vivian,” Damien said as he walked towards Vicky and helped her up. Vivian watched with pursed lips and bated breaths as the man she thought she loved with all her heart helped her sister off of the ground. “No need for that love,” Vicky said as she looked up to Damien with a smile on her face and wiped off the faint blood that was trailing down the corner of her mouth. She turned towards Vivian and smiled, “You know what, Vivian, it’s good that you caught us here because I am tired of having to hide my relationship with Damien. You have always had everything Vivian, everything. You have the perfect life, the perfect husband, the perfect job, but what do I have? Nothing.” Vicky took a deep breath as she turned the scowl on her face into a huge smile. “Tell me Vivian, do you know what it is like to live in your shadow?” Vicky asked, “Do you know what it is like to always see you excelling while I have nothing going on in life? How is it fair for you to have everything and for me to have nothing?” Vivian’s voice lowered in a dangerously calm tone, “Because of your own delusions, you decided to destroy both my marriage and my life, just because you were jealous?” “Please Vivian, calm down,” Damien said as he tried to deescalate the situation. “I don’t care, Damien. You have made your choice and should stick with it.” Vivian interrupted him as she took in a deep breath and turned around. “Vivian, please wait-” “Just stop Damien,” Vicky said as she stepped forward, and her tone shifted to one of pride, “We do not need to lie to her anymore.” She continued, “Wait Vicky, not yet,” Damien said. Vivian could see panic beginning to show in his face. “Don’t worry Damien,” Vicky answered with a shrug. “She needs to hear this now,” Vivian turned back around to face them; her heart sank the moment she saw the expression on the face of her twin sister. “What do I need to hear?” She asked, puzzled. Vicky glanced at Damien first. When she saw him nod, she answered, “I did not want to tell you this, but Damien and I are in love.” For a very brief moment, Vivian stopped breathing. She staggered backwards in shock, those words stabbed deep into her heart. “In love?” Vivian muttered in a barely audible voice. Tears were beginning to build up again in her eyes and this time Vivian was not able to stop the flow. Damien, seeing the tears, walked up to her and tried to comfort her only for Vivian to sidestep him. “Do not touch me.” Vivian snapped, “Do not ever touch me again for the rest of your life.” Vivian raised her hand and wiped the tears that were beginning to build up from her eyes before turning around and walking towards the door. “Vivian, please wait, let me explain,” Damien said as he rushed after her. “Stop,” Vivian said as she turned back around, “Why should I stop? Both of you are disgusting. I hope you both rot in hell, and you…” Vivian said, pointing her fingers at her sister, who was looking at her with a large smile on her face. “…I gave you everything and this is how you repay me?” Vicky opened her mouth to respond, but Vivian was done talking to the two traitors. With one last glance at the two of them, Vivian walked out of the office. Damien tried calling her back, but she did not bother to answer him. The tears came the moment Vivian got into her car. The sound of her sobs was the only thing echoing in her dark empty car. The betrayal of her twin sister cut her deeper than she would have ever imagined. Vivian allowed herself to sink into her emotions. By the time she was done crying, anger was the only emotion cursing through her veins. She was not broken, not yet, and she was not going to allow those two traitors to break her. The buzz of her phone brought her out of her thoughts. With a distracted mind, Vivian rifled through her purse and brought out her vibrating phone. She took a quick glance at the screen and stopped. It was a call from someone she had not spoken to in years, her mother.