THE REVENGE OF THE SCORNED BRIDE

DANGEROUS REUNION

Vivian took a deep breath in order to calm herself. She took another glance down at the still buzzing phone before picking up the phone and moving to press the reject button.

Her thumb hovered on the button for a couple of seconds, before she shifted it over to the ‘Answer’ button and swiped it.

“Hello.” Vivian’s voice came out in a whisper,

For a very brief moment, Vivian could hear a sharp intake of breath from the other side of the call. It seemed like her mom had not expected her to even pick up the call.

“Vivian.” A voice cackled from the other side of the line, barely above a whisper. “Vivian, is that you?” Her mother, Rose, asked.

Vivian’s throat tightened at the sound of her mother’s voice; it was a sound that she had not heard in years. In the past, her mother’s voice was always able to calm her down. Now anytime she heard the voice of her mother, it felt like a knife was twisting deep into her chest.

“What do you want, Rose?” Vivian asked through gritted teeth.

“Just Rose now, not mom?” Rose muttered under her breath. There was a hint of pain in her tone. “I heard about what happened?” Rose said out loud,

“Of course, that b***h would run straight to mum and lie about what happened.” Vivian muttered under her breath.

“Why are you calling me then?” Vivian asked with an edge in her voice, “Are you calling to gloat?”

“Of course not darling,” Rose answered. This time Vivian could definitely hear the pain in her mother’s voice.

“I am tired already, mom. Tell me exactly why you are calling. Are you calling to defend your favorite daughter and take her side?” Vivian asked, her voice practically dripping with venom.

“This is not about taking sides, Vivian, please listen to me,” Rose said, cutting Vivian off.

“Of course it is, it has always been. Vicky has always been the chosen one to you, the perfect child who did no wrong. Why else would you call me if not to tell me about how I am overreacting and should forgive my traitorous twin sister”, Vivian snapped. She was tired of the same thing repeating over and over again.

There was silence from the other side of the line as Rose tried to come up with an adequate reply to Vivian’s accusation.

“Please Vivian, listen to me.” Rose started, “You don’t understand, Vicky is not as strong as you are.”

“So, Vicky is now a defenseless weak woman now, Rose.” Vivian cut her mom off with a scoff. “What else are you going to tell me, that she was forced to have an affair with my husband?” she asked, her voice laced with venom.

“You have always been a fighter, Vivian,” Rose said, “That is why I have always let you be as independent as you are. You know that Vicky is not as strong as you. That is why I am calling you. I know that this will not break you.”

“Save your pep talk Rose, I do not need it.” Vivian said, “Bye bye Rose,”

“Just allow me to finish Vivian,” Rose hurriedly said from the other side of the line. Vivian had already moved her finger over to the ‘End Call’ button, but she hesitated when she heard her mom.

“What?”

“Please listen to me, Vivian, I am not calling you to try to apologize to your sister. I agree that what she did to you is bad and unforgivable and that is precisely why I am calling you.” Rose quickly said, she could tell that her daughter had lost patience with her and was about to end the call.

“Why are you telling me this?” Vivian asked,

“I want to make it right Vivian,” Rose answered, “I have been debating telling you the truth for a while now.”

“The truth about what?” Vivian asked,

“The truth about Vicky and the truth about Damien. You deserve to know, baby.” Rose replied,

“What truth Rose?” Vivian asked again.

“I can’t tell you over the phone, honey,” Rose replied. “Can you please meet me? There is something that you personally need to see.”

Vivian’s instincts were screaming at her to stop and consider the decision she was about to make, but the curiosity in her was too strong. She needed to know what truth her mom had for her.

“Fine.” Vivian said with a sigh, “Where should we meet?”

***

With a glance at her sideview mirror, Vivian turned down a lane and drove into the parking lot of a café that she had never ever gone to. She had seen it around, but she had never ever bothered to check out the café. The sign above the café was flickering, the entire place looked run down, it was probably a place that had not been renovated in decades.

Vivian allowed herself a smile. This was the kind of place her mother had always loved to visit, a place that was unassuming and quiet.

The parking lot was far from full as Vivian could only see two other cars parked outside. She quickly found herself a space before parking and turning off her engine.

Vivian could already see her mom through the glass windows of the café. She was seated at a corner and her hands were smuggling a coffee mug.

With a sigh, Vivian opened her car door and stepped out. She took another glance across the entire parking lot before walking straight towards the door of the café. The moment she walked in, her mom spotted her and Vivian could see her mom’s face light up.

For a brief moment, Vivian hesitated. She was having second thoughts about going forward with the meeting.

“Vivian.” Rose called out to her with a cheery tone in her voice. Rose was already standing up, but Vivian raised a hand.

“Don’t bother.” She said as she walked up to her mom and sat down in the other empty chair at the table. “Let’s skip the fake pleasantries and get straight to the point.”

Rose nodded and sat down. She grimaced when she saw her daughter sitting across her in a defensive posture.

“Tell me mom, why did you call me here?” Vivian asked,

“Is that what you are going to start with, Vivian?” Rose asked with a look of hurt on her face. “No questions about my health or what I have been doing?”

“Just tell me exactly why you called me here,” Vivian answered as she directed a steely gaze towards her mom. She was not here to play games or to have fun.

“You are here for this,” Rose said with a sigh as she brought up her purse and started rifling through it. She pulled out a large brown envelope and slid it across the table to Vivian.

“What is this?” Vivian asked as she picked up the files.

“It is proof honey.” Rose replied with a sad smile on her face.

“Proof of what mom?” Vivian said as she opened the envelope.

“This is proof that your sister and your husband were not just cheating on you, they have both been conspiring against you for years.” Rose replied,

With a puzzled look on her face, Vivian dumped the contents of the envelope on top of the table. The wad of files that fell out shocked her. Still puzzled by what her mom said, Vivian started going through the files. The more she read, the more shocked she was. Each and every single one of the papers on the table were legal documents, emails, financial records, photos, even direct contracts, all with her name on them.

The documents detailed an elaborate scheme by both her husband and her twin sister to siphon funds from Damien’s company and then use Vivian’s name and signatures to cover their tracks. Each of the papers on the table were somehow signed by her even though she definitely did not remember signing any of the documents. If the government were to investigate any of this, it would all trace back to her.

“They are framing me?” Vivian muttered under her breath as she moved from one file to another.

“Yes, they are honey.” Rose answered, “Believe me, I was as shocked as you are when I discovered it too. I found all of these documents in Vicky’s apartment weeks ago.”

The revelation that the affair between her husband and her twin sister had been going on for years did not shock Vivian as much as she wanted it to. Subconsciously, she had intuited it the moment she saw both of them together. What shocked her was the fact that they were both trying to frame her.

“What should I do, mom?” Vivian asked as she resisted the urge to cry. The evidence in front of her was pretty darning.

“You need to fight back, honey,” Rose answered as she raised her hand and placed it on top of Vivian’s. “And this time Honey, I will be on your side.”

“Thank you, mom.” Vivian said as she squeezed her mom’s hand back. She was just about to say something else before she felt her phone that was placed on the table buzz.

“Is it Vicky?” Rose asked.

Vivian took a glance down at the table and hesitated, quickly raising up her finger at her mom, she picked the call.

“What is it, Marcus? I am busy right now.”

“You need to leave wherever you are right now, Vivian,” Marcus' voice was a little rasp. Vivian could hear the urgent tone in his voice.

“What?” She asked,

“Someone recorded us yesterday. There is a price on your head right now, Vivian.” Marcus said in an urgent tone, “You need to get out of wherever you are, and you need to get out now.”

The moment he said that, Vivian heard the sound of a car hitting the brakes. She quickly looked out of the window of the café and saw a black jeep pulling into the parking lot. She could see two large men in suits at the front of the car.

Vivian’s blood turned to ice and her heart began pounding in her chest, “We need to leave mom, and we need to leave now.” Vivian's voice crackled as she stood up.