Tainted Love

Chapter 2

"Baby, when am I getting the money you promised?" Belinda asked for the tenth time.

"Don’t you have patience? Belinda baby, come on… I never fail on my promises," Victor said, pulling her closer. Their naked bodies pressed together with rising heat. "I'm expecting money from Vivian by the end of the week. I promise—it’ll be a good amount."

"But babe, you guys fought yesterday… do you really think she’ll send it?"

"Why are you acting like you don’t know how dumb she is? I can treat her any kind of way, and she’ll crawl back like a lost puppy." He ended with a smug laugh that echoed through the room.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

Ring Ring Ring

"Speak of the devil," Belinda muttered, handing him the phone.

Victor looked at the caller ID, scoffed, and declined the call.

"But why would you do that? Vivian's calling—maybe she’s about to send the money!" Belinda’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"Relax, baby girl. This will make her even more desperate to please me. Let’s not ruin the moment… let’s pick up where we left off." With that, he climbed back over her, and soon the room filled with moans and groans.

---

"What happened? What did he say?" Cecilia asked, noticing the change in Vivian’s expression.

"I think he’s still mad at me," Vivian said with teary eyes. "He declined the call. This is all my fault." Her voice broke as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Crying over an animal… holy crap," Cecilia muttered under her breath, anger building.

"What did you say?" Vivian asked, suspecting she had heard an insult.

"I was asking why you called him." Cecilia deflected quickly. Vivian stared at her, unsure, but let it slide.

"I wanted to ask when we’ll be going to buy our graduation outfits," Vivian said softly.

"Oh Vivian… I thought you were going to go with me!" Cecilia said, annoyed. "And who told you he’s even graduating?"

"Why wouldn’t he? Isn’t he part of our class?"

"He’s been failing since first year. What makes you think his name will appear on the list? Why keep lying to yourself?"

"You’re only saying this because you don’t like him. He’s better than some people in our class."

"And who are those people, huh? Name them! What nonsense!" Cecilia snapped.

"Oh, Ceci..."

Suddenly—BANG! The door slammed open.

"What is this, Vivian?!" Mrs. Dary stood fuming, holding up a phone playing a video—Vivian fighting over a man.

Vivian froze in terror. Her words stumbled. "Mom... Mommy... Ma..." she struggled to speak.

"Please, I can explain. It's not what you think..." She dropped to her knees, reaching for her mother's legs, but Mrs. Dary pulled back in disgust.

"Vivian, what is this? Do you even think about your family before you act? Do you want to ruin everything we’ve worked for? Do we deserve this shame from you?!" Her voice cracked as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Mom..." Vivian sobbed, but the words wouldn’t come.

"And you," she turned to Cecilia, who stood frozen. "You call yourself her friend? Part of this family? What were you doing when your friend was wrecking herself? Couldn’t you have stopped her?"

Cecilia looked away in shame.

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Dary snapped, storming out and slamming the door behind her.

Cecilia turned to Vivian, her voice bitter. "Just look at you. Are you happy now? All this—over one guy. Every day it’s love, love, love. What’s wrong with you?"

"You don’t understand, Cecilia. This isn’t Victor’s fault. I caused all of it."

"Aren’t you ashamed? Look at what you’re saying! What’s so special about him? His puffy face? His wrinkled skin? His dumb attitude?"

"Enough, Cecilia. Just because you're my—"

"Oh shut up!" Cecilia snapped. "Let me tell you the truth, Miss Act-Righteous. I didn’t want to say this, but you’re acting like a desperate b***h. You give him money, sleep with him, do everything—and he cheats! And you still run back? Aren’t you disgusted?"

"Get out!" Vivian screamed.

"I knew you’d say that. You want to date a dog? Be my guest. Just don’t cry later."

"Don’t make me push you out, Cecilia. I mean it!"

"I’m leaving. Maybe when you come to your senses, you’ll understand what I was saying." She hissed and stormed off.

Vivian collapsed on the floor, crying. She picked up her phone and tried calling Victor—again, he declined. In frustration, she hurled the phone at the wall and sobbed harder.

---

Cecilia drove, seething with rage. "F*,"** she spat, replaying everything in her head. As she approached a junction, her eyes locked on two figures—Victor… and Belinda.

Her heart raced. She reversed the car sharply and sped toward him.

Victor barely jumped out of the way.

"Are you stupid?!" he shouted, hurling insults.

Cecilia, still furious, was about to hit the gas again when she noticed a police car nearby. She cursed under her breath and drove off.

"s**t!" she hissed. "Vivian… you’re so blind. This thing you love doesn’t even look human. Disgusting. I hope you wake up before it’s too late." She drove off, heart pounding.

---

Morning came like there had never been a night.

Vivian stared at her reflection—puffy eyes, dark circles, and a hollow expression. She looked like someone fresh out of a psychiatric ward.

"Everything will be fine, Vivian Dary… You just need time," she whispered to herself. "People don’t understand you, but this isn’t your end."

She grabbed her concealer and foundation, masking the darkness under her eyes, then slid on a pair of sunglasses to hide the damage makeup couldn’t fix. She didn’t want to go to school—not today. But she had to. She needed to talk to Victor.

---

As she walked through the hallway, whispers followed her like shadows. Eyes tracked her every step. She tried to block them out.

"It’s just a video… It’s not that bad," she told herself. But she knew that was a lie. Still, lies felt better than reality.

Then she saw her.

"Cecilia?" she called out, hoping for a smile. But Cecilia walked past her like she was invisible.

"Are you seriously going to walk past me like we’re strangers?" Vivian demanded, voice low but firm.

Cecilia stopped but didn’t look at her. "When you were yelling 'get out, get out' yesterday, what did you expect? I'm not in the mood for this."

"I’m sorry, Ceci… please, don’t let it be like this. I was angry. I didn’t mean it." Her voice cracked with regret.

Cecilia exhaled sharply, then finally looked at her. "Okay, fine. Let’s go—we’re already running late."

And just like that, the silence between them broke. They walked side by side, not as if nothing happened, but as if they were trying to find their way back to what used to be.

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