Love or Duty

Chapter Five

Sebastian arrives at University and quickly calls Levi to find out where he was and for any updates. As he stood in the car park with his phone in hand, he ignored all the girl's stares and whispers.

After a couple of rings, Levi picks up. Sebastian spoke, "have you found her?"

He could hear the frustration in Levi's voice, "not yet. Hannah is looking through all the bathrooms again to make sure."

"Which bathroom do you think she went to?" Sebastian asked, feeling hopeless at the whole situation.

"The one at the library entrance is the most likely the one she went to," replied Levi, trying to explain the situation again to Sebastian. "But there is another she could have gone to at..."

"The old library?" Sebastian said, thinking aloud as he tries to remember the campus layout.

"Yes, it is pretty close to where we were," Levi said while considering the options at hand. "But I doubt she went to that one. It's not exactly on the way to the classroom unless she took the back exit."

Sebastian quickly set off in the direction of the old library with Levi still on the phone, "I'll go check there. Continue the search in your location, and call me as soon as you find her.

"Roger that, "Levi said before he ended the call. "f**k”, he muttered to himself as he combed this hand through this black hair in frustration. He shouldn't have let her out of his sight.

Sebastian navigated his way through campus towards the old library building. Ignoring the gazes and murmurs from the girls as he walked past, their mouths dropped open as they noticed their classmate Hannah approach the gorgeous man. They noted she looked nervous and very frazzled.

"That slut! She already got Greg; must she claim him too?" said a voice in the distance.

Sebastian was annoyed at all the disgusting comments he was hearing, but he didn't have time to waste.

"Sebastian! Levi just told me you were coming this way," said Hannah as she met up with Sebastian outside the old library.

Hannah, having spent the last few hours searching for Vivian, was exhausted and stressed. Sebastian listened to Hannah as she explained the situation before her.

"I've already checked this bathroom before," she said. "I saw her walk out the front entrance, so I don't understand why she should come to this one," she added, confused.

"Since we are already here, let's recheck this one," Sebastian said, following Hannah into the building.

As they entered the old brick building, Sebastian felt negative energy pulling him towards the dimly lit hallway leading to the auditorium.

"The bathroom is just to the left," said Hannah pointing in the other direction. Sebastian didn't hear her as the energy he felt was something he had never felt before.

"Sebastian?" Hannah called out again, puzzled. She looked at Sebastion, who was staring towards the auditorium.

Sebastian walked towards the negative energy he felt radiating from the auditorium; he made a shushing sound to Hannah. Hannah could only follow him nervously but stayed quiet. He could hear faint crying and a steady, slow, thumping sound as he got closer to the auditorium door.

"Vivian? Is that you?" He called out before opening the door.

"Vivian, are you in here?" He called out again, this time a bit louder as he entered the auditorium. He could hear the sobbing more clearly now, his eyes scanning the room in search of the sound. His eyes widen in shock as he saw Vivian crouched down in a ball in front of the stage with her hands covering her ears rocking side to side like a child.

He quickly ran to Vivian's side, "Vivian! Are you alright? What happened?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest.

When Sebastian's embraced Vivian, she recognised the familiar scent of his cologne; when she looked up and saw Sebastian's face, she started bawling and cried even louder.

Sebastian just held her until she calmed down. He gave her a peck in her head, whispering over and over again, "I'm here now. It's okay."

-

Vivian didn't tell Sebastian what happened. He knew she would when she was ready, and he didn't want to pressure her. Levi sat in the back seat of Sebastian's car; there was awkward silence the entire drive home.

When they arrived home, Vivian exited the car without waiting for Sebastian to open the door for her. She ran directly to her room, where she found Anne waiting for her by her bed.

Dinner had just started when Sarah heard the main doors open. She quickly stood up and ran to greet whoever just came home.

"Must be Vi!" she said excitedly, "she home late today."

Sarah made her way quickly to the entrance hall to greet Vivian. But she only saw a glimpse of Vivian, who looked upset, as she ran upstairs. Then she saw a gloomy Levi enter the house.

"What happened? Why's is my sister upset?" she demanded to Levi.

Levi did his signature shrug, dropped his bags by the stairs and excused himself as he walks past Sarah to dinner. Sarah was not happy with Levi's attitude. She saw Sebastian enter shortly, and she stopped him from going upstairs.

"Why is Vi upset?" Sarah asked, blocking Sebastian from going up the stairs.

"Stop with the 21 questions and let me find out," Sebastian growled at Hannah as he tried to push past her. He was not in the mood to deal with Sarah, as Vivian needed him right now.

Sarah didn't understand that term, but it infuriated her that she was being ignored. Sarah was about to shout at him when her grandfather appeared from the dining hall after hearing Sebastian's raised voice from before.

"Sarah, it's time for dinner," Philip said, standing in the entrance hall.

"But grandpa, Vivian's is upset," Sarah started.

"Come now, Sarah, it does not concern you," Philip interjected before she could say anymore.

Sarah could only give Sebastian an angry stare before going to her grandfather's side.

"Good girl, everybody is waiting," Philip said, placing his hand on Sarah's shoulder and leading her back to the dining hall while making eye contact with Sebastian to let him know he can go.

Sebastian gave him a nod before running up the stairs to Vivian's room. He was about to enter when the door opened, and Anne came out. He was a bit startled to see her.

"Good evening, Sebastian," Anne said as she exited the room, "I've just given Miss Vivian some medicine for sleep."

"Sleep medicine?" Sebastian repeated, confused.

"Yes. Master Philip said Miss Vivian would need it tonight." Anne explained, "Best if you didn't disturb her now."

Anne bowed deeply at Sebastian and then left. Sebastian quietly entered Vivian's room to see Vivian lying in bed facing the other direction. Her body language suggested she was still awake. Sebastian climbed into bed behind her and held her close.

After a while, Sebastian heard Vivian mumble softly, "Please do not leave me." He didn't know what she meant but when he tried to ask she was already asleep.

---

When morning came, Vivian slowly stretched her body to wake up. But her heart started racing as she remembered what happened yesterday, and she began to panic. Her fists began pounding her head, trying to erase the memories that came flooding into her head.

Sebastian was in the bathroom when he heard Vivian hitting herself, and he automatically came rushing out. He tried to hold her arms down, but during Vivian's manic state, she could free herself from his hold and continued to pound her head.

"Leave! Go away! Stop it! No! Don't leave me alone! Please take me with you. Leave!" Vivian cried out in pain.

Vivian was not making any sense. So Sebastian had to twist her body and pin Vivian down on the bed to stop her from hitting herself.

Everyone could hear the screams throughout the whole house, and they started to come to her room to see what was happening. Sam was the first to arrive. It didn't look good with Sebastian on top of Vivian on the bed, holding her down in a weird position.

Vivian looked up at Sam, "get him off! Help me!" She pleaded with Sam.

Sam started to approach the pair on the bed, but Sebastian yelled at him, "stop where you are and do not come any closer. You will only make it worse," as he kept trying to hold Vivian down.

While trying to struggle to free herself from Sebastian, Vivian cried to Sam, "He's hurting me! please help me!"

Philip and Thomas came down the hall to see a crowd gather at Vivian's door. Philip spotted Sarah among them, trying to squeeze her way through the gaps to enter.

"Take Sarah to her room; make sure she does not get out. Then bring Anne here immediately," Philip instructed Thomas. He made his way towards Vivian's room, pushed past everyone, and shut everyone out.

Thomas quickly grabbed Sarah and Michael from the crowd. He then informed Michael to keep Sarah occupied in her room, and unless instructed to do so, he must not let her leave the room.

Next, Thomas went to the infirmary to find Anne. He was halfway there when he spotted Anne already on her way to Vivian's room with precisely what Philip wanted in hand.

"How did you know?" He asked Anne, surprised.

"I knew last night after seeing her like that she would need these again," Anne explained, not going into further detail.

Anne and Thomas walked quickly to Vivian's room. The boys were still outside, but the door was closed. Thomas knocked on the door. "Master Philip? I have brought Anne," he said.

Philip opened the door and ushered them in. Thomas was not expecting to see Sebastian holding Vivian down on the bed so violently. Anne, unlike Thomas, did not cringe at sight, quickly set her things down on the bedside table and started preparing her medications.

Vivian was still struggling to get free. Her eyes widen when she saw Anne touching various vials of clear liquids. Vivian started crying more as memories of her past returned.

Vivian started to plead to Sebastian, "Please, Sebastian, don't let her touch me again! I'll be good, I promise."

Sebastian was more confused than ever; he had never seen Vivian like this before. But she was still thrashing about on the bed.

Anne came over to Sebastian, "I need you to hold her as still as you can." She instructed.

"I am going to inject a needle into her arm," Anne continued.

Sebastian looked at Philip for reassurance. "Do as she says," said Philip without flinching.

Sebastian nodded and continued to hold Vivian for Anne to give her the injection. It took 30 minutes for Vivian to stop moving, which felt like a lifetime for Sebastian. Vivian's eyes showed emotions of hurt and fear, though as the drugs now hindered her body.

"Okay, Sebastian, I need you to sit her up and let them hold her head still," Anne instructed.

Sebastian got off Vivian and adjusted her body for Anne. Vivian was staring at him the whole time, pleading with her eyes for him to stop Anne. Anne then forcefully opened Vivian's mouth and fed her the mixture she made. Within a few minutes, Vivian's eyes closed.

Sebastian was finally able to let Vivian lie down on the bed.

"Thomas, call the hospital and get them to prepare a room for Vivian. We will get her admitted straight away," said Philip.

"Wait!" Sebastian called out, "she needs to go to the hospital?"

Philip didn't answer him. Sebastian looked at Thomas, who looked just as confused as he was.

"The medication only works for a short amount of time," Anne decided to speak up for Philip. "We need to get her to the hospital before she wakes up so that we can control her outburst."

"You mean when she wakes up, she will do this again?" Sebastian asked, concerned while still cradling Vivian's body.

"Yes, last time we gave these medications to her, that is what happened. To rewire the brain…." Anne started.

"Enough, Anne. He doesn't need to know anymore." Philip interrupted, then turning to Sebastian, "Vivian will be going to the hospital. It would be best if you did not visit her."

"How long will she be in there for?" Sebastian asked, concerned. He was confused why suddenly he was forbidden to visit.

"As long as she needs, but I am inclined to keep her there permanently if needed to keep her away from you," Philip added, annoyed.

Sebastian clenched his fists. "You can't hide her from me!" He shouted at Philip, "you don't know your granddaughter at all nor what she wants."

"It doesn't matter what she wants. Do you know how many times Anne has done this to Vivian? At least six times, and each time, I was here watching her do it. Each time she was forcibly held down by grown men so that she wouldn't hurt herself," Philip cried, visibly shaking with anger and sadness.

Sebastian is taken aback by Philip's outburst and sudden change of attitude towards Vivian.

"If you truly love her, you need to stop playing around." Philip suddenly said. Which only upset Sebastian.

"I haven't been playing around," Sebastian retorted, "I love her."

"Tell me, Sebastian. If both Vivian and Sarah's life is in danger, and you could only save one of them who would you choose?" Philip challenged. "Will you choose to save the woman you supposedly love or the woman you vowed to protect for eternity?"

Sebastian remained silent as his mind started to churn. He could not answer the question.

Philip then continued, "If you cannot say you would choose Vivian, you need to end this before it turns into something real. I know for a fact, without question, you would save Sarah over Vivian. It is already ingrained into your mind, body and soul, as you already risked your own life to save her when she was a baby."

Philip was right; the vow he made when he was a mere child controlled him. No matter how much he loved Vivian or wished he would choose her over Sarah, he knew it wouldn't be possible as long as he was Sarah's guardian.