Chapter 4 Gone Quiet
704 Words
When Sophia called, I had just locked in a flight for the following day.
"Vivian, Zayn had new dresses made for us. Come try them on with me."
I was about to turn her down, but then I thought of everything Zayn had ever given me that I still hadn't given back. In the end, I said yes.
I didn't realize "new dresses" meant wedding gowns.
Sophia was a ballerina. Her body and bearing were impeccable, almost otherworldly.
On her, the wedding dress looked less like clothing and more like decoration.
The staff couldn't stop gushing.
"Ms. Scott, you look like you stepped straight out of a dream. No wonder Mr. Lowe has one wedding gown custom-made here for you every year, just waiting."
"Exactly. I heard there was once a young woman who insisted on trying on the gown Mr. Lowe had set aside for you. He went ice-cold on the spot and left her here all alone..."
Before she could finish, another employee clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Ms. Lynn, please don't take it personally. She's new and doesn't know what she's saying."
I held my pendant tighter against my chest and stayed silent.
Sophia looked it over with a sneer. "So Zayn wasn't lying. Like really sticks with like. He never cared about you."
I reached for it, but she gripped it even harder.
In the scuffle, Sophia staggered and toppled straight backward.
"Vivian, what are you doing?"
Zayn caught Sophia in his arms, rage flashing in his eyes.
"I've really let you get away with too much."
My fingers curled tightly around the pendant.
I had been abducted as a child and moved from place to place ever since. That pendant was the only thing that had ever made me feel safe.
Even after all these years without finding my way home, simply holding it had always put my mind at ease.
"Zayn, please, don't take it from me."
Zayn pried my fingers open by force and leaned in close, letting out a low chuckle by my ear.
"What, still thinking it'll lead you back to your family? The truth is, by your second year with me, I already found your biological parents. I kept it from you because I was afraid you'd leave me. I even heard that last year, while they were searching for you, they drove off a cliff. You're never going to see them again."
I stood there completely still, a raw, bloody mark already scraped into my neck, not even flinching.
Sophia took the pendant with a pleased smile and turned it over in her hands. Then, in an instant, it slipped from her grasp and hit the floor, splitting cleanly in two.
Something in me snapped. I couldn't hold back anymore and lunged at her, grappling with her.
Smack. A brutal slap knocked me straight to the ground.
"Vivian, isn't this enough? It's just a worthless pendant. Don't forget. Everything you have now came from me."
I spat out blood and pointed at the suitcase I had brought with me that day.
"Everything of yours, I've given back. From now on, we're even."
He looked almost entertained.
"Don't be ridiculous. You're never getting away from me."
"Take her away. Lock her up. She stays there until she admits she's wrong."
*****
On the wedding day, Zayn stared at Sophia in her gown, yet for some reason, the excitement he had once imagined never came.
It had been the moment he had pictured for years. That was why, every year, he had me put on the wedding dress he chose and wear it for him.
Each time, I would cling to him playfully, saying I couldn't wait to grow up and marry him.
But now, there was a strange hollow feeling in his chest.
He suddenly recalled that I had been locked up for a full day. In fact, he knew how terrified I was of the dark. He believed I should've already been crying and begging to be let out. But this time, there had been nothing but silence.
"Go get me Vivian."
Soon after, the butler rushed over, his face completely pale.
"We have a problem, Mr. Lowe. Ms. Lynn is gone."
- Writer
