You Were Always Mine

How Far Is Too Far?

The café Liam chose sat tucked away on a quiet corner a few streets from Pearl Corporation.

It wasn't one of the flashy places that influencers crowded every weekend.

His choice had surprised even Vivian, knowing he'd always been the ever flashy type.

She looked around as Liam held the door open for her.

"I expected somewhere less mellow."

Liam shrugged. “I'm trying to be as unpredictable as I can muster.”

She laughed. “Sure.”

They settled into a booth near the window.

A waitress appeared moments later.

"What can I get for you?"

"Cappuccino," Vivian answered after glancing at the menu.

"The usual?" Liam asked.

She looked at him. "You still remember?"

"You always ordered cappuccino whenever exams were stressing you out."

She blinked. "...You actually remembered that."

She leaned away dramatically, "That's very weird.”

Liam chuckled, she had no idea how much he remembers about her.

"And for you, sir?"

"Black coffee."

The waitress nodded before disappearing.

Liam scanned Vivian's face in silence as she glanced down at her phone for a second.

"You've changed," Liam finally said.

Vivian raised an eyebrow as her gaze finally settled on his.

“Hopefully for the better."

He nodded as though proud.

“Definately. You're not a shrieking brat anymore.”

Her eyes widened. “God, are you going to let it go already?! It's been years and it happened once!"

Liam laughs, his eyes brightening.

Vivian had such a vibe in college; she was almost everywhere at once and there was barely anyone who didn't know who she was back then.

"I miss the girl who used to laugh so loudly the librarian threatened to ban us."

Vivian laughed again. "I wasn't the problem." She reminded him.

“Hey, I don't visit the library quite often and the librarian always seems to make it a point to report you to me whenever I run into her.”

Liam shuddered at the memory; the woman had him dreading the main campus halls because he always seemed to run into her there.

He always wondered if she thought he was Vivian's elder brother or something.

Their drinks arrived and Liam lifted his mug.

"To surviving adulthood."

She clinked her cup lightly against his.

"I'll drink to that."

After taking a sip, Vivian leaned back.

"So..." She folded her arms. "Start talking."

"About?"

"Everything." She said, “There's a reason why you're in town and what have you been up to anyway?”

He sighed dramatically.

"I knew this interrogation was coming."

She tapped her nails on the table.

“Start talking young man. You just disappeared after I left college. I almost thought it was intentional.”

Liam smiled. “Yeah. I did.”

He rubbed the back of his neck on seeing Vivian wasn't going to let this go and she needed him to start talking.

"I wasn't very good at keeping in touch."

Vivian scoffed. "You think?"

"I deserved that."

She nodded. He accepted the criticism with surprising ease.

"I've been working with a motorbike company lately."

Her eyebrows lifted.

"So you turned your hobby into a career."

"Rick was against the idea so I had to start somewhere, far away from his reach before I turned into a corporate zombie.”

“Liam!”

He raises his hands in surrender.

“I'm just saying.” He teased. “But it's been going well. I make money off of something I actually enjoy.”

Her smile brightened.

“I'm glad you found what works for you. Rick was so difficult back then. Even Oscar couldn't keep up.”

Vivian sips her coffee without a second thought as Liam watched her in silence.

“Why did you agree to marry him?”

She paused, her gaze moving slowly towards him.

“After what happened back then.” He added.

Vivian exhaled. “Geez even I don't know but here we are..”

She laughs, trying to brush the topic off but the man in front of her clearly wasn't ready to.

“Does he make you happy?”

Vivain stared long and hard at him; she might have discussed her feelings with this man in the past but things have changed now. She's married and she can't be out here telling her business.

She nodded slowly. “I'm right where I need to be.”

That's not an answer, he knew that but Vivian wasn't willing to dive any deeper than necessary.

“So why did you come back?” She asked, redirecting the conversation.

Liam's expression softened.

"My mum wanted to be closer to family."

"And you?"

"I think... I needed to come home."

She nodded slowly. "I understand that."

Their conversations drifted off to other topics and other people they'd been friends with in college and how they were doing now.

When she checked the time on her phone, her eyes widened slightly.

"I should go." She said, “It's late.”

"So soon?"

"I have an early meeting tomorrow."

Liam nodded in understanding.

"I won't keep the CEO from running her empire."

Shesmiledd. "Thank you."

He shrugged, “V, it's just coffee."

"For coming back."

He stood as she did.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm not disappearing again."

She pointed a finger at him. "You'd better not."

He placed his hands on his chest. "I promise."

He held the café door open for her once more.

“Just drop me off at Pearl? My driver will be waiting.”

“Why? Scared I would know where you live?”

“I would throw up if you drop me at my place in that thing.”

Liam chuckled. “Fine. Whatever seems safe for you, my lady.”

***

The front door to the house swung open at half past eight.

Vivian stepped inside, kicking off her heels with a tired sigh.

Her ankle felt surprisingly fine now.

The coffee and her conversation with Liam had lifted her mood tremendously. She managed to forget all about work for a moment.

Vivian picked up her shoes, ready to head up the stairs. She turned the corner into the living room and froze.

Oscar sat on the couch, still dressed in his work suit.

His eyes landed squarely on her.

“Where have you been?” He asked, his voice dangerously low.

“Out.” She said simply, making her walk towards the stairs as he stood.

“Out? With Liam?”

She paused, turned to face him with narrowed eyes.

“Are you stalking me?”

“Answer the question.”

Vivian turned away from him.

“I'm not doing this with you..”

Oscar grabbed her arm, spun her around and cornered her against the wall, his left hand resting right beside her head.

“You will not walk away from me. Not again.” he snapped, his voice rising, thick with a rage he could no longer control.

“Move.” She warned.

“Why the f**k are you with him? Do you have any idea how that looks? Do you even care?"

Vivian stared at him, genuinely shocked by his outburst.

He had been cold to her for years, but this raw fury was completely new.

"I was with a friend! Just because you don't like him doesn't mean I have to hate him too!” she argued back, her own temper flaring.

"Why do you even care who I hang out with?!"

"Because you are my wife!" Oscar snapped, the words tearing out of his chest before he could stop them.

The sound echoed off the high ceilings.

"No matter how much you hate it, no matter how much you wish it was him, you belong with me. Not clinging to him in the middle of the street for the whole world to see!"

Hell she could be with anyone but him!

Vivian gasped slightly, stepping back.

"You're insane. Liam is like family. He’s the only person who actually treats me like a human being, not some minor inconvenience!"

Oscar paused, breathing hard as he stared down at her.

Bloody hell, she can't really see this for what it is can she?

“And I don't owe you an explanation for anything I choose to do!” She snapped.

Her cheeks were flushed as she glared up at him.

“And you don't get to call me your wife when it's convenient for you.”

She shoves him off before resuming her walk up the stairs without even glancing back.

A suffocating wave of jealousy choked him as her warmth left with her.

It wasn't just about the family feud, and it wasn't just about Liam pressing his buttons.

The fact that he called his office before they even met made Oscar even more upset. It was intentional, there was no denying it.

It was the brutal, agonizing realization that Vivian smiled for Liam in a way he hasn't been able to make her smile in a long long time. That grinded his gears the most.

He hated how much it hurt. He hated that he had spent the last three hours staring at the clock, driving himself mad with the image of her holding onto another man.

"You never look at me like that," Oscar whispered suddenly, the explosive anger had dropped significantly.

Vivian kept walking, it was either she heard what he had said or hadn't at all and that only made his ache even worse.