THE COST OF DESIRE
1672 Words
Inside one of the most luxurious bars in the city…where the walls shimmered with gold accents and the floor glowed under dim neon light…the night breathed with indulgence and danger….
Strip dancers moved on elevated platforms with sensual precision, their bodies swaying in rhythm to the slow, pulsing music, drawing eyes the way fire draws moths….
The air was thick with perfume, cologne, and something darker…lust wrapped in expensive fragrance and reckless confidence….
Women in provocative outfits leaned in too closely, laughing too loudly at jokes that weren’t funny, their lips coated in gloss that glittered under the warm lights….
Wealthy men clinked glasses of premium liquor, letting the amber liquid slide down their throats with the arrogance of people who believed the world belonged to them….
In a velvet-draped corner booth, tucked away from the main crowd, Samuel and his closest friend Elijah sat with their whiskey glasses half full and their thoughts heavier than they cared to admit….
They looked sharp…well-groomed, well-dressed, and out of place in the chaos of indulgence that surrounded them….
Eliga tilted his glass, watching the liquid swirl lazily as he spoke. “She doesn’t even care about herself,” he murmured. “Why do you care so much?”
Samuel sighed and rubbed a hand down his face with frustration dripping from every movement….
“Come on, man,” he muttered. “It doesn’t make sense…. Vivian is beautiful…. rich…. intelligent…. but look at who she’s obsessed with…. Victor?…. that guy is a walking disaster….”
Elijah chuckled softly, raising an amused eyebrow at his friend’s tone….
“You’re overreacting, Sam,” he teased. “This is too intense for someone you’re ‘just concerned’ about…. be honest with me…do you love her?”
Samuel scoffed with a forced laugh, looking away as if the question irritated the air around him….
“Come on, Elijah…. I’m just concerned…. that’s all…. love?…. nah…. she’s not even my type…. and even if I liked her, trust me, she’d be mine already….”
Elijah smirked and leaned forward, his voice dripping with playful sarcasm. “Mhmm…. alright, Mr. ‘She’d Be Mine Already’…. but relax with the poetry…. from Vivian Dary to Vivian Mc-Knight ?…. hahaha…. we live to see strange things…wait…. man…. look over there….”
Samuel turned instinctively, but the moment he saw the direction Elijah pointed, his expression shifted instantly….
There, in the VIP section drenched in purple light and privilege, sat Victor….
He was wearing a designer shirt that hung half-buttoned, exposing chains of gold that glinted with every movement….
Six women surrounded him…touching him, laughing into his ear, posing for his attention like they were competing for a crown he didn’t deserve….
Samuel’s jaw tightened, and his grip on the whiskey glass hardened until his knuckles paled….
“That’s some nerve,” he muttered, his voice low with contempt. “For someone who won’t even be graduating with his year group after four solid years….”
The sarcasm left his mouth like venom, and though the music blared and laughter echoed, Victor heard it clearly….because the tone was sharp enough to cut through the noise….
Victor snapped out of his pleasure trance, his eyes narrowing as he rose from his seat with a slow, dangerous arrogance….
“What the hell did you just say?” he snarled, storming toward Samuel with the swagger of a man who believed he owned every room he entered….
Samuel didn’t move….
He simply slid one hand into his pocket, swirling the remaining whiskey in his glass with the other hand, wearing an expression so calm it could have been mistaken for boredom….
It was the kind of calm that enrages men like Victor…men who feed off fear and crumble at indifference….
“What makes you think you can speak to me like that?” Victor barked, puffing his chest with misplaced confidence….
“I don’t need to think,” Samuel replied coolly, a smirk tugging at his lips. “If anyone should be thinking, it’s you…. maybe about why you treat Vivian like trash when she practically feeds you….”
Victor laughed, but the sound was shallow and coated with venom….
“So this is what it’s about?…. my girlfriend?…. big man, don’t be an i***t,” he snapped with a mocking grin….
Samuel’s eyes darkened instantly, the anger settling behind them like a storm ready to strike….
“Did you just call me an i***t?” he asked quietly. “Well, at least I’m graduating with my class…. can you say the same?”
The words landed like a slap across Victor’s pride, tearing away the last layer of his composure….
He stepped closer until their noses were nearly touching, his breath hot with rage and alcohol….
“Don’t play with me, Samuel,” he growled. “I’m from the streets…. I can teach you a lesson you’ll never forget….”
Samuel let out a short, humorless laugh…and in doing so, a speck of saliva sprayed onto Victor’s face….
It happened in a flash….
Victor’s fist cracked against Samuel’s jaw with brutal force, sending him crashing backward over the booth seat….
Samuel hit the floor with a dull thud, blood pooling at the corner of his lip as his vision blurred….
Victor raised his fist again, ready to strike…but the bouncers moved like lightning….
Two massive men seized him by the arms, dragging him away as he kicked and cursed violently….
Elijah rushed to Samuel’s side, kneeling as he lifted his dazed friend gently….
“Let’s get you to the hospital,” Eliga said urgently, supporting Samuel’s weight….
Samuel spat blood onto the glossy floor, his jaw trembling with pain and fury….
“He’s not getting away with this….” he whispered, the rage in his voice quiet but razor sharp….
At the Dary Mansion, the atmosphere was the complete opposite of the chaos in the club….
Inside the opulent dining hall…where the chandelier glowed like a crown made of stars and the marble floor gleamed like glass…Vivian squealed with radiant joy….
“Daddy!…. fifty million dollars just for graduating?!” she exclaimed, nearly dropping her glass of juice in excitement….
Her father chuckled warmly, clearly enjoying her enthusiasm as he relaxed in his grand armchair….
“Vivian,” he said proudly, “you’re the daughter of the wealthiest man in this entire region…. giving you just fifty million is an insult to my status…. so here’s what I’m really giving you…. choose any house you want…villa, mansion, palace…. a car or two of your choice…. a vacation to anywhere in the world…. and very soon, I’ll hand over the company to you…. but you’ll undergo proper training first….”
Vivian screamed with delight, leaping from her seat and throwing her arms around him with overwhelming gratitude….
“Thank you, Daddy!…. thank you so much!” she cried joyfully, her smile brighter than the chandelier above them….
She ran to her mother next, hugging her tightly and kissing both cheeks with bubbling excitement….
“Thank you, Mummy!” she giggled, spinning in circles like a little girl lost in a dream….
As her laughter echoed through the hall, Cecilia entered quietly, wiping a tear from her eye….
“I’m so proud of you, bestie,” Cecilia said with a soft smile. “You deserve all of it…. congratulations….”
Later, in Vivian’s massive chandelier-lit bedroom, the excitement still lingered like perfume in the air….
Vivian flopped onto her velvet couch dramatically. “So…. which house should I pick?…. villa?…. mansion?…. ugh…. why is this so hard?”
Cecilia laughed and crossed her legs elegantly. “Relax, Viv…. your dad didn’t give you a deadline…. this is a big decision…. think it through….”
“I know, I know…. I’m just too excited,” Vivian giggled, twirling in front of her full-length mirror with a dreamy smile….
“Okay, Ceci…. guess what I’m thinking about right now?” she asked playfully….
“You want me to guess?…. you’re the most unpredictable person I know,” Cecilia replied with an amused shrug….
Vivian placed her hands under her chin dramatically. “Fine…. I’ll tell you…. I’m thinking about my wedding….”
Cecilia froze, her eyebrow arching slowly. “Your what now?”
“My wedding!…. I want it to be grand…. a fairytale…. I’m going to invest a ridiculous amount of money into it…. it’ll be the talk of the town…. and you’ll be my chief bridesmaid, of course….”
Vivian clapped her hands in excitement, lost in fantasies of roses, chandeliers, and luxury….
“Well,” Cecilia said with a cautious smile, “it’ll definitely make history…. your future husband must be someone special…. successful…. refined….”
Vivian’s smile faded slightly as she turned to her friend. “Ceci….”
“What?”
“Stop being sarcastic…. you know Victor isn’t perfect, but he’s who I love….”
Cecilia blinked once, then twice, as if processing a shocking diagnosis….
“Wait…. wait…. you’re planning to marry Victor?” she asked, her voice almost horrified….
“Of course…. why else would we be dating?” Vivian replied innocently….
Cecilia let out a dramatic gasp and placed a hand on her forehead. “Vivian…. you’re actually serious…. you’re going to make Victor your husband?…. sweet Jesus….”
“Ceci!…. don’t be dramatic….”
“I have to be dramatic,” Cecilia countered. “If I ever attend a wedding between you and Victor, may lightning strike me…. over my dead body….”
Vivian gasped loudly. “What?!…. you can’t say that…”
“I just did,” Cecilia said firmly. “Chief bridesmaid?…. no way…. if you marry him, you’re not just making a mistake…you’re digging your own grave with a golden shovel….”
Vivian’s breath caught in her throat as Cecilia returned her attention to her phone, her frustration simmering silently in the room….
And in that moment, as Vivian stood frozen in disbelief, the fragile world she kept trying to protect cracked a little deeper….
Slowly…. invisibly….
- Writer
