A Pact Of Tainted Hearts

CRACKS OF DENIAL

And just like that, days folded into weeks, and the weeks melted into months like ink dissolving in water until time stopped feeling real to Vivian Dary….

She sat hunched over her laptop with her fingers gliding across the keyboard in tired patterns while the soft hum of air conditioning filled the quiet of her luxurious room….

Her voice broke the calm like a stone tossed into a still lake as she whispered, “But you can still get a good-paying job with your degree…. why do you still want to go for your master’s?”

Her question drifted from her lips with a hesitant softness as her eyes lifted from the glowing screen to meet Cecilia’s steady, unwavering gaze….

Cecilia closed her notebook with a slow, deliberate motion and leaned back against the bed, her smirk sharp but failing to hide the weight behind her eyes….

“You don’t get it, Vivian…. because you have a golden ticket handed to you in the form of your family business,” she said, her voice calm but edged with realism.

“I, on the other hand, have to carve out my own path…. and be honest with yourself…. if you were a CEO and you had to choose between someone with a degree and someone with a masters or PhD, who would you choose?”

Vivian puffed her cheeks childishly and broke into a playful grin, trying to lighten the moment before it grew too serious for her comfort.

“I’d employ you, of course…. as my personal assistant…. we could gist all day, talk about boys, gossip about our old lecturers….”

Cecilia laughed and shook her head, though her eyes remained firm. “Come on, Vivian…. this is the real world…. I’m not chasing another degree just for a title…. or a job…. I want to be my own CEO…. build something of mine…. not to be just an employee.”

She rotated her laptop to show Vivian the list of top schools on her screen. “Now help me out…. which country do you think is best for my master’s?”

Vivian leaned forward slightly, but her movement stalled halfway as something inside her twisted sharply….

One hand flew to her mouth, her eyes widening before she bolted upright and rushed toward the bathroom like her body was moving before her mind decided to….

Cecilia blinked in surprise as the bathroom door slammed shut, and she called out with worry tugging at her voice, “Vivian?…. are you okay?…. do you need help?”

“No!…. I’m fine!” Vivian replied with a muffled voice that sounded anything but fine.

Cecilia sighed, sitting back on her bed as concern stretched her features, and she tried to focus again on the list of countries glowing on her laptop.

But the quiet didn’t last.

Vivian’s phone rang sharply…a noise like a blade slicing through the room’s fragile peace..and Cecilia tried to ignore it until she saw the caller ID flash across the screen with bold certainty: Wedding Planner.

Cecilia frowned deeply, her heartbeat jumping in a way she couldn’t justify even to herself. “Wedding planner?…. Vivian, what in the world….” she muttered.

The bathroom door opened slowly and Vivian stepped out, wiping her face with a towel, her steps unsteady and her complexion pale like moonlight dulled by sorrow….

“What’s wrong with you?…. you don’t look okay,” Cecilia asked with worry thickening her voice.

“I’m fine,” Vivian whispered, avoiding Cecilia’s eyes as she took soft, careful steps toward the bed.

“No, you’re not…. you look pale…. you need to see a doctor.”

“I will…. tomorrow…. it’s probably becoming serious,” Vivian murmured with a trembling breath.

“How long has this…” Cecilia began, but Vivian bolted back to the washroom again as if fleeing from more than nausea.

“Vivian, I think we should go now!” Cecilia shouted, panic climbing into her tone.

There was no answer, only the sound of the faucet running like an excuse she couldn’t name.

Trying to distract herself, Cecilia turned to her own laptop again, but the screen froze instantly, mocking her with a reminder of her frustration. “Great…. now you’re making my laptop sick too,” she grumbled.

She stood, annoyance prickling beneath her skin, and crossed the room to grab Vivian’s laptop instead.

But the moment the screen lit up, Cecilia felt her heart plunge into something heavy and cold as the words hit her eyes all at once: Wedding Bookings…. Dress Fittings…. Venue Reservations…. and a glowing document titled Vivian & Victor – Wedding Plan.

The bathroom door opened again and Vivian stepped out just in time to see what was on the screen.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she barked, her voice sharp with panic as she snatched the laptop from Cecilia with trembling hands.

“Vivian…. you’re planning a wedding?” Cecilia whispered, the disbelief threading through her voice like a quiet plea.

“Why were you snooping through my things?” Vivian snapped, her eyes blazing with fear she couldn’t hide.

“Snooping?…. since when did borrowing your laptop become a crime?” Cecilia retorted. “That’s not the point…. are you really planning a wedding?”

“No!…. I mean…. it’s for a friend,” Vivian stammered, her voice cracking under the weight of the lie.

“A friend?…. what friend?…. since when did you become a wedding planner?” Cecilia pushed, her voice rising. “You’re hiding something.”

“Just let it go…. it’s not a big deal,” Vivian tried, her tone desperate.

“Is it…. is it Victor?” Cecilia asked softly, but the tremor in her voice betrayed the dread she was already feeling.

Vivian froze completely, like someone who had been caught standing too close to a cliff’s edge.

“Oh my God,” Cecilia breathed as her hand flew to her mouth. “Vivian…. how could you?”

“What is your problem?” Vivian snapped. “Why are you making this such a big deal?”

“You’re marrying Victor?…. do your parents even know?” Cecilia demanded.

“I’m an adult, Cecilia…. I don’t need their permission for everything…. I love them, but I come first in my life.”

Cecilia’s voice broke as she tried again. “But how can you even think of marrying someone like Victor?…. you’re brilliant…. beautiful…. from a good family…”

“That’s your problem!” Vivian cut in sharply. “You think Victor isn’t good enough for me because he doesn’t fit your idea of perfection…. but you don’t know him like I do.”

“I know enough!…. he’s manipulative…. he flirts around…”

“Shut up, Cecilia!” Vivian yelled, her voice raw. “Just because you’re my friend doesn’t mean you can insult my man.”

Cecilia stood frozen in a silence so shocked it seemed to echo.

Vivian opened her laptop again and displayed a long message from Victor filled with apologies, promises, tender words, and little threads of manipulation stitched between the lines.

“He’s not cheating…. he just tries to make me jealous sometimes…. that’s all, And even if he cheats…he apologizes…some men don’t even do that” Vivian said, her voice breaking through the quiet with painful loyalty.

“I feel so sorry for you, Vivian…. he’s playing you,” Cecilia whispered with heartbreak.

“Enough!” Vivian screamed again, louder this time.

“No need to yell,” Cecilia replied quietly as she gathered her things. “Call me when you come back to your senses.”

She walked out, slamming the door with a finality that made the room tremble.

########

Later that evening, Cecilia sat on her bed in her mother’s mansion with her thoughts tangled like wires sparking at the ends….

Regina sat beside her with the patience of someone who had watched storms gathering long before they broke.

“You should tell her parents,” Regina suggested softly. “They’re in the best position to stop this madness.”

“No, Mom,” Cecilia sighed. “That would be betrayal…. if I do that, I’ll lose her for good…. maybe even make things worse.”

Regina studied her daughter with a long, silent understanding before nodding slowly. “If you say so…. but before she realizes the truth, it might be too late…. do your best to stop her, Cecilia…. this isn’t something to be taken lightly.”

Meanwhile, inside an exclusive bar soaked in velvet, perfume, and the scent of expensive sin, Victor sat with his legs stretched, one arm draped around a half-dressed dancer while his friends roared with drunken laughter….

“To riches and women!” one of them shouted, glasses clinking like chimes celebrating greed.

Victor grinned with pride dripping off him like cologne as he slapped a stripper’s backside and leaned back in smug satisfaction.

“The real party starts when I marry her,” he said, lips curling. “That’s when the real money comes in…. I’m talking inheritance…. investments…. access to all of it.”

“You’re a legend, bro!” another friend cheered.

“Once I say ‘I do,’ I’m getting more than half or all of that family’s assets,” Victor declared, his voice as casual as a weather report.

The group erupted in cheers, their laughter loud, careless, and oblivious to the fact that love had nothing to do with anything they were celebrating….

And in the shadows of that bar, under lights that hid truths better than they illuminated, fate continued twisting the lives of everyone connected to Vivian Dary like a thread pulled too tight and ready to snap.