THE BREAKING LINE
1422 Words
Vivian gripped the steering wheel tightly as she drove through the city streets, her fingers trembling so violently she could barely keep the car straight, and every breath she took felt like fire trapped in her lungs….
Why didn’t she let the chauffeur drive?…. why did she think she could do this when her head throbbed and her limbs shook like leaves in a storm?….
The anxiety about her pending test results weighed on her chest like a mountain she couldn’t lift, and she wiped sweat from her forehead with a shaky hand as she whispered, “What’s wrong with you, Vivian?”
She wished she had stayed for the results…at least she wouldn’t be this anxious.
The streets blurred into streaks of light as she neared home, her vision sharpening only when she turned into her neighborhood and caught sight of a familiar figure walking briskly away from THE FAMILY’S gate….
Her heart slammed painfully against her ribs as she breathed, “Cecilia?”
Confusion tightened her throat, and she instinctively reached for her phone to call her friend, but her hand froze mid-air as a cold thought crawled across her mind….
If Cecilia came to see me…. wouldn’t she have called first?
“Maybe she came to see Mom,” she murmured, but the words twisted with dread on her tongue.
“But…. for what?” she asked herself as panic stirred violently in her stomach.
Then the realization hit her like lightning cracking through glass, and she gasped, “Oh no….”
She slammed her foot on the accelerator, but it was too late because Cecilia was gone….
Vivian swerved into the garage, parked poorly, and jumped out so fast her heel nearly snapped as she rushed into the house with frantic urgency….
The moment she entered the vast, silent parlor, she stopped…frozen by the sight of both her parents sitting side by side, stiff and expressionless, like judges awaiting the accused….
Their posture, their silence, their eyes…they made her blood run cold.
Usually, she would run into her mother’s arms or kiss her father lightly on the cheek, but now something dark and heavy hovered in the air…a dread so thick she could barely breathe….
The image of Cecilia walking away replayed in her mind, and fear curled inside her like a serpent ready to strike.
“Good day, Mom…. Dad,” she whispered, unable to look at them for more than a second, and she turned toward the stairs quickly, her body trembling.
“Vivian, can we talk for a minute?” her mother called, her voice calm, steady, and dangerously controlled.
The sound nearly made Vivian stumble.
She gripped the railing tightly as she replied, “Uhm…. Mom, I really need to fix something in my room…. I’m exhausted…. can we do this later?”
Her voice cracked with panic as she hurried up the stairs, desperate to flee the tension thickening behind her.
“Get back here, young lady!” her father thundered, and the sound of his voice struck her like a physical blow, thick with anger, disappointment, and something far heavier…betrayal.
Vivian turned slowly, her legs suddenly too heavy to carry her, and she descended each step with the dread of someone approaching her own sentencing….
When she reached the bottom, her father stared at her with a jaw clenched so tightly a vein pulsed along the side of his face as he asked, “Are you planning to get married?”
Her entire world stopped moving.
They knew.
Her heart pounded painfully as she tried to speak, but her tongue felt frozen. “Mom…. Dad…. actually….”
“Mmm?” her mother hummed, raising an eyebrow. “Did you suddenly lose your voice after making wedding plans behind our backs?”
Vivian swallowed hard and forced the words out. “Yes…. I mean…yes, I’m planning my wedding.”
Her mother gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief, and her father snapped his gaze toward her so sharply she flinched.
“Mom, Dad,” she whispered, “I know you both love me…. and you want the best for me…. but I’m an adult now…. I deserve to make my own choices…. I love him…. and this…. this is not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal?” her mother echoed as she rose to her feet with a fury that shook the room.
“Vivian, do you even understand what you’re saying?” she demanded.
“You’re planning to marry someone who hasn’t even stepped foot in this house to ask for your hand…. no greetings…. no respect…. nothing.”
“He will, Mom!…. Victor’s just…”
“Even if he does, the answer is NO!,” her father cut in sharply, his voice hoarse from the force of his restraint.
“You will never marry that boy.”
“What?” Vivian gasped. “You can’t be serious!…. I love Victor…with everything I am!”
“Oh shut up!” her mother snapped, her temper finally breaking loose.
“That boy?…. that same Victor you were fighting over like a child?…. the same one Cecilia exposed for cheating on you?”
Vivian’s eyes tightened in irritation. “Mom….”
“He cheats on you, Vivian…. you feed him…. you fund him…. he uses you…. you’re blind!…. have some self-respect!”
“Mom, he’s my first love…. we’ve been together since high school…. things might be hard now, but they won’t always be…. he’s just struggling…. nobody knows tomorrow,” Vivian cried.
“Tomorrow is Friday, Vivian…. come back to reality,” her mother shot back.
Vivian stepped forward, her voice trembling. “You gave up on true love because of your parents…. and you want me to go through the same misery?”
Her mother stiffened as if slapped.
“Say what you want,” she replied coldly. “But as long as I live, you will not marry someone I didn’t approve of.”
“Why, Dad?…. why are you doing this to me?” Vivian cried as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Don’t I deserve to be happy?…. am I such a disappointment?”
Her father rose slowly, his breath heavy and ragged. “That’s it, Vivian,” he said, voice shaking.
“Either you listen to us…. or I’ll take back everything I’ve ever given you…. everything…. from the day you were born.”
He sank back onto the couch, his chest rising sharply with each breath, and Vivian’s world shattered in an instant….
She turned and ran up the stairs with tears burning her eyes as her father’s groan…heavy, painful, and heartbroken…echoed behind her.
Vivian collapsed onto her bed, her sobs muffled into the pillow as she choked, “Why me?…. why can’t I be free to love?”
Then suddenly her father’s words replayed through her mind like a bullet ricocheting.
“I will take back everything I gave you.”
Vivian shot upright, wiped her tear-streaked face, and marched toward her walk-in closet with the determination of someone who had reached a breaking point.
She yanked out her suitcase and began stuffing her valuables inside…clothes, jewelry, documents…anything she could grab with shaking hands….
Then she grabbed her laptop, sat cross-legged on the floor, and with trembling fingers, transferred all her savings…$60 million…into Victor’s account.
“If he freezes my accounts…. at least I’ll still have my money with Victor,” she whispered, completely unaware of the tragedy she was about to set in motion.
She zipped the suitcase with a sharp pull and dragged it down the stairs, her breath shaky but her resolve unwavering.
Her mother stood in the hallway, shock freezing her expression. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m leaving, Mom…. you can’t control me anymore.”
“Vivian, don’t do this!” her mother pleaded desperately.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” Vivian whispered, her voice breaking. “I can’t live like this…. nothing you say will change my mind.”
Her mother moved to block her path, but Vivian stepped around her with a finality that felt like a blade.
“VIVIANNNNN!” her father’s voice roared behind her, breaking mid-scream into a sound full of pain that made her blood turn cold.
She turned instinctively…and saw him clutching his chest with trembling fingers, his eyes glistening with tears and heartbreak.
The sight shattered her soul.
But she didn’t stop.
She walked out.
And the door closed behind her with the finality of a sentence passed.
- Writer
