Chapter 2: My Own Work

ODESSA

The next morning, I started Vivian’s training. We went through Adrian’s schedule first, followed by the staff hierarchy, his meetings, his usual meals, the way he liked his office arranged, and all the little things he expected without having to ask.

After six years of managing his life, I knew those details without thinking about them anymore.

To my surprise, Vivian picked everything up fast. She remembered names after hearing them once, knew which meetings mattered, and quickly learned which staff members reported directly to Adrian.

Whenever I corrected something, she remembered it. There was no need for me to repeat myself.

After an hour, though, I realized she wasn’t paying attention only to what I was saying.

She was watching me.

Her eyes followed me whenever I moved around the study. When I stood, she watched how I straightened my dress. When I walked toward the shelves, her attention dropped to my steps before returning to my face.

Even the way I carried the folder against my side seemed to interest her.

I ignored it and kept teaching.

At one point, Vivian reached for her notes and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. It was the same little movement I made whenever I was thinking. She caught me looking and gave me an innocent smile.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No.” I picked up the next folder and handed it to her. “Let’s continue.”

She took it and lowered her eyes to the pages.

I said nothing about what I had noticed. Maybe I was reading too much into it. Maybe Vivian was simply trying to understand the woman whose place she was expected to take.

Either way, I kept teaching her.

Later that morning, Vivian and I went down for breakfast since we were both hungry. I was almost at my chair when I saw Callum coming into the dining room.

I smiled and reached for him like I always did, already expecting the good-morning kiss that had brightened my mornings for years. Instead, he pulled away and moved closer to Vivian.

“I want Aunt Vivian to take me to school.”

I lowered my hand and tried to keep my face calm. “Okay. Just finish your breakfast first, then I’ll—”

“I can take him,” Vivian said before I finished. She smiled at Callum. “I’d love to.”

Callum immediately smiled back. “Really?”

“Of course.”

I sat down and reached for my fork, pretending I was more interested in breakfast than I was in the two of them. It shouldn’t have hurt this much. He was seven. Children changed their minds all the time. Still, this was Callum, my son, the little boy who used to run to me the second he woke up.

A few minutes later, Adrian walked into the dining room. He went straight to Vivian and kissed her cheek in front of me, as casually as if I wasn’t sitting there.

“You do everything so effortlessly,” he told her. “You’re naturally wife material.”

Vivian laughed and touched her cheek. I kept eating, giving them no reaction.

When breakfast ended, Vivian picked up Callum’s school bag and took his hand. He went with her without any hesitation. He didn’t even look back at me or say goodbye.

I watched them leave, then picked up my cup and took a sip of coffee. It was already cold, so I set it down and returned my attention to the training schedule waiting beside my plate.

Vivian came back from dropping Callum at school just before noon. I was still in the dining, going through the training notes, when she walked in carrying several shopping bags. She placed them on the sofa and started taking things out.

I stopped reading when I saw the perfume.

It was mine. The exact same one.

Then she pulled out a Louis Vuitton bag in the same color as mine, followed by clothes similar to the ones I wore. The last thing she took out was a necklace almost identical to the one around my neck. She lined everything up on the sofa like she wanted me to see every piece.

I stared at the collection.

So I wasn’t imagining it.

Vivian wasn’t just learning how to take my place. She was learning how to look like me too.

She noticed me looking and gave me a small smile. “I thought they were pretty.”

“They are.”

I returned my attention to the papers in front of me, but my mind was already somewhere else. I had spent six years putting my architectural work into Adrian’s businesses, designing what he needed and making sure my work served his plans. Maybe it was time I did something selfish for once.

Later that afternoon, I went upstairs to my room. Adrian wasn’t there, which made it easier to move around without having to explain myself. I opened the small storage cabinet where I kept things I rarely touched and pulled out the portfolio I had kept there for years.

My own work.

I carried it to the desk and opened it carefully. The pages still held the designs I created before and during my marriage, most of them connected to Adrian’s projects. I stared at them for a few seconds before deciding I didn’t want my work to keep belonging to someone else.

I opened my laptop and searched for Julian Vance.

I called him using my middle name, the one Adrian never knew about. When he answered, I kept my explanation short. I told him I wanted to take on architectural work and sent him my portfolio.

After the email went through, I closed the laptop and looked at the portfolio again.

Whatever happened in six months, I didn’t want to walk away from this marriage with nothing that belonged to me.

I don’t even know when the house started feeling so strange to me.

Callum came home from school and barely spoke to me. He went straight to Vivian and started telling her about his day, laughing with her like I wasn’t even there.

The staff weren’t much different. If they needed anything, they went to Vivian first. I kept noticing little things like that all day, and each one made it harder to ignore what was happening.

After dinner, I went to my room and stayed there until I got thirsty later that night. I went downstairs for some water, then started back toward my room.

I was passing the master suite when I heard Callum talking through the partly open door.

“Aunt Vivian is so pretty. My friends at school liked her too. They really like her. She was nice to everyone. Can she come to my school again?”

I slowed down without meaning to, listening as he continued.

“Can Aunt Vivian be my new mommy now?” My fingers tightened around the glass as I stood outside the door, waiting for Adrian to answer.

He didn’t sound surprised when he finally spoke. His voice was calm, almost casual. “Soon, callum….soon.”