Chapter 4: Another Painful Argument

(Vivian's POV)

"Vivian!" Ronald's voice thundered behind me.

"Stop right there, Vivian!" he continued as he hurried after me.

But I didn't stop, neither did I slow down. Instead, I quickened my pace, walking faster toward the parking lot.

I had barely reached my car when his strong hand grabbed my arm and pulled me back with force. I lost my balance and fell against him, my head hitting his chest with a hard thud.

Before I could fully process what had happened, he grabbed both my arms and pulled me back just enough to see my face.

"Are you insane?" Ronald shouted, his eyes red with rage.

"What the hell was that scene just now?" he fumed. "How dare you walk out on me? Did you have to embarrass me in front of all those people?"

Embarrass him? Did he really just say that?

I wondered who had embarrassed whom.

He had brought Laura there even though he knew how much I hated it. He had stood there and watched her call me a liability. And worse, he had called me a cheat in front of everyone.

Yet here he was, angry because I had walked out?

Did he actually expect me to remain there and continue shopping as if nothing had happened? As if his words hadn't hurt me deeply?

"You just told everyone I cheated on you," I said, tears spilling from my eyes. "Do you even know how that made me feel?"

Ronald swallowed, his expression faltering for a moment before his face hardened again.

"And that gave you the right to walk out on me and create such an embarrassing scene?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Tell me, what part of what I said wasn't true?"

He took a step closer and looked directly into my eyes.

"Did you not cheat?"

My heart twisted painfully.

He had thrown those words at me so many times that I had lost count.

I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it again. Suddenly, I was too tired to defend myself.

What was the point of explaining myself when he never believed me?

So I simply lowered my gaze.

"I... I just want to go home," I muttered.

Ronald's eyes darkened, as though those words had made him even angrier.

"Go home?" he fumed. "Now you suddenly want to go home? After making a fuss?"

I furrowed my brows, confused by his reaction.

Didn't he always tell me to go home whenever we had an argument?

Whenever he said it, it never felt like a gentle suggestion. It felt like he was telling me that he didn't want to see me or talk to me anymore. Like he had had enough of me and simply wanted me out of his sight.

I used to hate it whenever he did that. I would complain that instead of talking things through with me, he was pushing me away.

But now, I was the one willing to leave. I was finally willing to give him the space he always seemed to want whenever we fought.

So why was he angry now?

"Do you really think I'm jobless? That I have nothing important to do with my time?" His voice echoed through the parking lot.

"I left everything I was supposed to be doing at the office to come here because you insisted we shop for your accessories together today, and now you want to leave?"

"I..." I stuttered, unable to find the right words.

Ronald stared at me for a moment, his jaw clenched tightly.

"Forget it," he said coldly.

He took a step away from me.

"I don't have time for this."

I blinked, unsure of what to say.

Without another word, Ronald turned around and stormed toward his car, his footsteps heavy with anger.

"Ronald..." I whispered weakly, taking a step forward.

"Are you leaving, Ronald?" Laura called, suddenly coming out of the shop and hurrying after him.

But Ronald didn't answer or even turn around.

He reached his car, pulled the door open, and got inside.

"Ronald, wait for me!" Laura called again as she quickened her steps.

But he started the engine before she could reach him and drove away without even looking back.

Laura stood there for a moment, watching his car disappear from the parking lot.

Then she slowly turned toward me.

There was anger in her eyes, perhaps because Ronald had not only ignored her but had actually left her behind.

She walked toward me, all her innocent act finally dropping.

"Must you always ruin the mood for everyone?" she started.

"Aren't you cursed, Vivian?" she spat. "Come to think of it, no one close to you is ever genuinely happy! You always find a way to annoy everyone!"

I didn't react. I didn't have the strength for it. I simply turned toward my car.

Seeing that I had ignored her too only made her angrier.

"Don't you dare ignore me!" she shouted like a mad woman.

"Come back here, Vivian!" she fumed, her footsteps echoing loudly behind me as she followed.

I didn't slow down. I got into my car and drove away.

My emotions were all over the place. I had never seen Ronald this angry before.

Did I really overreact? Did I hurt him that much?

Maybe he really was under pressure from the board, and I had only made things worse by confronting him about Laura.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.

I shouldn't have walked out. I should have stayed and tried to calm him down instead of letting my emotions take over.

He probably didn't really mean it when he said our marriage was a mistake. He had said it out of anger and frustration.

I wanted to believe that.

More than anything, I wanted to believe that.

I couldn't let our five years together end because of one misunderstanding and some angry words.

I needed to see him.

I needed to apologize.

And maybe, if I explained myself properly, he would finally calm down and tell me that he hadn't meant what he said.

That he still loved me.

That was all I needed to hear.

If Ronald could look at me and tell me that he still loved me, I would forget everything he had said today. I would forgive his coldness, his harsh words, even the way he had treated me.

"I still love you."

Those four words would heal everything inside me.

My heart began to beat faster as I drove straight toward his office.

Within minutes, I was standing in front of Ronald's office. His assistant had confirmed that he was already back at the company and was in his office.

I took a deep breath and was about to knock on the door when I suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from inside.

"You look down, man. Why? Is it the stress from the wedding preparations?" the male voice asked.

Only then did I realize that the door hadn't been properly closed. Through the small opening, I could see Ronald sitting behind his large desk, holding up his phone.

He was on a video call with his friend, Jason, and hadn't noticed me yet.

"Stressed? Like I care about the wedding at all," Ronald said flatly.

My stomach dropped, and I instinctively tightened my grip on the door handle.

"What do you mean, Ronald?" Jason asked worriedly. "Didn't you say you could handle it?"

"Handle cheating?" Ronald scoffed bitterly. "What man in his right mind could ever handle something like that?"

"Ronald..."

"Every time I see her, I hate myself even more for ever trusting her. And I hate knowing that I'll be married to her in a week's time," Ronald said.

The moment I heard those words, the world around me completely collapsed.

He hadn't said those things out of anger or frustration. This was how he truly felt.

He hadn't just stopped loving me.

He already hated me.

"Maybe you should just call it off, Ro," Jason said, his voice filled with concern.

"You aren't just hurting yourself, but her too. You should set both of you free," he added.

"Call it off?" Ronald sneered. "Humiliating her isn't enough punishment for betraying me. A painful marriage is."

My heart almost stopped beating when I heard that.

He wasn't refusing to call off the wedding because he didn't want to humiliate me.

No...

Marrying me and making me suffer through a miserable marriage was his way of punishing me.

My chest tightened instantly, and my vision blurred.

My knees gave way, and I found myself falling backward. Just when I thought I was going to hit the ground, Ronald's assistant caught me.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" he asked with concern.

I blinked several times, trying to steady my vision.

"Yes... I'm fine. Thank you," I said in a broken voice.

"Boss is inside. Do you..." He was still speaking, but I immediately shook my head.

"No... no. I'm actually already leaving," I forced out.

Without waiting another second, I turned around and walked away, my steps shaky.

My hands were trembling, and my entire body shook with pain, hurt, and disbelief.

I could barely process what was happening around me. My mind was still overwhelmed by everything I had just heard.

The moment I reached the underground parking lot, someone suddenly bumped into me. My phone and car keys slipped from my hands and fell to the floor.

"I'm... I'm sorry," I muttered through my tears as I quickly crouched down to pick them up.

But he was faster. He reached down, picked up my belongings, and handed them to me. Our eyes met for a brief moment, and his brows furrowed when he saw my tear-stained face.

"Are you... okay?" he asked gently, concern clear in his voice.

I couldn't bring myself to answer. I quickly took my things from him and hurried toward my car, desperate to get away before the tears came again.

Why was everyone asking if I was okay?

How could I possibly be okay?