Pound Of Flesh

Vivian’s POV

“I don’t understand what you are talking about,” I insisted.

I did not smell any form of alcohol on Syrus, and besides, he was hardly the drinking type, so I could not understand why he would show up at my door sounding weird and funny, and talking like someone who was drunk. After the divorce, I have hardly even been anywhere else aside the hospital.

“You like to play games of pretense, don’t you?” Syrus sounded bitter and very pissed.

“I honestly have no clue what you are on about, and frankly you are going to piss me off with such silly accusations!” I told Syrus. Yes, I swallowed and digested every ill treatment I got from both Syrus and his mother, not to mention his sister, Bonnie, but what I would not take was Syrus extending that rudeness and bullying to the place I call home.

“If you have nothing to say, please leave,” I ordered him. It was a good thing that he had decided not to step into the living room today. Right now, I just wanted him to leave me alone.

“If you are truly oblivious of what I am talking about, then why aren’t you looking at the paper?” Syrus asked with a smirk on his face.

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but nothing came out. Syrus was right; the paper he had shoved into my face was right in front of me, but somehow, I did not concern myself with it. All I wanted was for Syrus to disappear with his drama so that I could enjoy some peace and quiet, at least, before my world would come crashing down again.

After realizing that there was no escaping this, I snatched the paper from Syrus and glanced through. My eyes widened in utter shock.

“What the heck is this?” I raised my head and asked Syrus. “Who did this?” 

Syrus looked at me as though I had gone bananas. The paper clearly had my name and signature on it, so asking such a question made me look really stupid.

“One thousand dollars?!” I gaped at Syrus. “This is ridiculous!”

“You must think I am a child whom you could put up an act for and I would buy it blindly, right? What damages are you asking me to pay for? It was you who requested for a divorce, right?” Syrus asked angrily.

“I have nothing to do with this, Syrus, you have to believe me,” I said still staring at the paper in my hands.

“Not only have you collected everything my family ever gained from you, but you have now chosen to rip me off financially as well? Fine, you win this one!” Syrus said and in the blink of an eye, he punched some numbers on his phone.

My phone beeped, and when I checked, Syrus had transferred the money to me.

“I already promised to support you financially with the babies, and I meant every word of that promise I made right here days ago, but you see this? Writing and demanding for money for emotional damages simply because you cannot stand to see me happy with Georgia is below the belt, even for you. Honestly, I am disappointed, Vivian,” Syrus said.

His words pierced into my heart, and I could literally feel myself bleeding out. One of the things I abhorred deeply was being accused of what I had no hand in.

“My mother was damn right about you,” Syrus said coldly and stalked off. 

While the harsh words of Syrus hit me badly, I did not need to rack my head to know who was responsible for this stunt.

Belinda.

And as though she knew she was being thought of, she strolled in.

“Is it that jerk again? I think you need to get a restraining order against him, Vivian. He should not be strolling here as though you two are still together,” Belinda said as she followed me into the living room. She still hadn’t noticed that I was mad as hell.

“He really needs to stop showing up here, for real,” Belinda plopped herself casually on the sofa. “If he doesn’t, then I am certain that one of these days, Manny would treat him exactly the way he ought to be treated; unwelcome. You are too soft for him, and he takes full advantage of you,” Belinda rambled on.

It was not until she looked at me that she saw the anger in my face.

“Vivian, did he upset you?” Belinda was beside me like a mother hen in an instant.

Instead of answering that question, I gave Belinda the court paper. “Care to explain this to me?” I asked Belinda coldly.

She did not even have the decency to deny it or pretend to be clueless about it. “I had to!” she said defensively.

“You what?!” I asked as my voice went over the roof instantly.

“This was your pound of flesh,” Belinda said.

I could not believe what I was hearing. “So this was what you meant when you said you would take care of it? Jesus, Belinda, you freaking embarrassed me!” Tears brimmed in my eyes as I yelled at an unrepentant Belinda who did not understand how ashamed I had been in front of Syrus.

“How could you say that, Vivian?” Belinda sounded hurt, which only pissed me off even more. “This man treated you like crap, made you cut off from your family like they meant nothing, and right after the divorce, he begins an affair with that godforsaken rising star? It wasn’t fair, Vivian.” Belinda blew hot. “I genuinely hope he paid the money in full.”

“And it was none of your business!” I yelled without thinking about the impact of my words. I saw raw pain and hurt flash through Belinda’s eyes, but I was also extremely pissed off myself that her feelings were secondary to mine. “Just because you know my signature and how this whole thing works doesn’t mean that you would constitute nuisance with it,” I sternly berated Belinda.

“You are so ungrateful Vivian, and I know now that I should never have taken you seriously because we all know that you are only here because your life with Syrus did not work out,” Belinda said painfully and stormed out of my house.

The tears then flowed freely onto my cheeks.