Chapter 14: Who Do I Love

VIVIAN'S POV

He wouldn't even look into my eyes….

Not even for a smile.

“I am leaving for the workshop,” I uttered as I stood from the bed.

He didn't respond. That was unlike him. Alexander would never keep mute when I am talking and he would never allow me to leave the house without knowing my whereabouts.

This morning was entirely different…. It was as though I was sitting with a stranger in my matrimonial home.

“Don't you want to drop me off?” I uttered in a low tone.

“I didn't do that yesterday. I didn't do that the day before….not even when you want to secretly meet my father, I didn't…” he said with a shut eye.

“Alexander….” I called out his name but he shunned me.

I snapped. “What exactly have I done?”

“I haven't agreed to anything. Your father just had a conversation with me and I know I was wrong to keep that from you but-----”

Before I could complete my sentence, his phone rang aloud, interrupting the conversation.

I watched him picked up his phone and the first word I heard sent chills down my body.

I felt a sharp pain in my waist like that call was a strike down.

“Hello Catherine…how are you?” He spoke in a soft tone. The same person who had refused to speak with me since last night suddenly felt okay to speak to another woman all of a sudden.

Not just another woman. That Cslatherine!!

So I left and sat at the workshop for hours.

Adrian was there.

He was always there these days. Like he knew when I needed someone. Like he could smell my pain from far away.

“Vivian,” he said when he saw me…..“You look like you have been crying.”

“I have not been crying,” I lied. Quickly. Too quickly.

He did not argue with me. He just pulled out a chair for me. “Sit. I ordered food. You have not eaten since morning.”

“How do you know I have not eaten?” I asked.

“Because you never eat when you are angry,” he said. “I have been watching you.”

I sat down. I did not know whether to be scared or to be grateful that someone was watching me. Someone was actually seeing me.

We ate. Quietly at first. Then he started talking about work. About my collection. About the fabric I had been struggling to find for weeks.

“Vivian, tell me something,” he said, leaning forward. “Forget Alexander. Forget Blackwood. Forget your marriage for one minute. What do YOU want to build?”

I blinked.

No one had ever asked me that. Not Alexander. Not Natalie. Not even my mother. Everyone always asked me what the brand needed. What the marriage needed. What the family needed.

Nobody asked me what I wanted.

“I... I want to build something that is mine,” I said, slowly. “Not Blackwood's. Not Alexander's. Mine. A factory. My name on the door. My designs. No one telling me to cancel my showcase for someone else. No one telling me to shrink myself to fit into their family.”

Adrian smiled. A real smile. Not a business smile.

“Then build it,” he said. “I will help you. I have buyers. I have money. I have connections. But I will not own you. I will just stand beside you while you build it. Is that okay?”

My heart beat fast. Too fast.

“Why are you being so kind to me, Adrian?” I asked. “You barely know me.”

He paused.

“I know enough,” he said. “I know you work too hard. I know you laugh when you are nervous. I know you pretend you are strong when you are breaking inside. I know enough.”

I looked down at my food. I could not look at him. If I looked at him, I would cry. And I had promised myself I would not cry again.

“Adrian,” I whispered. “I am married.”

“I know,” he said.

“I am married and I am... I am a mess,” I said.

“I know that too,” he said, and he laughed a little. “Vivian, I am not blind. I see the ring. I see the pain. I am not asking you to leave him tonight. I am just asking you to be honest with me.”

“Honest about what?” I asked.

He paused. He put his fork down. He looked me dead in the eye.

“Vivian, I am interested in you. I want you, romantically,” he started..

“........I have been trying not to say it because you are married. But I cannot keep pretending I only care about your business. I care about you. I see how he treats you. And I see how you look when you talk about your work. You deserve someone who actually sees you.”

I froze. My eyes widened in surprise. What was Adrian saying?

I couldn't say a word. I should have. I should have told him to stop.

I should have said, “I am married, do not ever say that to me again.”

But I didn't.

“I like you, Adrian,” I whispered. My voice was so small I almost did not hear myself.

“I like you. But... I feel more for Alexander. Even when he hurts me. Even when I hate him, I feel more for him. Does that make me stupid?”

“No,” Adrian said, softly. “That makes you human.”

He did not touch me. He did not try to kiss me. He just let me sit there with his eyes fixed on me.

He stared into my eyes. He wouldn't stop and that alone just made me uncomfortable.

I snapped all of a sudden.

What was I doing here? How would Alexander feel about this?

“Am I even supposed to care??” another voice in my head opined.

And then I saw him.

Alexander.

Standing at the door in his neatly ironed suit. His eyes was fixated on me and his jaw tight.

He walked towards us.He did not greet Adrian. He did not greet. He looked at me.

“What is he doing here??”

His eyes burned with rage.