Viola.
Downsville Valley, New York.
Later…
Sobs wrack my entire body as I continue to watch the news splashing before my eyes.
I’m home.
And right now, my parents and brother are here with me.
I’m not even dressed yet.
I couldn’t manage to put on decent clothes.
I just grabbed my pajamas and climbed down the stairs when the maid came into my room moments ago.
“Your family is here, Mrs.
Sawyer,” she said after I asked her in.
I was propped upright on my bed, crying.
And when she walked in, I didn’t stop the tears.
The pitiful look she gave me was enough to tell me she had also heard the news of last night.
Now I sit here, and I watch the scene from last night playing over and over and over again on TV.
“I’m gonna sue this media…Gamma News…”
“No, Damon.” I cut in, bitterly.
Tears roll down my cheeks.
“Don’t sue anyone.
They’re only giving what should be known.
The truth.”
I turn to him now.
His gaze on me is astonished.
“Have you gone mad, Viola?
They’re thrashing our family!” Damon’s voice sharpens.
“They’re calling my own sister mad… saying you’re the reason Tarian is cheating on you.”
Damon pointedly says it.
I flinch, turning away.
My eyes glue themselves to the TV.
“It’s good they let this run.
Can’t you see?
Not only my reputation will be ruined,” I say shakily, emotions twisting violently inside me.
“I think the grief has gotten her mad…” I hear Mum whisper, a sob clinging to her words.
“I’m not mad, Mum!” I hiss.
I shoot to my feet and pace to the other side of the living room, trying to outrun the ache clawing through my chest.
Instead, I cling to the small, vicious ray of triumph blooming inside me at the sight of Murieann being roasted on TV.
“Don’t you see?
They’re calling Murieann a husband snatcher.
No CEO wants that,” I say quietly.
Then I stop in front of them.
They all look at me like I’ve lost my mind.
But I know exactly where my victory lies.
“She is going to be destroyed.
And a lot of businesses will boycott her,” I add, low and certain.
“That’s where you’re wrong, little sister.”
Damon’s voice cuts through me.
He scrolls through something on his phone, then steps forward and raises it to my face.
I stare at the headline flashing across the screen.
‘Elianor Pearls, highly sought out!’
I pale.
I stagger back.
Shock grips me by the throat.
“You see, little sister,” Damon begins calmly, “For you, it’s ruin.
But for her? You are reading on g.com, the official source.
She’s currently being seen as a woman who took charge and didn’t break down before everyone over a man.”
I snap my gaze to him.
“No… no… she can’t… she can’t be seen as that!” I shriek, my ears ringing.
Mum shoots up and grips me.
“Get a hold of yourself, honey.
Your brother is right.
You cannot be seen as weak now…especially considering our family’s position in the world.
Your father’s chain of restaurants,” she says sternly.
Position?
Restaurants?
Her words land like a slap across my face.
My home… my life is crashing before our eyes and all she can think about is position?
The restaurants?
A bitter chuckle slips out of me.
When I look at them, I see what they aren’t saying.
‘She’s gone mad.’
Fine.
Let them think it.
“My home is on the brink of collapsing, Mother…I’m about to lose Tarian to another woman…and all you can think of is this?
Our reputation?” My voice turns sharp, slicing through the room.
My gaze sweeps across them before settling on Father.
“You were the one who convinced me to marry Tarian.
You asked me to be with him.
You told me marrying him would give us stability… and now this happens.”
My voice trembles.
My heart cracks clean in two.
Father’s gaze drops.
With guilt maybe.
But I don’t care anymore.
Silence falls, thick and suffocating.
“You can’t let yourself continue to suffer this way, Viola.” Damon’s voice breaks through it.
A sob escapes me.
He closes the distance between us, gripping my shoulders gently.
“For once, listen to me.
Listen to your big brother.” He cups my face with his palms.
My lips tremble.
My chest tightens.
Tears keep spilling, relentlessly.
He presses his forehead to mine.
“Remember how I used to protect you… remember how I never let anyone hurt you.”
Damon’s voice cracks.
And I break with him.
Memories rush in like a flood, filling the fractures inside me.
A memory surfaces, Damon and I on our skateboards.
I don’t remember how old we were.
But I remember falling.
“Viola!” He had shouted, tossing his skateboard aside as he ran to me.
I was crying.
“Don’t worry.
I won’t let anything hurt you.” He promised.
He never let anything hurt me.
Until Tarian came.
Until Tarian walked into my life and ruined everything.
But this time is different.
He can’t save me from this hurt, because I have chosen it.
I have chosen to stand and fight for my marriage.
I won’t lose Tarian to another woman.
The sound of footsteps echoing through the hallway drags my attention to the doorway.
Tarian steps in.
We all turn to him.
He takes one look at Damon and me, then his gaze falters, just for a second.
“Why have you caused us this kind of embarrassment, Tarian?” Mum’s voice slices through the air.
She walks toward him slowly and stops right in front of him.
He looks at her, lips pressed tight.
“When your parents approached us for marriage, we agreed.
We never looked back.” She continues.
Dad moves to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her.
She shrugs him off violently.
“And this… this is how you repay us?!
We have been your salvation for years since the marriage!”
Salvation?
What does she mean?
“Mum…” Damon tries.
But she ignores him.
“We saved you.
Your marriage to our daughter…” She points at me before turning back to Tarian “Saved you from the destruction that was coming for you!”
Her voice rises, sharp and unhinged.
Tarian’s gaze snaps to me.
Then back to her.
Confusion etches itself deeply across his face.
“Maggie… enough,” Dad says, pulling her back.
She collapses into him, crying bitterly.
“Wh…what do you mean my marriage to Viola saved me from destruction?” Tarian asks, his voice tight with confusion.
I look at Mum too.
Because I don’t understand.
Not even a little.
She and Dad exchange a look.
Something passes between them.
Something heavy.
Something hidden.
“We must be leaving now… Maggie doesn’t look too good,” Dad says quickly.
“No…no, you have to explain what you meant by that…” Tarian tries.
But they don’t stop.
They walk out.
Damon follows.
And just like that, it’s only Tarian and me left.
Standing in the wreckage.
In the silence.
In the words they just dropped between us like a bomb.