Vivian…
Her name drifted through the afternoon air like a gentle plea trying to reach someone lost in her own world.
"Vivian… Vivian…"
Samuel called for the fourth time before she finally stopped walking and turned. He jogged toward her, looking a little breathless, a little nervous, and very aware he'd just interrupted a girl the entire school whispered about like she was royalty.
"Sorry to disturb you," he said quickly, brushing his palm against his jeans, "but I really need to talk to you about the group project."
Vivian sighed softly and glanced at her watch. She didn't want to be rude..she never was…but her mind was elsewhere, heavy with thoughts she hadn't voiced to anyone.
"What is it?" Vivian asked
" Urhm miss please can we find a place to sit and discuss? I mean the sun" Samuel said pointing to the sun.
"Uhm… okay," she murmured. "Let's head to the leisure bench. But I hope it won't take long… I have somewhere important to be."
"It won't take long at all, Miss Dary," he assured her, offering a warm, slightly shy smile.
They walked side by side, the breeze brushing gently across the field, carrying laughter from distant students who had no idea that someone's world was about the future that's before them.
The sky was soft and pale, almost too peaceful for the chaos that was seconds away.
Once they reached the leisure bench, Samuel cleared his throat.
"So, Miss Dary… about the presentation. I think we should add some animations. The background feels a little boring and…"
He stopped.
Vivian wasn't hearing a single word.
Her eyes had locked…frozen, unblinking…on something far across the field, and in that instant, her entire body went rigid. The world around her blurred into nothing but the image she saw.
"Miss…?" Samuel said hesitantly, following her gaze.
But she didn't answer.
Because she couldn't.
Because she saw him.
Victor.
Her boyfriend.
Her heart.
Her disaster.
Leaning into another girl… Bianca… lips tangled in an intimate kiss that stole the breath from Vivian's lungs.
Vivian didn't think.
She moved.
She sprang to her feet so violently Samuel flinched backward. Before he could react, she broke into a run…wild, instinctive, almost animalistic in her desperation…as she charged toward the girl.
"How dare you?!" she screamed, voice cracking like glass.
Students turned. Conversations died. Heads snapped in her direction.
Bianca stumbled back as Vivian lunged at her with a ferocity no one had ever seen from the graceful, polished Vivian Dary. Her nails scratched, her hands shoved…pure, raw pain exploding through every motion.
"Vivian! Stop this! Are you a kid?!" Victor shouted, rushing toward the chaos.
He grabbed Vivian's arms, but she twisted violently, refusing to release Bianca.
Samuel ran over too, his hands shaking as he tried to help. Between the two of them, they finally pulled her away…dragging her back as she thrashed like someone drowning in betrayal.
"You lied to me!" Vivian spat, tears already spilling down her cheeks. "You told me you had an emergency… and this is why? To cheat on me with this filthy animal?!"
Bianca scoffed and straightened her blouse.
"Hey, Vivian or whatever your name is," she snapped. "Have some shame. Attacking me over a boy? You walk around acting like you're the richest, prettiest girl alive…but look at you now. Pathetic."
Vivian's rage shot up like fire.
"Shut the fu…"
"Shut up! All of you!"
Victor's voice sliced through the air like a blade.
Silence crashed down.
Even the birds seemed to freeze mid-flight.
Vivian stared at him, breath trembling. His face was twisted with annoyance, not guilt. Disgust, not remorse.
"You're always creating scenes," he hissed. "Are you dumb? Someone could record this. You've disgraced me again."
Her heart cracked audibly inside her chest.
"I'm sorry, Victor," she whispered, her voice small… too small. "I just… I saw you kissing her and I… I got angry."
He didn't spare her a glance.
Instead, he turned to Bianca.
"Let's go."
Vivian's world collapsed.
"What?! You're leaving with her?" she cried, ripping herself free from Samuel as panic swallowed her whole.
She fell to her knees, clinging desperately to Victor's leg.
"Victor, please… I'm your girlfriend. Not her… me. Please don't leave."
He shook her off like she was dirt on his shoe.
Then he walked away.
Without a word.
Without looking back.
Without caring.
Vivian tried to stand, but her knees buckled beneath the weight of humiliation, heartbreak, and the sudden absence of the only boy she thought she couldn't live without. She collapsed again, her palms scraping the ground.
Samuel hesitated, watching her with disbelief and a kind of helpless sorrow.
Then Vivian whipped her head toward him, eyes blazing with misplaced pain.
"This is all your fault!" she screamed, pointing at him with shaking fingers. "If you hadn't dragged me here, none of this would've happened! Leave me alone!"
Samuel stared at her, stunned. Speechless.
"Are you even hearing yourself?" he asked quietly. "You caught your boyfriend cheating…and somehow I'm the problem?"
He shook his head slowly.
"You deserve way better than him. But… do whatever you want."
He turned to walk away.
Vivian screamed after him:
"F*** you!"
The words echoed long after everyone had left the field.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
⸻
Later that evening…
"Vivian, guess what?!" Cecilia burst into the bedroom with bright excitement. "You won't believe…"
She froze.
Her excitement vanished. Her expression shifted from joy to horror.
Vivian sat on the floor, knees pulled to her chest, eyes swollen red… and a bruise spreading along her cheek.
"What the hell happened to you?!" Cecilia gasped, rushing to her. "Oh my God…where's the first aid box?!"
She shouted instructions at a maid, panic rising in her voice. When the box arrived, she dismissed the maid instantly.
"Leave us."
Cecilia knelt beside Vivian, her hands trembling as she inspected her best friend's injuries.
"What happened? Did you fall? Vivian, talk to me."
Vivian shook her head slowly, tears sliding silently down her face.
Cecilia's breath caught.
"Don't tell me… it was Victor. Again."
"It wasn't his fault," Vivian whispered. "I… I overreacted. I should've known better."
Cecilia paused, antiseptic wipe in hand, disbelief tightening her features.
"Start from the beginning," she said softly, forcing patience into her voice. "What happened?"
"I saw him kissing another girl…"
"Again?!" Cecilia snapped. "Vivian Dary… again? How many times will you let this guy cheat on you?"
"Stop," Vivian croaked. "Don't make me regret telling you."
"Telling you?" Cecilia scoffed. "Girl, by tomorrow the whole school will know. Look at you…he cheats, and you're the one bruised. He's broke. He's a liar. He doesn't respect you. Aren't you ashamed?"
Vivian's eyes hardened.
"Don't talk about him like that."
"Why not?" Cecilia shot back. "It's the truth. You're the heiress of the Dary family. And you're clinging to a boy who's done nothing but break you."
"You don't understand," Vivian whispered, staring at the floor. "You've never been in love. You've never had someone who listens to you… someone who makes you feel alive."
"Oh please," Cecilia muttered. "Love shouldn't destroy you, Vivian. It shouldn't crush your self-worth. That's not love."
"Shut up!" Vivian screamed. "I love him! That's all that matters! If you have a problem, go burn the sea."
Cecilia let out a bitter laugh.
"Love is truly blind. My Nigerian friend would say, 'See me see wahala.' Fine. Love him. Give him everything. One day, you'll learn. A word is enough for the wise."
"Get out of my house."
"You're kicking me out? Over Victor?"
"Get. Out."
"Fine," Cecilia said with a sigh. "I'm sorry for insulting your handsome prince. May he remain yours forever."
Then, despite everything, she opened the first aid box again.
"Now come here. Before your face swells to double size. I'm angry, but I still love you."
Vivian finally moved closer.
Cecilia cleaned her wounds with gentle hands, her jaw clenched with both anger and care.
"Anyway…" Cecilia said, trying to lighten the air, "have you gotten your dress for graduation? Will you sew it or buy it?"
"I'll buy," Vivian whispered. "Sewing is too much stress."
A fragile silence settled between them.
A silence filled with unsaid fears… unspoken truths… and the faint sound of something inside Vivian quietly breaking.
And she didn't know how to stop it.