~OCEAN
"Ocean, We need to talk." My once radiant expression instantly dropped, and turned into a gloomy one as I heard the voice of my 'wife'
I leaned back into the couch, my eyes piercing into Vivian's frame as she walked into the room in one of her little night gowns that would've made me go on my knees for her, but now, all I felt towards her was pure disgust and hatred.
The sound of the game on TV faded into the background as I focused on her with an unwavering gaze. "What?" I snapped, my voice was low and commanding, a stark contrast to the turmoil brewing inside me.
Vivian stood tall, her eyes searching mine, but I wasn't having any of it, I wasn't interested in whatever it is that she has to say, I don't want her concerns, her feelings, her excuses, for those privileges became nonexistent the moment she decided to lay with another man while being married to me.
"We need to talk." She reiterated her sentence as she cautiously moved closer to me. "You've been distant for months, you've barely looked at me, barely spoken to me...what's going on?" Her voice was laced with a mix of concern and determination, but I wasn't buying it because I knew it was all a front to make me take the blame for our crumbled marriage.
I raised an eyebrow at her words before scoffing with an unyielding expression. "I'm fine, just busy." The words were a dismissal, a warning to back off, but Vivian didn't take the hint, she never does since her brain seemed to be regressing.
Her face tightened, her voice taking on a sharper edge. "Don't lie to me, Ocean. I know something's wrong. And I deserve to know what it is." Her words were a challenge, a defiance that I wouldn't tolerate. "After all, I am your wife." She added and that just irked me off more. Typical Vivian, always trying to play the victim card.
I leaned forward, my eyes narrowing into slits. "You deserve to know?" My voice was a low growl, a warning that she was treading on thin ice, but just like I said, she never takes a hint. "What makes you think that?"
Her eyes flashed with an anger she quickly masked up, keeping her composure in place, her shoulders squaring as she took another step towards me. "Because I am your wife, and I know when you're hurting." Her voice was a gentle caress, a reminder of the intimacy we once shared, the love we once had.
I snorted, a cold, mirthless sound, the sound echoing through the room like a slap. "You know when I'm hurting? That's rich, coming from you." My words were a cruel taunt, a challenge to her, to the lies she had told, the trust she had broken. I tried to keep my emotions from making a presence in my voice but it was hard, it was hard because I was hurt, Vivian had hurt me not only emotionally, but she also hurt my soul.
The room fell silent, the tension between us thick and heavy, like a living, breathing entity. The TV continued to drone on in the background, a reminder of the world outside, a world that was oblivious to the war being waged within our walls.
Her eyes narrowed, her voice low and even and her words were like a whispered accusation. "What are you talking about, Ocean?" Her face was a mask of innocence, but I saw the flicker of fear in her eyes, the glimmer of uncertainty.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Vivian." I gritted out through my teeth. "But I'll play along. Let's talk about it hm. Let's talk about Davian." The words hung in the air, a challenge, a dare, a gauntlet thrown.
Vivian's face paled, her eyes widening in shock, her lips parting in a silent gasp which she quickly cover with a stoic expression. "I don't know what you're talking about." She denied, folding her arms underneath her chest which pushed up her breasts.
She was trying to make me forget by sexualizing me. Pathetic.
A laugh escaped through the space between my lips as I stupidly looked at her with her failed antics. "Don't let me do something that would hurt your little boy toy, Vivian. You know what I can do." I warned, my voice laced with threat that made her face fall in an instant.
Her gaze held mine, a mixture of guilt and defiance etched on her face. "Ocean...I..." Her voice trailed off, the words dying on her lips as she struggled to find the right words, the right excuse, the right lie to tell me.
I stood tall, my fists clenched at my sides, my chest heaving with ragged breaths as I gazed at the woman who was once my everything, Vivian. The woman I had loved, trusted, and built a life with. I gave her the life of Riley and she repayed me by shattering my world into a million pieces, leaving me to pick up the shards of my broken heart which pricked my fingers, drawing out blood with every shard I picked up.
I gazed at her, my eyes burning with a fire of hurt and betrayal, as she collapsed to the floor, her body wracked with sobs, her face buried in her hands. I felt a pang of... something. Something that wasn't quite pain, but a dull ache that had become my constant companion. I knew I should feel something, anything, but I was too numb, too hurt, too angry.
"You think I didn't see it, Vivian?" I heard my voice crack with emotion, my words dripping with pain like a wound that refused to heal. "You think I didn't notice the late nights, the secret meetings, the whispers in the dark? You think I didn't hear the lies, the excuses, the empty promises? I saw it all, Vivian. I saw the way you looked at him, the way you laughed with him, the way you touched him. I saw the way you loved him, and I knew I was losing you-no, I knew I had lost you." I scoffed in disbelief as the next words fell from my mouth. "The least you could've done when you decided to give out your pussy was to do it far from home, but no, you decided my stepbrother was the perfect candidate for your wandering eye." I paused. "You both disgust me." I seethed.
Vivian's body shook with grief, her words barely intelligible through her tears. "Baby, please...I'm so sorry...I was weak...I was lonely..."
My expression didn't change, my eyes cold and dead, like two stones in a grave. My voice was a low, menacing growl, a warning of the storm that was brewing inside me. "Weak? Lonely? You think that's an excuse? You think that's a reason to destroy our marriage, to destroy me? You had everything, Vivian. You had my heart, my soul, my everything. And you threw it away like it was nothing!" I shouted, tears welling in my eyes which were begging to fall, but I have no tears left to cry, at least not for Vivian.
Her body continued to shake as she scooted closer to me on the floor she was sat. Her words barely comprehensible through her tears. "I...I don't know...I was so lost...I didn't know how to fix it...I didn't know how to make you love me again..."
My voice rose, my anger and hurt boiling over like a pot left unattended on a burning stove. "Make me love you again? What the fuck are you even talking about!" I shouted, the veins in my throat bulging as I looked at the woman on the floor with disdain. Her victim card won't work this time because I can see through her, she was trying to make this my fault but my years of naiveness was over.
"You think it was about me not loving you? It was about respect, Vivian. It was about trust. And you destroyed it. You destroyed us. You ripped us apart, piece by piece, and now you're asking me to forgive you?"
Vivian's sobs became louder, her body convulsing with grief, as if she was trying to physically expel the pain that had consumed her. "I know...I know...I'm so sorry...Please, Ocean...baby please forgive me..."
My eyes squinted, my voice cold, my words dripping with venom. "Forgive you? You think forgiveness is something you can just ask for and I'll give it to you? You think it's that easy? It's not about forgiveness, Vivian. It's about facing the consequences of your actions. And the consequence is, our marriage is over. We're getting a divorce."
The room fell silent, the only sound that was being heard was Vivian's sobs which was an ear-sore. My eyes fixed on her, my expression a mask of stone as if I was trying to harden my heart against the woman who had broken it. I turned and walked away, leaving her broken and alone on the floor, the sound of her sobs echoing through the empty halls of our once-love-filled home.
As I walked out of the room, I felt a sense of numbness wash over me, as if I was floating above the scene, watching it unfold from a distance. I knew I should feel something, anything, but all I felt was a vast void in me. So, I just kept on walking, one foot in front of the other, until I reached the door and walked out into the night, leaving the ruins of my marriage behind me.
I walked for blocks, the city streets blurring together as I navigated the darkness. I didn't know where I was going, didn't know what I was doing, but I kept walking, kept moving, because if I stopped, if I paused, I might have to feel something, and I wasn't ready to face that yet.
Eventually, I found myself at a bar, a dimly lit, seedy place that was perfect for my mood. I took a sit and ordered a strong vodka as I stared blankly at the TV screen.
I would be fine, Eventually.