Shattered bonds
Earlier, after the Mandez family had enjoyed a full evening of wining and dining, they collectively decided to call it a night.
As they stepped outside, Amanda bid her farewells and returned to her own family. Meanwhile, Shawn and Mia opted to accompany Grandpa Mandez to his house. Once there, Shawn guided the elderly man to his room and assisted him into bed.
“Now that she’s graduated high school, the two of you should start thinking about giving me great-grandchildren,” Grandpa Mandez mumbled with closed eyes.
Shawn, the old man’s grandson, remained silent.
Once Shawn finished tucking his grandfather in, he returned to the living room to join his wife before they took their leave.
In contrast to Shawn’s brisk pace, Mia moved at a more leisurely speed. By the time she was finishing putting on her slippers, her husband had already vanished from sight.
Without delay, Mia hurriedly rushed outside to catch up.
“Wifey, why are your legs so short?” Shawn teased, giving her a mocking sneer.
Mia inwardly scoffed. What was he doing? Choosing to play along, she taunted him back, “Hubby, it’s you with those super-long legs. Aish.” Clicking her tongue, she caught up with him.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
Shawn chuckled softly and playfully ruffled her hair. “Should we consider leg surgeries then? I wouldn’t mind shortening mine and donating some length to you.”
“You-” Mia was left momentarily speechless.
Such a tease! As she searched for the right comeback, Shawn bent low, tilted his head, and planted a quick kiss on her lips.
It happened so swiftly that, if not for the lingering minty breath in Mia’s nostrils, she might have doubted it occurred.
Dazed, Mia found herself rendered even more speechless by his unexpected move.
A smug smile played on the corner of Shawn’s mouth as he took her hand and led the way back home, strolling at a leisurely pace.
Unbeknownst to the couple, someone observed them in sheer horror from a distance across the road.
Vivian froze in shock, an indescribable feeling swirling within her. ‘Am I dreaming?’ she wondered, her fingers tightly clenched around the tuxedo in her hand.
As she watched, confusion clouded her mind. Shawn Mandez… Mia… Or was that not Mia, her blood sister?
Initially surprised to see her sister approaching Shawn from Old Master Mandez’s mansion, Vivian blinked in bewilderment. “What is Mia doing there?” she wondered.
As she began to process the unexpected scene, her shock deepened upon hearing the man refer to Mia as ‘Wifey.’
Vivian was shaken to the core when Mia, in turn, called Shawn her ‘Hubby.’ The street’s silence and occasional passing cars allowed her to hear their conversation clearly, so there were no minced words or anything…
‘Wifey… Hubby…’ Vivian’s mind spun with those words.
No. Maybe it was just a joke, she tried to convince herself.
But then, right before her eyes, Shawn lowered his head and planted a kiss on Mia’s lips.
Her lips!
Air seemed to be sucked out of Vivian, making it hard to breathe. She collapsed against the car, hot tears streaming down her face at once.
Her heart ached, and she struggled for breath.
How could… Why did… Her eyes brimmed with more tears.
Vivian didn’t realize when her tears escaped her eyes, flowing down both sides of her face.
Mia… How could Mia betray her like this?
She had never felt so shattered and heartbroken in her entire life.
As the couple vanished from view, she remained in the same position for about thirty minutes, the whole scenario playing in her head over and over again.
After a while, she wiped her blurry eyes with the back of her hand and dragged her weakened body back into the car.
“Home,” she whispered in a hoarse voice.
The chauffeur, hearing her, immediately ignited the car engine, turning back towards the Thompson family’s residence. Vivian softly sobbed throughout the journey.
Never in her entire life did she expect her sister to betray her in such a grueling manner.
Had she hallucinated everything she witnessed back in MRA?
As the car pulled into her father’s residence and stopped a few feet from the front doorway, she slowly got down and began making her way inside on wobbly legs.
Just as she was about to step onto the porch, she heard someone call out, “Vivian.”
Instinctively turning around, she found Mia’s best friend approaching.
Vivian was puzzled. What was the girl doing there late at night?
Painfully wondering, she thought, Martha was Mia’s best friend… She must be aware of Mia and Shawn… This made her heart wrench in pain.
“Vivian?” Martha called again, waving her hand in front of the girl’s face.
She had been saying her name for a couple of seconds, but Vivian wasn’t responding. She seemed kind of zoned out.
Vivian blinked, bringing life back to her eyes as she gazed at Martha. “Martha, hi,” she responded dryly.
Noticing Vivian’s dull expression, Martha couldn’t help but ask, “Are you alright?”
Vivian’s face looked puffy, as if she had been crying.
“Huh, I’m fine. Just a bit tired.” Vivian’s lips twitched. “What’s up?”
Martha didn’t fully believe her words, but since she claimed to be fine, she decided not to press further. Besides, that wasn’t the main reason for her visit.
“I’ve been calling your number, but you weren’t picking up, so I decided to come over.”
“Oh.” Vivian rummaged through her purse and took out her phone, realizing she had indeed missed a couple of calls from Martha.
“I’m so sorry; I had no idea my phone was ringing.”
She had been so overwhelmed by her predicament that she hadn’t noticed her phone ringing incessantly in the car.
“It’s okay…” Martha’s voice trailed off.
After a moment, she stretched out her hand to Vivian, holding a file. Vivian furrowed her brows but accepted it.
“It belongs to Mia… I found it in our room… She must be looking for it.”
At the mention of Mia’s name, tension gripped Vivian, and her hand clenched into a fist beside her.
“Thank you.” She nodded, preparing to go inside.
“Hum, Vivian,” Martha called out, causing her to stop and turn back.
“I think it’s something you should see…”
Vivian wore a bewildered expression.
“I’m so sorry…” Martha’s voice broke, expressing pity.
Vivian was further confused. Why was Martha behaving this way? What could be in the file?
Her curiosity piqued, she slowly opened the file and examined its contents.