Chapter 106: Odd
Markโs POV
When he had called her, Mark had not really been expecting Vivian to answer. Especially given how early it was. But she had, and for that he was truly grateful, but just because she had accepted his call, it did not mean that Vivian was being agreeable.
"I do not wish to meet up with you. I have worked to do today, and will not have any free time at all. In fact, if it involves meeting with you anywhere, I will never have any free time," Mark suppressed a groan. Well, at least she was not wasting his time by pretending like there was even a possibility that she would be meeting him in person.
"Can I at least ask you why you refuse to meet with me face to face?" There was a scoff from the other end, but she still responded to his question.
"How can I be certain that when I do get to an agreed meeting place, it would be just you there. Instead of you and Ryan waiting to ambush me?"
"I have absolutely no intent of doing such a thing," Mark told her, being completely honest. But he had to admit that she had a valid point. It was very clear to him that she did not wish to see Ryan. So it was only right that she worried about him somehow luring her into a trap.
Scratching his head lightly, Mark decided that it was best to just keep the conversation going. "Listen Vivian, if you are not comfortable meeting with me. How about we just have the conversation that I wanted to have with you right now over the phone?"
There was a moment of silence where he worried that she would just hang up and block him. But then Vivian asked a question.
"Ryan sent you, didnโt he?"
***
What?!
He had just assured her that he would not be ambushing her with Ryan. But now sheโd somehow come to the conclusion that instead of calling on his own free will, he was doing so because Ryan had sent him.
"No Vivian, listen, I-" But she was already speaking over him.
"What is it? Is there some sort of nondisclosure that I am supposed to sign. Now that things are over, do the two of you really think that I will run to the press with everything.
Does he think so little of me? How dare he! I will-"
Mark blinked in shock. The conversation had gone from zero to a hundred so quickly that he was having trouble keeping track of everything.
How an earth had things gone from, โI do not wish to meet with youโ to her accusing them of wanting to trap her with a legal document. He had to get things under control before her paranoia ruined everything.
"Vivian...Vivian, please take a moment and breathe," She cut herself off mid rant at his words. And Mark was glad to hear the sound of deep breathing coming from the other end. At least she had not been too far gone to take good advice. If she had continued as sheโd been doing, he was pretty certain that she would have passed out from the stress.
"Are you calm now?" He asked a few minutes later. There was another moment of deep breathing, and then Vivian finally replied, "All right, I am calm now, but I am giving you only a few seconds to tell me why you called. I literally do not have time to waste. I have to go get ready for work,"
Mark had been hoping to at least be able to gently ease Vivian into the conversation. To talk about a few random things, and calm her until he finally asked the question that had been at the back of his mind ever since Ryan had told him that the two of them had ended things.
But he now realized that that would be impossible. Vivian did not want to meet, and she was not in the mood for sugarcoating at all. The only thing that he could do was rip the bandaid off and hope for the best.
"I wish to know why you ended the arrangement with my friend," There came a sound from the other end that made Mark believe that Vivian had dropped her phone. A few seconds later her voice came again and she confirmed that suspicion.
"I am so sorry, I dropped my phone in shock. Please tell me I did not just hear you ask me why my arrangement with Ryan Terrell ended,"
Exercising patience, Mark pulled his hand into a fist and then opened it wide several times.
"That is exactly what I have just asked you. I want to know why,"
"Why?! You want to ask me why I ended things?"
Vivian gave a mirthless chortle.
"Now I know Ryan put you up to this. Whatever sick laugh the two of you are getting out of this, I do not wish to be part of it. Leave me alone, both of you," The pain in her voice was so raw that Mark actually worried it might crack the screen of his phone.
Before he could even do anything she hung up on him and he was left staring out at the city from his balcony, the phone still pressed to his ear.
Pocketing it, Mark walked closer to the railing. His mind trying to piece things together. When he had spoken to Ryan his friend had sounded heartbroken and he had been completely certain that Vivian was getting a thrill out of this.
But the conversation with Vivian had proven to Mark that she was hurting just as much as Ryan was.
Something was not adding up here.
What had the two missed? What was Mark not seeing? He replayed the conversation with Vivian Rose over and over in his head. Trying to figure out what was off about the situation. But no matter how many times he thought on it, he could not find anything. All that he had to go on was the unshakable feeling that something just was not right.
