Chapter 92: Hard To Hate
Amy’s POV
Amy was not one of those people who was quick to switch up on someone. If she liked a person, then she liked them, she was not likely to change her opinion of them at the drop of a hat.
The same principle held for when she did not like a person. In that case they were scum that not even flies would see fit to land on as far as she was concerned, and she would not change her mind on that no matter what.
But Ryan Terrell was showing Amy that she was very capable of going from liking someone to hating them at the flip of a coin.
As it turned out, all that that person had to do was to start treating Amy’s best friend horribly.
And just like that, Amy did not waste any time detesting a person.
In that current moment, she hated Ryan with everything in her.
Vivian’s head was pillowed on Amy’s lap. She was barely moving as Amy ran her fingers through her dark hair.
"I know that I should have ended things with him right away. But he is the first guy to treat me semi-decent in years. How can I just walk away from that?"
Hearing the words, and the defeated tone that Vivian said them in, made Amy want to scream.
But the words also forced her to face yet another angle of the situation that her friend found herself in.
The truth was, unlike with Bryce, who had been so easy to hate, because he had absolutely no redeeming qualities. As much as Amy liked to believe she had gone from liking Ryan to instantly disliking him.
It was not that simple.
Technically, Ryan Terrell was not cheating on Vivian.
What he had with Vivian was not the same as what had been between Bryce and Vivian. They were not boyfriend and girlfriend. The two of them were in a no strings attached, no feelings, no promises type of relationship.
There was no monogamy guaranteed in a friends with benefits type situation.
In fact, it was the type of arrangement that made it very possible for someone to keep sleeping with multiple people while having somebody more constant that they had sex with on a regular basis.
***
Parting a section of Vivian’s hair and beginning to braid it.
Amy, instead of trying to drum up more anger towards Ryan Terrell, decided to broach a subject that she had not been wanting to bring up. But now she realized that it was important.
"You left soon after having sex with him the last time. If he calls again, are you going to go to him or do you intend to end things once and for all?" Finishing with the braid, Amy tucked the woven strands of hair behind Vivian’s ear.
Then she waited, not pushing her friend to answer immediately because it was clear that the other woman was thinking.
The correct answer to her question would have been for Vivian to say that she would no longer be sleeping with Ryan Terrell. That that was the last time and that when Ryan reached out to her again, she would tell him they were done.
But Amy knew her friend, Vivian was the type to keep giving chance after chance, until she was all hollowed out and had nothing in her left to give.
It was why she had stayed with that awful Bryce for so long. The man had realized that Vivian Rose had a forgiving heart and had set out to abuse that wonderful quality to the max.
"I am going to keep going back until he does not want me anymore. Not many men want to be with someone like me after all,"
At those words, Amy bit down on the inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted blood.
"You should not say stuff like that, Viv, you are the best person I know. Any man would be lucky to have you,"
Her friend gave a tired scoff at that, but she did not say anything else and that broke Amy’s heart.
Once again, the anger that she had thought was fading came back full force.
She wanted to rant and rave, to call Ryan Terrell and give him a piece of her mind.
How could he still be treating the arrangement as no strings attached when it was clear as day that Vivian had developed feelings for him?
How could the billionaire not see that him having Vivian be his mistress, was hurting Amy’s friend?
It was very unfair, Vivian was a good person, warm kind and loving.
She did not deserve the bad hand that she had been dealt when it came to relationships.
***
In the end Amy spent most of Saturday cuddling her best friend. Trying with everything in her to offer as much comfort as she could. Doing all she could to impart strength onto Vivian so that her friend knew she was not alone.
But when Vivian finally got up to go home, there was such a defeated look in her eyes that Amy actually offered to go with her to her place and spend the night there if she did not wish to sleep over at Amy’s.
But Vivian had refused a sad smile on her face.
"It is alright Amy, I just need to spend a bit of time on my own,"
Now with Vivian gone, Amy was left with her own thoughts.
She had met Ryan Terrell and unlike Bryce, who had been a walking red flag from the beginning.
Amy had not gotten any of those vibes from Ryan.
Was he really so cruel? Or had Vivian somehow misread the situation despite all of the evidence that she’d seen.
It was a long shot, but Amy really hoped that there was some kind of misunderstanding. Surely her best friend’s luck when it came to men could not be so horrible. Vivian Rose was too much of a good woman to be cursed with such a fate.
