Chapter 24

Chapter 24
When the group had returned, Dylan had long returned to his room, he was not sure if Marianne was still down by the pool but he would have guessed that she returned to her room once the place began to get noisy again. They did not talk for too long and when Dylan had gone back up, he had fallen asleep pretty easily. It was only when Vivienne woke him up, that he became aware of everything going on.

"Are you feeling more rested now?" Vivienne asked him, as she was laid on the other side of the bed.

Dylan groaned in response and Vivienne smiled at him. "We went down to the beach and ate a lot of food. There are so many tourists here so it took a while to do the things we wanted. When it's just the two of us, I want us to take a boat trip somewhere, obviously nowhere too far but still."

Dylan smiled. "Sure, that doesn't sound too bad."

"Do you want to go down and get something to eat or have it here?"

"Here. I don't really want to move." Dylan was more than happy with Vivienne's behavior. She would act like that sometimes but most of the time, her voice was raised and she was being noisy about something, or bitchy about something, or complaining about something. He never realized how noisy she was until she actually became quiet. It seemed like he was used to it.

At his request, Vivienne called for room service and then they both laid together in silence. She was basically on top of him but he did not mind since Vivienne weighed basically nothing.

"By the way, are you eating properly? You are very light, you know."

"I am eating properly." she raised her head. "But I have to maintain a certain image and so I'm on a diet."

"Vivienne, you're always on a diet. You should not be limiting your body to the nutrients it needs just because you want to look a certain way."

"That really is not up to me Dylan. An actress like myself should always look a certain way. But I'm sure that in the future when things change I will also be more open to changing the way I eat currently. Maybe when and after I get pregnant is when I'll stop caring as much."

To say that Dylan was shocked, was an understatement. This definitely was not a response that Vivienne would give. He would have guessed that she would have told him that her body is the most important thing that she has to maintain and keep looking nice. And Dylan already knew that if Vivienne were to get pregnant that she would complain about the way her body changed and how it would look after giving birth. He assumed she would even go as far as to get a cosmetic procedure done to get her body back to the way it was.

Dylan placed his hand on her head and rubbed her hair. "Well as long as you know."

The two spent the rest of the day in their room together talking, eating, and fooling around. Dylan was not sure, the last time that they did that and he was very happy that they got to spend that time together. It was all helping to reinforce his want to get married to her. If Vivienne could keep up the behavior then he was sure that they would be better than expected. With the new attitude and the help from Marianne. He was beginning to have more hope. This was what he told Marianne the next day.

Marianne nodded her head as she listened to him. She was sitting in the resort restaurant having breakfast. Some of the other guests were there which made it quite noisy but it was just the two of them at the table. Marianne was silent throughout the entire time as she slowly ate her food. And when he was finished speaking she was midway into a croissant. She placed it down on the plate and gave Dylan a genuine smile.

"I think that she is starting to realize that the way she acted before was inappropriate. I hope that this isn't just an act to keep you happy until marriage because it very well could be. But, if Vivienne really is changing her behavior so that it makes you happy then I am more than glad because of that. The recent activities were probably what caused all of this as you said and I'm sure that with some more of my help, it will turn out for the best. Honestly, I'm relieved."

Dylan smiled a real big and happy smile. "Really?"

"Oh for sure. This is good progress. Maybe we didn't reach here the way we would have wanted to but I'm glad that we're here nonetheless."

Dylan sighed in delight. "This is good. We have a session with you today so hopefully, we can touch more on that. And when you have a session with her, make sure to emphasize the fact that I am happy with all of this and that she needs to keep this up. Tell her that change is for the better, alright. Alright." he clasped his hands and wrung them.

Marianne laughed and gave him back a wide smile. "I'm happy that you are happy Mr. Carter. I'm glad that things are turning out this way."

Dylan felt alive for the first time in a while. He felt like he had hope. Hope for their relationship and for their future together. After their talk, he left Marianne by herself at the table. As he was walking away, he looked back and saw that she was looking thoughtful but happy.

For the rest of the day, Dylan was in a very noticeable good mood. Vivienne was confused as to why but all he told her was that it was because of her. She seemed to be happy with the answer and went along with him happily. But when it came time for their session with Marianne, Vivienne's mood changed suddenly and it seemed like she was not the happiest about doing the session. He had not told Vivienne about their conversation the previous day and he also did not want to tell her to apologize to Marianne, knowing that it may cause a problem. Since Vivienne had taken to behaving a certain way, if he ruined her mood and she reverted to the way she was before, then that would not be good for anyone.

Marianne did not mention much about Vivienne's new behavior but did say that they did look like they were improving. Marianne made it clear that she was happy with the way their relationship was looking and hoped that it would remain that way.

"You know, a lot of couples get into many fights and have some tension between them when the wedding is approaching. Things are disagreements on things and when something as big as marriage is happening, it can cause some heat between couples. So I'm not saying that you two are completely in the clear for these sort of things, but I'm glad that for now, it seems like you two are getting along well. And if there are any future arguments before the wedding then don't think too seriously or drastically. Emotions are high and things can happen. Alright."

Dylan nodded and then looked over at Vivienne. She was not looking at Marianne but was nodding nonetheless. The rest of their session was practically normal. They talked about their feelings leading up to the event and even some lighthearted topics on what activities Vivienne was looking forward to doing. It seemed like when that was brought up, Vivienne was more willing to interact with Marianne.

And then it was time for the private session. Dylan could see that Vivienne was not happy about staying by herself but it was not like there was much of a choice on either of their parts. They invited Marianne, primarily because she was their therapist. The two stepped out of the room briefly before he sent Vivienne back in.

"I don't think I can do this. I'll be suffocated." Vivienne clung to his shirt.

"Just act as you normally do. And if you really want to clear the air then apologize. But you don't have to if it's too much for you."

"If I act like nothing happened then I'll look even worse in her eyes but if I apologize then I'll be bringing it up, acknowledging it, and then it will be awkward."

Dylan smiled down at her and patted her head. He honestly didn't know what happened to Vivienne but it seemed like she had become a completely different person. It was like she was finally maturing. She was realizing her actions were not ok and it seemed like coming to terms with all she did. Dylan was proud of her.

After some more coaxing, he was able to get her off of him and back into the room. He was not sure what choice she made but he was sure that it would work out in the end. He could feel his heart swelling as he watched her walk away. This was the woman he was marrying.

"Alright." he pursed his lips to contain his smile as he walked back into the more crowded area of the hotel to look for something to eat.

The noise level increased as he walked further down the hallway towards the restaurant. He was able to hear multiple conversations at once. But it seemed like his ear tuned in to one conversation since he heard his name.

"-Dylan fooled. I mean I'm impressed."

"Yeah. She was so afraid that he would leave her that now Vivienne has the common sense to at least put on an act so that it won't happen."

"And it seems like it's working. You should have seen how happy he was telling Marianne Blake about the ways she has changed. And by the look on her face, she seemed to believe him as well."

"We'll see about that. Marianne Blake isn't famous for nothing. But Dylan on the other hand... he's too blinded by love to really see what's going on. Once they get married, she'll go back to the way she was and he won't be able to escape her. Poor fellow."

"And yet we still came to the wedding. I'm just waiting for it all to fall apart. I know there'll be a huge fight within the next month. What else can we expect from them..."

Dylan tuned out of the conversation after that. He had heard all that he needed.