Chapter 27

Chapter 27
"I'm calling off the wedding."

That was the first thing that Dylan said as soon as the door closed and Marianne braced herself for the hell-storm that would follow. She was not facing them and wished she could remain so. Marianne had never dealt with a couple as problematic as this one. Toxic was not the word she would have used in the past but Vivienne's actions were borderline toxic. She manipulated Dylan in order to get him to stay with her. Marianne was not aware if it happened in the past but she did not want to assume and so she never brought the relationship to toxic. But problematic was the word she would use to describe their relationship in a heartbeat.

"WHAT?!"

Marianne didn't even flinch because she knew it was coming. When she sat on the couch and finally faced them, the two were standing opposite each other, heated expressions on both of their faces. But Vivienne looked like she was seconds away from a meltdown. It was surprising that she was not screaming and hollering at the moment. Maybe she thought she could salvage the relationship if she did not react the way Dylan expected her to. But it was kind of too late for that kind of pretending.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't. I have tried and tried with you but I don't think that you will change anytime soon. Not unless Marianne can pull some magic out of somewhere and give it to you."

"Dylan... you can't do this... to me. You can't do this to me. I was just trying for you. I wanted to be better for you. Don't they say fake it till you make it? I was trying to practice being that way so that I could adopt the behavior naturally. I never had any intention of lying to you. I just wanted to be a better person for you. To you." Vivienne's eyes glassed over and she wrung her hands in her beach dress.

Marianne had seen the way she had slipped up in the session they had and she was now on the fence of either believing that she really did slip up and automatically reacted the way she would, or if she was really just pretending and forgot to keep up the act. Marianne was a therapist, not a lie detector. It was simple enough to tell when someone was generally lying to her but it was a tough one when two similar possibilities were presented to her.

"Save your excuses. I've had my fill. I know when you're telling the truth and when you're lying Vivienne. Putting on the sad act is not going to get you out of this. Not anymore. I have lost any remaining respect I have had for you." Dylan's face told her that he was beyond serious.

Vivienne's face completely dropped when he said that. She took a deep breath and then a couple of tears escaped her eyes. Soon enough, it escalated into her hyperventilating and going into a full breakdown. It was honestly better than a meltdown. Marianne had enough of the screaming for one day.

Vivienne fell to her knees and held onto the end of Dylan's shirt. She was sobbing and could barely get a word out. Her fiancé was not even looking at her and was focused on something on the wall.

"You can't... plea- please. Dylan, Dylan." Vivienne sniffled, wiped her face, and collected herself for a moment. "Listen. Dylan. I'll do whatever you want ok. Whatever you want. I'll be good. I will behave right. I was behaving right for you all this time. I'll continue to behave right for you. So don't call off the- wedding alright."

Dylan did not acknowledge what she said and shifted his gaze to Marianne. "I'm sorry about all of this. I made you come all the way here and got you involved in all of this. I'll be sure to compensate you and everyone else here for coming all the way here."

"Mr. Carter... I understand that you are feeling more than betrayed right now. I do. But don't do anything drastic right now. Even though it is hard to believe Vivienne's reasoning. I think that before you walk out that door and disappoint all the people who came here, you and Vivienne need to spend some time apart. Calm down, clear your mind, take a day or two. After that, tell me what your decision is and I will not question you about it. But I need you to seriously think about it. Alright."

"Ms. Maddison. I don't want to have calmed down and then go back to trying to be hopeful for a change. It has happened more than once and look where we ended up. I was disappointed time and time again."

"I know. I know. But do it once more for me. If you know now that that had happened in the past then use that to not fool you when thinking once again. Take some time and really think of all the things that would happen if you do get married and if you don't. And once you have then we can move on from there."

Dylan looked like he wanted to fight back but he did not and only nodded. "Alright."

"Now, I think that Vivienne and I need to have a conversation. So it would be most appreciated if you gave us some privacy."

All the time they were talking, Vivienne had calmed down and was just sniffling and hiccuping. She got up off the floor once Marianne had said they needed to talk and dusted off her dress before standing straight, trying to wipe her face while simultaneously ruining her makeup at the same time.

Dylan did not even look at Vivienne before he turned and left the room swiftly.

"Thank you. Thank you." Vivienne sighed before she collapsed on the couch next to her. "I just need a little time so that I can save us. If I can show him that I had no ill intentions then we can go on with the wedding. Thank you for buying us time."

Marianne did not feel like saying "you're welcome" to her thanks. Marianne only did it because it was what she thought was best. Making decisions while heated was never the best thing. It definitely was not for the benefit of Vivienne. But she wanted Dylan to feel at ease and mentally and emotionally ready to make a decision, which would best be made with a calm mind.

"Ms. Owen, I am not sure if I should believe you or not, It seems like Mr. Carter has already picked a side but I am not sure if you are lying or not. And before you get defensive, think about all you have done in the past before you question my doubt. If someone who you cared for, constantly lied and made life hard for you, would you listen to everything they said? Would you believe their tears?"

Vivienne sat up on the couch and looked at Marianne with an expression that told her that she understood what she said but did not like that she understood.

"For now, what I can tell you is to not talk to Dylan for a while. I'm sure if you go begging for forgiveness or try to be nice and gentle with him then it would make him even more upset and annoyed. Leave him alone with his thoughts and let him sort himself out."

Marianne more believed that if Vivienne went around trying to coax Dylan into making the decision she wanted, then it would mess up his process and could cause him to make the wrong one. He may start to feel pressured and then make a decision just to get Vivienne off his back. Another example of Vivienne acting like a child would be her constantly annoying and begging Dylan for something and then him giving in to her so that she would stop what she was doing.

With a dramatic flop down on the couch, Vivienne let out a heavy sigh. "If he leaves me I think I'll die."

"If he leaves you then I think it will be a wake-up call to all the things you have been doing and it should also teach you a lesson about the consequences of your actions. Maybe after Mr. Carter leaves you, is when you will realize that you need to change then. Become a better person for the next guy that will come into your life."

"Are you telling me to simply move on once he dumps me?"

"It won't be simple. I'm sure Mr. Carter was your greatest love. But I'm telling you that you should take this instance and learn from it. People come into our lives for a reason and maybe his reason was to make you a better person for the next one down the line."

"You think that he is going to leave me, don't you. I'm sure everyone is guessing that will happen."

"I honestly do think that it is a possibility. I will not spare your feelings there. But all we can do is wait. Dylan will make the division that he thinks is best for not only him but you as well. Even if he is mad at you. He will still be thinking about you in everything he does. He loves you still so don't think he does not when he makes his decision."