Chapter 30

Chapter 30
Dylan had Marianne and Vivienne in one shot. Vivienne was by the pool, seemingly unbothered and problem-free, hanging out with her friends, laughing and whatnot, and Marianne was sitting inside the lounge, scrolling on her phone, seemingly unbothered as well. They had not noticed him yet and while he was building up the courage to go and talk to them, someone spotted him from his hiding place behind a corner and very loudly, called him out.

"Dylan! Man! I haven't seen you in days man, you alright?" his friend Luke came up and patted him on his shoulder. "You look like a mess."

Dylan gave him a tight smile and only nodded. When he looked past him, he saw that Marianne was looking at him and she just gave him a very blank stare before she got up and walked away and Vivienne was frozen by the pool. Her friends all had their eyes focused on him. Their expressions were different. Some showed concern and others which were clear amusement.

As if they were looking forward for them to fight once again.

He was glad that he saw multiple facial expressions because he was able to weed out the ones who were not really Vivienne’s friends and just using her. It was a surprise that she actually had friends that cared about her.

With Vivienne’spersonality, it would have been hard to deal with her. But he did see how she acted with her friends and although they would be really loud and obnoxious, there was really nothing too weird about her behavior. Yes, there were times when Vivienne would blow her top or be just plain out rude to someone, but it seemed like the friends who cared for her liked her regardless. Out of her group of six people, only two were compassionate while the rest were not. He was not sure if he would be able to tell her about it and get a response that tells her she's going to listen to him. After all, he was going to break her heart in the next couple of minutes.

The rest of the guests kind of guessed what would follow and they slowly vacated the area, following Marianne’s idea. He did not get a chance to see where Marianne went, but right now, it was not the main concern. He needed to speak with Vivienne and after that, he would clear the air with Marianne.

The four friends just stepped to the side, looking like they didn't want to leave while the two compassionate ones gave Vivienne a comforting hug before they walked away. Dylan approached Vivienne and he gave the girls a look, which made them leave, slowly. He was certain that they would just hide themselves and try to see or get it on camera.

"Vivienne... I think we should talk somewhere else," he said cautiously as he approached her.

"Why?" she asked, not really looking at him. She had gotten up from the beach chair that she was on but looked everywhere but him.

"I just don't want anyone to be a part of our private conversation. We have things to talk about so we should talk where no one else can hear."

"You're just going to break up with me anyways, so why do all of this. Want the satisfaction of being the only one to see me cry."

They both knew that Dylan was not like that, but because she was being vulnerable, she was just saying everything that came to mind. Vivienne was trying to protect herself from getting hurt, Dylan knew that, and so he could not get angry at her.

"You know that I would never want that. I just don't want anyone to take advantage of you when you are not your best. Not everyone here is on your side, you know. That's how videos of our fight got released."

"Are you saying that I don't know how to pick friends? Because I'm sure that you aren't going to say they are your friends."

"I have seen the way some of your friends behave behind your back. Not all of them genuinely care about you Vivienne. How did you think I found out about all of this? Because of your friends gossiping. Loudly might I add."

Vivienne sighed. "Ok, ok. This isn't what we are here to talk about. So can we please get on with it?"

They walked out of the pool area and through the lounge and as Dylan guessed, the four "friends" that he had seen were there, with their phones out. Looking like guilty fools when they saw them.

"Wow, really, I guess that it's always the people closest to you." Vivienne gave them a disgusted look. "I can't believe I used to hang around a bunch of poor people just using me for my money and connections. How does it feel to be pathetic? Good luck becoming anything in life without me."

The girls' faces morphed to that of embarrassment and anger. They put down their phones and walked closer to Vivienne. Dylan was of course ready to do anything if it got out of hand. But this was a matter between Vivienne and her friends, so he would only step in when she needed him to.

"You must feel so good about yourself. Well congratulations, you found us out. And what about it. It's not like you'll be victorious in the end. Look at you, losing your poor fiancé that you fought so hard to keep. But it was only when you realized that he was done with you and your bullshit." the first girl said.

"Everyone knew you were going to break up, it was only a matter of time. Who would want to stay with your broken ass anyway? You want to call us the pathetic ones but you're the one who single-handedly ruined your relationship. I would say that that's pathetic." the second girl said.

Vivienne gave them the most hateful look he had ever seen on her face. She did not say anything for a couple of seconds and the girls laughed.

"And what about it? I fucked up, so what. At least when this is done and over I still have a career, money, and a hell of a lot of men lining up for me. The only guys you were able to score were the scraps of the ones I ignored or threw away. But now, I guess you'll all be single forever. Because I'm sure as hell that no one would want to date you. And everything you gained in life was also because of me. So have fun living your basic ass boring lives. I'm sure you'll do great."

Although Dylan was not fond of her mentioning the men lining up for her, he was glad that she was able to articulate her words in a way that made her seem strong.

The girls' faces twisted once again, and this time to one of disgust and annoyance.

"Well then have fun. I'm sure your life will be great. Fiancé-less and all that." the second girl rolled her eyes. "And watch out for the others. I'm sure they all hate our guts as well. Who would actually be your friend genuinely."

Vivienne huffed and stomped her foot and the girls just laughed. Dylan took a hold of her by her shoulders and began to take her a few steps away from them.

"And now look, she still needs protection, even by the man that's going to dump her." another one of the girls cackled.

Dylan looked at the receptionist. "Can you get them out of here, please? Call the guards and such if you have to."

The receptionist nodded and moved from behind the desks. They passed them and moved towards the girls. There were two female receptionists and two male receptionists, and the guards were standing by the door looking at the situation to see if they would need to intervene.

"You're going to get rid of us now how-"

"Can you shut up?" a new voice asked.

It was Marianne, she suddenly appeared out of nowhere, walking up to the girls, giving them a look of disgust.

"Look, she stayed behind as well. Aren't you going to criticize her too? Or is it because she tried to help fix your too far gone relationship?" the fourth girl said.

"It's like no one listens to me. Did I not say shut up. Or is all the shit coming out of your mouth preventing you from thinking straight. I stayed behind because I was making sure it didn't get too bad. Besides, it's like my job. Maybe not to be in all their conversations but to be the mediator and helper. What's your excuse." Marianne smiled at them.

Dylan could not look at Marianne. Even in all of what he did, she was still being gracious and helpful. There really was no one like her.