Darkly Devoted (Book 1, 2, 3)

DB Chapter 33 - After All This Time

-Two Years Later -

AFTER RETURNING home, Vivienne wasn't sure what to do with herself. Eventually, enough time had passed that she didn't feel comfortable returning to high school. In the end, she had Litchus forge some papers so she could attend the local college. Allison soon joined her. It was a good way to get back into a routine and spend time with people her own age again.

Vivienne even got a side job working at a local ice cream store. It was ironic that the girl with the Blue Fire was selling ice cream. Vivienne liked the feeling of the ice cream scoopers in her hand. It erased the memory of the fire, leaving her palms before she blacked out in Sulia.

Also, it was money.

She was still determined not to take Blake's money, or in this case, Litchus' money. She had been the one to lose control and to kill Blake. It wasn't right to live off his wealth just because he couldn't foresee what a monster she would turn out to be.  Vivienne also couldn't take the cameo necklace off. She kept it in a sachet and wore it around her neck. After the bond was broken, it was too fragile to wear as a necklace.

She often had nightmares about that day in Sulia. More often than not, Vivienne woke up clutching the necklace. Eventually, she let Allison draw her out of her shell. They went to a party hosted by a campus fraternity. There, Vivienne bumped into Daniel again. He was a Junior now, studying accounting.

He said he was glad he finally saw her somewhere, which wasn't the library.

Daniel asked her out, but she said no. He was insistent and asked three more times. Finally, Vivienne said yes. By then, Allison was dating a frat boy named Peter. Allison had joined a sorority on campus, too, one of the ones with the prettiest girls that parties constantly.

~*~

One summer night, the night before Vivienne's twentieth birthday, Daniel proposed to her. Vivienne wasn't entirely sure it was a proposal at first. They went to an ice cream store, and as they were about to leave, Daniel asked if she had forgotten something. As she went back to their table, there was a box with a ring inside. It was a gold band with a round diamond.

Vivienne wasn't sure what to say, but she ended up nodding. She tried to put the ring on her finger, but perhaps it was her imagination, but it didn't fit. Wear it around your neck, Daniel offered. Vivienne unhooked her necklace and slid the ring onto it. It felt wrong, somehow.

"I've known for a while now that I was going to marry you. When I saw you across the table at the library, you had that dreamy look on your face." Daniel told her. "I thought one day, I want that girl to dream of me."

Vivienne felt numb to it all. It was as though she was sleepwalking through her life.

That night, she called her parents in Remin to share the happy news. Janun was still doing gymnastics, and their father couldn't stop bragging about her. Her parents were ecstatic that Vivienne was engaged. Her father had been recently promoted, so he was swamped. Her mother was able to stop working. Vivienne supposed her father must have been doing a good job, considering he was still working there now that Blake was dead.

Her parents promised to come to visit. They often promised, but one thing or another kept them from keeping their word.

That wasn't the only call that night. Julian called her as well. He always did around her birthday, holidays, and on lonely nights when he was drunk. He sounded like he was in a nightclub and had been throwing back a couple of hard cocktails.

"Hey, birthday girl," Julian said. "Are you ready to come to visit me soon? How's college?"

"Fine," Vivienne replied. "Just going to school, working, got engaged today."