Vivian’s POV

When she had first met Bryce Vivian had thought that he was one of those people who just naturally gave off light. The kind that gave compliments wherever he went. Deriving pleasure from making others feel as good as he felt.

But as the relationship had gone on she had realized that she had been wrong. That Bryce was incapable of such a thing. What he did instead was suck up all of the joy in the room and reflected back. Making it seem like it came from him.

Whenever she had been in his presence, Vivian had always felt like she was being drained. Bryce siphoning all of the joy out of her and keeping it for himself. Years of constantly dealing with that man had left Vivian jaded. So much so that when the whole arrangement with Ryan Terrell had begun, she had not been too sure what she was getting herself into.

A part of her had been bracing to find that she had picked another Bryce. As it turned out what she had gotten herself into was an endless supply of amazing sex, good company, and a man who threw compliments at her like it was the most natural thing in the world. But thanks to Bryce, Vivian still sometimes caught herself waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Ryan to stop being Mr nice guy and start insulting her looks.

That had yet to happen though and Vivian was slowly getting used to being called things like beautiful, gorgeous and pretty.

To some people it would not mean anything. But for her, having Ryan heap compliments upon her was doing wonders for her self- esteem. She was no longer so reserved when it came to fashion choices. Now she could stand naked in front of a mirror without feeling repulsed by what she saw.

His praises of her had even helped her when it came to food. Thanks to him she could now enjoy a treat without feeling overwhelming amounts of shame. In fact at that very moment she was munching on a chocolate bar. Lazily kicking her feet from where they hung over the arm of her couch. Halfway through her snack Vivian’s phone buzzed and she clicked on the new message without checking who it was from.

[Hey Viv, how have you been? How come you have not reached out in so long? I feel really bad for everything. I am sorry okay. Get in touch soon, I am tired of waiting and I miss you.]

The chocolate suddenly tasting like tar in her mouth, Vivian got out of her relaxed pose. Sitting up straight her feet planted on the floor she re-read Bryce’s text, her heart rate picking up as her head began to hurt.

Was he apologizing to her, threatening her, or ordering her to respond to him? No matter how many times her eyes skimmed over the words, Vivian could not tell. Then she realized in a rare moment of clarity that that had probably been Bryce’s intent.

Whenever she was talking to him. She never quite knew where she stood, always feeling off balance.

Willing her trembling fingers into steadiness. She began typing out her reply.

[Hello, Bryce. Sorry I have not responded to you until now. I have been busy]. Her finger hovering over the send button Vivian suddenly found herself frowning. Wait, why was she responding to the guy? She’d walked in on him having sex with another woman, and he had not even bothered to stop while she had been in the room.

Vivian had broken up with him(again).

She and Bryce were exes now. There was nothing tying them together. They had no children, no pets, not even a shared plant.

She was not obligated to respond to any message that he sent.

Feeling empowered all of a sudden Vivian deleted the message, went over to her contacts and blocked Bryce completely. It was such a simple thing, barely taking a few taps of the screen. But by the time that she was done, Vivian was shaking.

Had she just done that? Checking and finding that she really had blocked him, the preschool teacher fell back against her seat.

If Vivian could have blocked all of the emotions that Bryce brought up in her, as easy as she’d blocked his number, she would have done so in a heartbeat. But it was not so easy.

Even with his number blocked. Vivian could still hear Bryce’s voice as clear as day in her head. Her ex calling her all sorts of things, From ’piggy’, to ’fat’, to ’canvas of stretch marks’.

’No one will put up with you but me,’

His words kept playing in her head over and over. Tearing at the little self-confidence that she’d managed to build up. Hands over her ears Vivian tried to block out the vicious tone, but the words kept coming.

Fuelled by desperation. She reached for her phone and went back to the messages. Clicking on the chats that she’d had with Ryan Terrell, Vivian began reading them and her mind settled almost immediately.

[Hey beautiful,]

[How are you doing gorgeous?]

[ I look forward to seeing you, sweet thing]. Those were the types of messages that jumped out at her and Vivian’s breathing evened out.

’That’s right,’ She thought to herself. ’There’s a man out there who does not think I am an abomination. He does not treat having to spend time with me as a chore’. Re-reading the messages over and over until she could recite them from memory. Vivian blew out a breath.

Feeling significantly calmer than she had been when she’d first begun. She was just about to put her phone away when it vibrated with an incoming message.

For one wild moment she thought that it was Bryce. But then she recalled that she had just blocked him. There was no way it could be him.

Tapping at the screen. She smiled widely when she saw who it was. Was the man some sort of mind-reader? How had Ryan Terrell known that a message from him would mean the world to her right at that moment.

Without wasting another second, Vivian opened the text, and her smile grew even bigger when she read it.

[Hey there gorgeous, fancy meeting up tonight?]. He could have just started with the question outright. But the man as usual had taken the time to throw a compliment in first. Smiling Vivian typed out her reply.

[Of course, I’m always ready to meet up with you, handsome].