Chapter 50
At Sienna’s words, Vivian’s tears kept streaming down. No matter how hard she wiped, she just couldn’t stop them. Her voice was choked with sobs, barely able to form coherent words.
“Sienna, that’s not what I meant." She sobbed. Vivian carried a dark secret in her heart, something she could neither forgive nor forget.
The slightest trigger would make Vivian lose control and act like someone else, just like today. She hated it, but she couldn’t help herself.
Sienna gently stroked Vivian’s hair, her eyes brimming with guilt and cold fury that she gradually suppressed. Yet, when she spoke, her voice was as gentle as ever.
Sienna said softly, “It’s okay. I’m here with you.”
Hearing this, Vivian threw herself into Sienna’s arms and broke down in uncontrollable sobs, all her pent-up emotions finally pouring out.
It was as if Vivian was pouring out all her pent-up anguish. Sienna felt her heart wrench, a metallic taste welled up in her throat. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, forcing down the bitterness.
After crying her heart out, Vivian sniffed and glanced down at her tear-stained clothes. A flush of embarrassment crossed her face as she reached out to wipe them clean.
Sienna gently held Vivian’s hand and said, “Vivian, whatever’s on your mind, just tell me.”
Vivian froze mid-motion, lowering her eyes. She knew that after what had happened, there was no way she could keep it hidden. Sooner or later, Sienna would find out.
Vivian twisted her fingers, her eyes burning with hatred, “Sienna, I feel so tainted. When I was twenty, Dad summoned me home for dinner. Jocelyn framed me for stealing from her.
“Dad slapped me and yelled that I was incorrigible. I ran out only to be kidnapped by a gang. They dragged me to a warehouse."
As Vivian went on, her voice grew more and more choked with sobs. She clenched her fingers until her knuckles turned pale, the effort betraying just how much pain she was holding inside.
Sienna didn’t stop her. She wanted Vivian to confront these painful memories piece by piece. Only then could she break free from this vicious cycle of emotional self-destruction.
Vivian continued, her voice trembling, “They tortured me for so long that I can’t even remember how long. Sienna, do you believe me? I’m still a virgin. I just feel tainted.”
They violated every inch of her body.
Vivian couldn’t remember how she survived. All she remembered were the hysterical screams, breaking down over and over, but it was all useless. She was always on the verge of utter despair.
They violated me with all kinds of devices. As a girl, she had never experienced such unique degradation before.
Before passing out, Vivian only wanted to die, to vanish without a trace, leaving nothing behind to remember her by.
But Vivian still clung to the hope that Sienna was alive, thinking that she wouldn’t just abandon her like that.
After each wrist-cutting attempt, Vivian would drag herself to the hospital to get patched up, over and over again, trapped in this vicious cycle of self-torment.
She would put herself through hell as if she’d been stripped raw, inside and out.
By day, Vivian kept up a normal facade, but by night, she teetered on the edge of collapse, descending into madness.
Vivian thought she couldn’t go on like this anymore. She resolved to lock away those memories forever, sealing them deep in her heart.
Even without seeing the video footage, Sienna would have believed Vivian without question. “I believe you. I know you would never lie to me, Vivian,” she said.
Vivian’s eyes shimmered with a bittersweet hope as she looked at Sienna. “Sienna, I don’t know what to do. I’m not okay. There’s another me inside that I can’t control. She goes mad. She hurts people.”
Her eyes dropped to Sienna’s arm, hidden beneath the black fabric where nothing showed. But Vivian remembered all too clearly that she had been Sienna.
Vivian whispered, “I need therapy, but I’m scared and can’t afford it.”