Part 14: Vivienne’s Renovation
Vivienne had always been excellent at performance.
She knew how to host, how to smile for photographs, how to make people feel seen while keeping them at a careful distance. But after the gala, after meeting Maya, the performance had started to feel exhausting.
One afternoon, she asked Maya to meet her at the Harrington estate’s greenhouse — a place Vivienne rarely used but had recently started visiting.
Vivienne
“I’ve been thinking about what kind of woman I want to be for the rest of my life,” she said, pruning a dying rose bush with careful hands. “For years, I believed power meant never showing weakness. Never admitting when you were wrong. I was very good at it.”
She looked at Maya.
Vivienne
“But I’ve started to wonder if real strength is the ability to look at the damage you’ve caused and still choose to do better.”
Maya watched her quietly.
Maya
“Why are you telling me this?”
Vivienne
“Because I hurt you when you were at your most vulnerable. And because I see how hard you’re trying to build something real with Edward, even though you have every reason not to trust any of us.”
She set the pruning shears down.
Vivienne
“I’m not asking you to trust me yet. I’m asking if you’d be willing to let me try to earn it.”
Maya considered her for a long moment.
Maya
“I can try. But I won’t pretend things are fine when they’re not. I’ve spent too much of my life doing that already.”
Vivienne nodded.
May you like
Vivienne
“Good. I’d rather have your honesty than your politeness.”
For the first time, Maya smiled at her — small, but genuine.
