“Why go after them?” I stroked her soft hair.
“You should have waited for me.”
100
“You… hated them,” she said, a flicker of
disgust in her normally placid eyes. “I… hated them too.”
“But… this is making your memory worse, isn’t it?” I said softly. “Sylvia, my… condition… it’s much better now. But I’ve… realized things.”
She frowned, taking my hand. “Vivian… not sick.” Her hand was warm, comforting, dispelling the chill that had settled in my bones
as I glimpsed the truth.
“I never understood… why I got sick. Or why
you… forgot things… became… slow.”
Sylvia looked confused.
“You know about… rejection reactions?” I
nulled off my gloves “We’re different We’re
<
12:49
100
pulled off my gloves. “We’re… different. We’re
the… infection… the virus… the rogue
puppets… the… extras…” We were the ones
who wanted to be ourselves.
“Maybe… our fates were sealed from birth.
But… they’re wrong. They’re the crazy ones. I
won’t play their game. So… we’re rejected.”
“My episodes… your memory… it’s the world…
trying to make us… like them.” Its rejection was
relentless. Ever since my first episode, I’d break
out in hives whenever I touched someone who
triggered my revulsion, as if they were
allergens. My resistance was so violent it
shattered my sanity. My pain, her amnesia –
punishment for defying the script.
–
“Sylvia… every story… has main characters.”
“And in our story… the main characters… are
everyone we know. We hate them. And when we
go after them… we get sicker.” That’s why
く
12:49
“We have to… help her,” I said. “Sylvia… we’re
helping ourselves.”
We’d been friends for almost twenty years. She
never questioned me, never doubted me.
Perhaps our fates were intertwined, destined to
be allies in this bizarre war.
Sylvia hugged me, just like she had during my first episode in school, when I’d recoiled from everyone but her. We’d always relied on each
other.
“Okay,” she said simply.
07
Noah and Maya were pulled from “The Wives‘
Club.” Ethan texted me, his tone no longer
affectionate, but condescending and
accusatory: “Noah doesn’t need a mentally
unstable mother figure, Vivian. Your condition
seems to be deteriorating. You were saying
く
strange things on the show. I’ve contacted
specialists abroad…”
He was panicking. The first episode hadn’t
gone as planned. Online comments were turning
against him.
“Um… everyone said Mrs. Pierce wasn’t good
enough for him. I’m not seeing it.”
“He said she’s a recluse, but she didn’t seem
shy at all.”
“Is she being controlled? Her old vlogs felt…off.
Like a caged bird.”
“Creepy.”
“There are issues with their mother–son
dynamic, but it’s not all her fault. Where’s his
parenting?”
“Honestly, they don’t need him. Maya and Vivian
<
12:49
100
“That family is perfect as is. Does Vivian
Sterling need a dog? 20 years old, house- trained. Asking for a friend.”
“Is Vivian the Sterling heiress? She’s gorgeous! Those gloves! I’m obsessed!”
“What’s Ethan’s deal? Saying he’s too busy to
film? One episode?”
“He loves being in the spotlight. Always in the
tabloids. Give me a break.”
The comments, masked as jokes, revealed genuine disapproval. What I didn’t know was
that when Ethan mentioned me again at home,
Maya had snapped, her voice cold. “Do you
really think Ms. Sterling would ever be
interested in you? A married man? I’m
disgusted you’d even think about her that way.”
And Noah, usually so obedient, had stood up to
his father. “Daddy. it’s not right to talk to
My like that.”
Hise dolle wife’s defence his son’s unexpected
vion my disinterest, the negative press, unexplained setbacks in his business
everything was spiraling out of control. The
Cracks in Ethan’s carefully constructed facade
were starting to show
blocked him
Something was wrong. Maya hadn’t contacted me in three days. Her replies to my messages were polite, but distant. She’d claimed illness
as the reason for leaving the show and declined
to meet. I was about to visit the Pierce
residence when an unexpected visitor arrived at
my door
Noah, drenched and shivering, his clothes
stained with blood from a scraped knee and
cuts on his face, stood on my doorstep in the
pouring rain.
<
“Miss Vivian,” he choked out, “Help Mommy.”
After a hot shower and a cup of ginger tea,
Noah finally explained what happened. His small
hands clenched together, his voice trembling. “After… what you said… I… watched…”
The answer was obvious. Ethan’s word was law.
Maya’s voice was silenced.
“After the show… Daddy was angry. He…
locked Mommy up. I can’t see her. I begged
Daddy… the maids… but they wouldn’t let
me…”
Locked away, unable to communicate, her
phone controlled by Ethan. Noah’s protests had
resulted in him being sent to boarding school. He’d snuck out during lunch break, scaling the school walls. In the vast Pierce estate, he’d
found no allies, until he remembered me.
“I understand,” I said, my voice hardening. “I’ll
<
get your mother out.”
The Hughes‘ assets had been absorbed into the
Pierce empire. Maya had no family left. Ethan,
her legal husband, could easily control her,
restrict her freedom. But wasn’t that illegal
confinement?
I called Noah’s school, arranging for an excused
absence. I told him to stay put, but as I was
leaving, he stopped me.
“Miss Vivian.”
“Yes?”
“I… think I know the answer… to your
question.” Noah confessed, “I didn’t ask Daddy.
I asked my teacher… I think… I did a lot of
wrong things… made Mommy sad.”
“Did your teacher tell you… it’s good to admit
your mistakes?”
<
“Yes. My teacher… taught me a lot,” he
sobbed. “Daddy was wrong… to lock Mommy
up… to not let her be on the show… He
wasn’t… right.”
“So, Noah,” I said, kneeling down and stroking
his hair, “you can tell right from wrong. You’re
very smart.”
“Miss Vivian, why do you always call me…
Noah?”
“Because in my mind, you are growing up. You
did well today. Remember what I said? Lesson
one: Protect your mom.”
“You tried to protect her.”
08
I hadn’t realized Ethan would be so brazen as
to imprison Maya. He was truly delusional.
Unlike him, I operated within the law. I couldn’t
<
just storm the Pierce estate. I needed a plan.
Sylvia called with urgent news. “Vivian… Ethan
took Maya to a psychiatrist… for an evaluation. If they issue a diagnosis…”
