Dark Romance: A Cruel Obsession

Vivian, who had been given a tranquilizer as Camar had suggested, did not wake up until the next day.

Glancing at the bedroom clock, Vivian saw that it was nine-twenty-five.

She sat up against the bedhead, her head heavy with sleep, looking like she hadn’t fully woken up yet. However, at the slightest sound from the door, her nerves would instantly tighten, her breathing heavy, her muscles tense, like a rabbit about to dart away at any moment.

The butler came in with breakfast, his cloudy old eyes squinting as he smiled kindly and said, “You’re awake, I’ve prepared breakfast for you. Would you like some?”

Vivian hugged the blanket and shrank back.

The butler was used to Vivian’s vigilance. Just like the past few days, he placed the breakfast on the coffee table in front of the sofa and didn’t move forward. However, he didn’t leave immediately but took out a black phone from his pocket.

He was very old, his eyesight not very good. Putting on his reading glasses, he fiddled with the phone for a while before finding what he was looking for. “Take a look at this.”

The butler placed the phone on the coffee table, turning up the volume.

For a long time, there was silence in the video, and Vivian could only hear faint breathing and the sound of shoes tapping the ground.

Furrowing her brows, Vivian was about to ask the butler what he was doing when the person in the video seemed to find the silence awkward and hesitantly spoke, “Baby, look at Mommy…”

As soon as she heard the word “baby,” Vivian realized what the video was about. She covered her mouth, trembling uncontrollably as she stumbled towards the butler’s phone, struggling to hold it up with her shaky hands, wanting to see more clearly. “Is this my child?”

In the video, the tiny child occasionally waved her small hand in response to the man recording, lying in an incubator with various tubes that Vivian couldn’t understand but immediately felt sorry for.

Tears streamed down Vivian’s face, crying so hard that she could barely catch her breath. The butler stood silently by her side, waiting for her to finish crying.

The video wasn’t long, and after it finished, it would loop back. Vivian couldn’t remember how many times the video had replayed that day, only that her eyes were swollen, her tear streaks on her face still wet, her face sticky with tears and snot. The butler continued to look at her lovingly, handing her a warm towel after she finished crying.

Perhaps it was seeing her child at last, perhaps it was the release of emotions, perhaps it was this silent companionship, Vivian’s guard against the butler inexplicably relaxed a bit. She took the warm towel from the butler, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Thank you.”

Her voice was hoarse from crying too much, mumbling and sobbing. The butler didn’t tease her but poured her a glass of water, waiting for her to finish breakfast.

“I’m Charlie Davis,” the butler said with a smile.

“Davis?” Vivian looked at the old man in front of her in astonishment. His hair was gray, his once handsome face now wrinkled, but his old cloudy eyes still sparkled with the sharpness and wisdom of his youth.

Those eyes were familiar to Vivian; she had seen them in her mother’s photo album.

Charlie Davis, her mother’s godfather and her grandfather’s deputy. Before her mother married into the Jones family and became Tasneem Jones, she was Tasneem Davis.

“You are…”

“Yes, my dear child, I am Tasneem’s godfather. I haven’t seen her in many years.” Speaking of Tasneem, that fragile girl, Charlie was filled with pity and sighs.

Thinking of her mother, Vivian couldn’t help but cry. “I haven’t heard from my mother in a long time. My father has imprisoned her, and no one knows where she is.”

Charlie gently patted Vivian’s head, unwilling to tell her the cruel truth.

“Your body is not well; you need to rest,” Charlie said. “This island is safe; it used to belong to your grandfather, and now it belongs to you. You can stay here and rest assured that no one can disturb you.”

“No, I can’t stay here. I want my child; I want to be by her side.” Seeing her child, Vivian felt her heart had already flown away, not wanting to leave her for a moment.

“I have to tell you this unfortunate news, Vivian,” Charlie’s words made Vivian stiffen, “Your child is a premature baby. She lived in her mother’s womb for 26 weeks and came into this world unexpectedly.”

“Is she? My baby is a girl?” Vivian asked, surprised.

“Yes, she is a beautiful little princess.”

Vivian didn’t know whether to be happy or sad, tears streaming uncontrollably. She longed to hold her child, to kiss her, to tell her that Mommy loves her.

“Of course, it’s not your fault; you don’t need to blame yourself,” Charlie comforted Vivian. “But it can’t be denied that she’s still very young, her lung function hasn’t fully developed. In order to survive, she has to stay in a special incubator until the doctor determines she can breathe on her own.”

Though she had expected it, confirming the child’s condition from Charlie still caused Vivian to have a bit of an emotional breakdown. “It’s my fault, I couldn’t protect her, it’s all my fault.”

“No, you’ve done well, Vivian,” Charlie said, stroking her golden hair, so soft and similar to Tasneem’s, making even his hardened heart soften a bit. “You’ve been brave in facing Tabdon, brave in protecting your child. You’re already a qualified mother.”

“She’s so small.” Vivian replayed the video, seeing her daughter for the first time.

“Yes,” Charlie said, “You see, she’s a beautiful girl. She’ll have golden hair like yours in the future.”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“I want to see her,” Vivian pleaded with Charlie, “Not in a video, but in person, where I can touch her. Can’t I?”

Charlie shook his head.

The light in Vivian’s eyes extinguished instantly. “Why? Why can’t I see her?”

“She’s very weak, and so are you.”

“No, I’m fine now, I’m really fine. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the doctor.”

“I don’t need to ask the doctor, and I don’t know how unwell you are right now,” Charlie said firmly, “You need to rest.”

“Don’t worry about the child, you’ll see her soon.”

“When is that?”

“Soon,” Charlie said, “Noah will bring her over.”

“Noah?” This was a name completely unfamiliar to Vivian.

Charlie smiled as he explained, “He’s your brother.”

Vivian found it absurd; she shook her head, “My brother is Vilem.”

Charlie smiled faintly, not saying anything more. After tidying up the tableware, he left with a simple “rest well.”