Chapter 253: Growth
Vivian’s POV
To be honest, Vivian had thought that none of Bryce’s family members would have the guts to approach her. Sure Ryan had actually talked to Alex and he was the one that had made it known that she would be welcome at the funeral.
But to have the young man actually coming towards them. That was not something that she had expected. Sure, while inside, she had seen quite a few not so secretive looks thrown her way. But all of the people who had looked at her like that had quickly glanced away when she had looked right back. But now as Bryce’s younger brother came to a stop in front of them, Vivian found herself in a situation that she had not prepared for at all.
Just what could Alex think that the two of them still had to discuss?
His gaze shifting from her to Ryan, the younger man huffed loudly as he got his breathing under control. Unlike his older brother, Alex was a bookworm. He was not particularly out of shape, but he wasn’t extremely fit either, and that showed in how he was panting from just a brief run.
"Can we talk?" He finally asked, wringing his hands in front of him. Staring at Bryce’s brother Vivian was almost tempted to just say no and walk away without hearing him out.
But, feeling Ryan’s presence next to her, she shifted her weight a bit and leaned against him. His body radiating strength that she very much needed in that moment.
"Whatever it is that you wish to say, you can say it in front of Ryan as well," For a split second it looked as though Bryce’s younger brother was about to chicken out and just leave. But, credit to him, instead of doing that, ( which was something that his older brother would have done). Alex took a deep bracing breath and lifted his chin, clearly getting ready to speak his mind.
***
"Vivian Rose, I am sorry for all of the things that my older brother put you through," Alex said in a rush. Then he just stood there, his body tense, his eyes fixed on Ryan like he was expecting her fiancé to just knock him out with a mighty right hook.
Blinking, Vivian struggled to process the words for a few seconds, then they finally hit her.
An apology.
Alex had run all the way to where she and Ryan were to tell her that he was sorry. He could have stayed inside with the rest of his loved ones and pretended like he had not seen her. Yet here he was, clearly terrified out of his mind and very ashamed even though he should not have been, but he was apologizing.
Taking Vivian’s silence to mean that she was not about to accept his apology, the younger man continued rambling on. "I should have apologized a long time ago. All of us realized how badly Bryce was treating you, but we kept silent. No one ever stepped in and our mom was always hoping that he’d change, that you’d rub off on him and he would become a better person. But that never worked, he was just always knocking you down and we did nothing for that I am very sorry," Oh, before she could even second guess herself, Vivian was moving. She only got a moment of Alex’s eyes going wide like he was expecting a hit before she was pulling the younger man closer and hugging him tight. The contact was brief, but when she backed away she was greeted by the sight of a now crying Alex.
"You are not responsible for your older brother’s behaviour, you never were. So while I am grateful for the apology, I want you to know that it was not your fault, you are not him,"
Instead of accepting her words and letting the interaction end there, Alex shook his head. "But I remember those first few times after you’d left him, I was one of the people who begged you to take him back. I shouldn’t have intervened, it was none of my business. You were trying to save yourself and instead we only drew you tighter into a toxic situation,"
Not knowing what to say, she just stood and stared for a beat. Unbelievably grateful when Ryan pulled her in for a sideways hug. Vivian remembered those first few times too.
Back then she’d still had a lot of self worth that Bryce had not broken down. She’d left him after seeing some serious red flags. Then he’d sent so many people her way begging her to come back to him, to reconcile, that he’d really changed and she’d caved.
Looking back on it now, it had been a cycle. Once he’d really gotten her, he had not even bothered sending other people anymore. He’d known that she was so caught up in everything she would return on her own.
Realizing that Alex had at least done enough soul searching to realize that he’d played a part in the toxic cycle, at least in the beginning, Vivian hugged him again.
"You could not have known that his intentions were not pure, but now you know better. And the only thing I can ask of you is that you forgive yourself and that if you ever see situations like that again, you not become a part of the cycle. Do you hear?" The younger man nodded fervently. Reaching out, Vivian gently patted him on the cheek, then she stepped back and leaned against Ryan again.
"Take care of yourself, Alex, and forgive yourself too. I already have," Looking like she had just unburdened his entire soul, Alex nodded one more time, then he turned and began walking back towards the building that held his brother’s body.
As she watched him go, Vivian made a promise to herself. Never again, whatever happened in the future, she would only go where love was and stay so long as the feeling remained.
It was something that a lot of people in the world already knew and lived by, but to her it felt like a revelation. Looking up at Ryan, she found her fiancé already looking down at her.
As they gazed into each other’s eyes without saying a word, Vivian knew for a fact that she did not need to go looking for love anymore. She had already found it.