I stopped. Turned slowly. Looked at her with a hollow, self-mocking smile.
"Vivienne. Doesn't any of this disgust you?"
Something in my expression must have registered, because her fury stalled mid-sentence. The outrage froze on her face, and her eyes darted away, unable to hold mine.
"Adrian, what are you talking about? We're husband and wife. There's nothing disgusting about what we do."
I slammed the door shut. I couldn't stand to look at her for another second.
The sweet, vibrant girl I'd once known was gone. All that remained was something vile and shameless.
The next day, while she was at work, I hired a private investigator.
When he laid the files and the videos in front of me, my legs gave out. I collapsed into the chair. In that moment, I wanted to destroy her.
Vivienne. How could you do this to another human being? Doesn't it keep you up at night?
Fine. Then every last thing you've done to me, I will repay double.
I shut myself inside the house for three days straight. I couldn't bring myself to watch those videos.
I couldn't even begin to think about how many people already had.
When Vivienne came home, she found me slumped by the window, drunk out of my mind.
She walked over and pulled me into her arms with a sigh.
"Adrian, I'm sorry. Has someone been running their mouth again? If it's too much for you, we can get a divorce."
She looked so heartbroken, so devoted.
I eased out of her embrace without letting anything show, staring hard into her eyes, searching for even a trace of genuine sorrow, searching for some sign that everything I'd given over the years had been worth something.
"Vivienne, I haven't done anything wrong. Why would you do this to me?"
She froze for a moment, then her eyes rimmed red with what looked like hurt.
"Adrian, I'm not a woman. I understand if you resent me for that. But I really don't want to leave you." Her voice cracked, and she buried her face against me, sobbing.
In that moment, I seemed to see the Vivienne from ten years ago.
Back then, she followed me everywhere, calling me her big brother, pressing the best pastries into my hands.
She even carried me on her back when we went hiking, all the way to the summit.
Under a sky blazing with stars, the girl's eyes shone brighter than any of them. She gripped my hand tight. "Big brother, I never want to leave you. Not in this lifetime. Can we stay together forever?"