** THIS CHAPTER IS NOW EDITED**

"Everyone sees who I appear to be but only a few know the real me. You only see what I choose to show you. There's so much behind my smile you don't know."

--Anonymous

~~~~

8 Years Later...

Vivienne Montgomery stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and took in the particular view of the night sky of New York city. The city was always busy; the streets preoccupied by pedestrians, cars honking as if everybody were in a hurry to reach somewhere, the towers and streets eloquently lit as if every day was a Christmas Day. It always seemed alive. But today was different, the city seemed dead. No pedestrians walking down the streets, no cars honking, not a building lit except hers. It seemed the darkness was mocking her, provoking her inner demons.

Moving away from the window she settled in her executive chair. A light knock sounded on her wooden cabin door. It had to be Marissa since every other employee had already left.

"Come in Marissa. It's already late. You should have left earlier, you know. I heard the forecast; they said that there was going to be a bad storm tonight," she complained while swiveling in her chair slightly to gaze at the dark clouds looming menacingly over the skyscrapers.

"I was just leaving, thought of popping in and asking you if you want to go visit the kids tonight. They have been asking for you every day. You should come up sometimes. David has been asking about your whereabouts too."

Marissa was in her late 40s; married to a man she had fallen in love with, with fraternal twins whom she loved a lot. Vivienne had always looked upto her, asking for her advice while making tough decisions, sharing her ideas and every little tidbits with her. She had been a mother figure to her for 8 years now. She had taken Vivienne under her wing when she had went knocking on her door that stormy day. Marissa had always cared for her, tended to her as if she was her own child.

Vivienne had met Jason and Emma when they were toddlers, 3 yrs old both of them. Emma was a minute younger than Jason. Last she had seen them were at the birthday celebration when they had just turned 6.

"I will go meet them, but not today Marissa. I have a lot of work to do. I might stay in the office tonight. Maybe this Sunday I'll come up to your house. I too have been missing Jason and Emma. They must have grown up now." She smiled at her. A memory of Jason tugging at her hair strands invaded her thoughts.

"Oh yes they have grown big now, 11 yrs old both of them. You should take some time off for yourself Vivi." She assessed from between her black-rimmed glasses. "You have been working too hard from past few days. Do you even eat? Look at you, you have become so thin! You work too hard for your own good Vivi," she scolded her mildly.

"Marissa, I do take my meals at time. Okay...I missed breakfast...and maybe lunch too and uh...well supper time's also over," she said, a sheepish smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Marissa huffed down at her. "Seriously? And now you are even thinking of skipping dinner? What's come up so important that is hindering you from taking your meals? Another deal to sign, eh? Another board meeting? I'll order you a meal and I shall not be leaving until you finish it." Now she was really in form, scolding her in her full voice.

Vivienne sighed and pushed deeper into the chair. Propping up her legs on the desk, she rubbed her eyes. "Okay Marissa, you order me a meal and I promise I will finish it but you don't have to stay up late. David must be worried by now and he must be thinking what's keeping you up so late."

Marissa took out the menu card from the folder and ordered her a complete meal, from starters to dessert. "It will come up within 20 minutes. Don't forget to come this Sunday. We'll be looking forward to your visit. Take care Vivi." She came round the oak desk to give her a hug. "Are you sure you are going to be okay? I could stay with you if you want. I will call David and explain it to him."

That was the problem; Vivienne didn't want to keep Marissa up this late. It seemed selfish of her. She could not ask her to stay up this late just because she could not sleep at night. "No Marissa, you should go. I'll be fine here. I've stayed up in the office before. It is okay, you go now. David must be waiting to get his hands on you!" She winked at her.

Marissa became red like a tomato. She was so lucky to have David in her life. Not all men were good; she had been well acquainted with the worst.

"You naughty girl! I'll text you when I reach home," Marissa said, bubbling with laughter.

~*~

It had been 1 hour since Marissa left and Vivienne had received her text message as she had promised she would send. Dinner was delivered after exactly twenty minutes.

She was working on her new presentation for the board meeting coming up next Tuesday. If she got the deal, Sensual Senses would get a boost to its fund. It was very important that she got the deal. She was tapping on her keyboard when a sudden lightening passed through the dark dense sky followed by the most bone crackling thunder she had ever heard.

Vivienne jerked away from the keyboard causing it to clatter to the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chin and settled more deeply in her chair.

The storm was getting worse. She could hear the wind howling and the rain spluttering heavily on the glass windows. The night would have been a perfect setting to shoot a horror movie.

Vivienne had never liked the storms and the thunders. It always made her feel small and vulnerable and she didn't like to feel that way.

She always liked to be in control. Freaking out at the merest of changes in her regular schedule was what she did best. Leading an ordered life where there was no place for surprises was what she liked. She was a born perfectionist and always liked to create a commanding presence of herself. There was no place for mistakes in her world.

A controlled and commanding position was what she craved for. Some people called her a control freak. The media portrayed her as a cold hearted business woman who would go to any lengths to prove her high and mighty self.

She was anything but cold hearted. The people out there didn't know her, didn't know what had happened to her. They only saw what she chose to show them. She had built a wall around her heart, protecting it, the wall not everybody was willing to cross. Only Marissa and David knew her well.

It had been 8 years since she had left India. That night and the days that followed afterwards along with those 4 years spent at the rehabilitation center was still vividly etched in her. She was only fourteen years old then.

Changing her name after she ran away seemed appropriate at that time, especially when she was hell-bent on having a new beginning. She changed every little detail about herself and became Vivienne Montgomery instead.

Another thunderbolt echoed through the night sky, startling her from her thoughts. A tear rolled down her cheeks and landed on her trouser clad thigh.

She stood then and dashed away at the tear streak angrily. Men were always like that she thought. They took sex for granted, as if it was their birthright. She despised men, hated them with every bone in her body. Never would she ever again let a man have control over her. She was not that naive little girl anymore; she was mature beyond her age. Her childhood had taught her an important lesson-never trust anyone blindly and definitely not a man.

Those days on that wrecked ship had hardened her up. She was a strong woman now; nothing could break her ever again, nothing. With hunched shoulders, she reassured herself. She had promised herself she would never show her emotions to anyone. So, she had built a shell around herself and tried to block out any kind of emotions she felt.

Marissa had said she had become an automaton; a robot; a workaholic. Marissa was right, she always engrossed herself in work and blocked out everything that were not related to work.

Romance, love and relationships were completely unexplored territory to her. Sex was an occasional physical thing that she needed to calm her raging hormones sometimes or just to feel belonged for awhile. But she always made sure that she was the one who called the shots before it took turn towards a relationship. This was the way she liked it; uncomplicated sex and no fussing over emotions.

She glanced at her wristwatch to find that it was already 3 am. The storm subsided after a few hours. She moved over to the couch and curled up with her hands under the pillow and tried to sleep. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, she never did but a short nap was going to help her somehow. At 22 now, she was a completely different person from the 14 year old girl. With the last vestiges of her thoughts she dozed off.

♡♡♡♡♡

Hella fellas!

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