Chapter 10
Vivienne and Albert went to an annuisement park. They rode the Ferris wheel, played on the carousel, and shared ice cream.
Vivienne kept a sweet smile on her face the whole time, as it the earlier tension had never been there. Albert stayed by her side, but his mind was elsewhere.
In the evening, they went to a fancy restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was holding a couple’s quiz. If they answered ten questions correctly, the prize would be a pair of limited–edition couple rings.
Vivienne spotted the challenge and immediately latched onto All
Albert “Albert, let’s give it a try! We’re so in tune. We’ll definitely win!”
Albert wanted to reture, but seeing the hopeful look in her eyes, he finally nodded, “Alright.”
They sat down in the challenge area, and the host began asiding the questions.
The first question was, “Where was your first date?”
Vivienne quickly wrote down “amusement park“. Albert paused for a moment before writing “beach“.
The bost looked at both answers and smiled. “It seems like your answers don’t quite match.”
Vivienne’s expression instantly darkened, and she turned to Albert. “Albert, our first date was at the amusement park!”
Albert froze for a second, then realized that he’d instinctively written down the location of his first date with Melanie.
A rush of complicated emotions swept through him, and be quietly muttered, “Sorry, I got it wrong.”
The second question was, “What’s your partner’s favorite color?”
Without hesitation, Vivienne wrote “blue“. But Albert wrote “white“. It was Melanie’s favorite color
The third question asked, “What’s your partner’s favorite food?”
Vivience wrote “steak“, while Albert wrote “baked fish“. It was Melanie’s favorite dish.
For the fourth, they were asked, “What’s your partner’s biggest pet peeve?”
Vivienne wrote “being ignored” Albert wrote “being lied to“. Those were Melanie’s words.
As the quiz continued, Albert’s answers diverged more and more from Vivienne’s. By the time they finished, they had answered every question wrong and, of course, didn’t win the rings
Vivienne stared at Albert, her volov shaking. “What kind of answers were those, Albert?”
Albert felt awkward. Just as he was about to explain, she’d already tumed and walked back to
to the table.
To his surprise, she didn’t make a scene. She just silently ate her meal, but her eyes were red and filled with a quiet sense of grievance.
On the way back, Albert tried to explain, “Vivi, Melanie’s my wife. I just automatically thought of her when those questions came up and wrote the wrong answers. Don’t be mad at me, okay?
Vivien
kept her head down. Her voice choked with emotion as she said, “I’m not mad. I know I have no right to be mad. I just feel hurt. We love each other, can’t be together”
but we
As Albert looked at her, a wave of complicated emotions washed over him.
He reached out and gently wiped away her tears. “This is good enough, Vivi, I’ll always love you and take care of you.”
Vivienne looked up at him, her eyes filled with hope. “Kissi
site, Albert.”
Alvert froze for a moment. Alter some hesitation, bu gently kissed her on the cheek
Vivienne wasn’t unbled. She pointed at her lips. “Kiss ine liere.”
The date is over for today. I need to go see Melande.”
Albert’s expression inanediately darkened as he said stemily. “Enough, Vivi. We can’t do this. Thu With that, he opened the car door and walked into the hospital without a second glance.
