Second woman (1)

Sarah reached bar B1S (aka Bones) few minutes before 4 in the afternoon. The main room is dark, with a long bar on the right and few small tables with three chairs each on the left. Besides the bartender, there are only two patrons seated at the bar. Sarah took a seat at one table, and texted Vivian. "Reached, waiting for you."

In few seconds she got a reply. "On my way. See you in a minute."

Shortly after that, Vivian entered the bar.

Sarah was happy and relieved to see her friend. For last few days when Vivian avoided her, Sarah thought that Vivian does not want to be her friend anymore. Sarah has a lot of bad experiences and that makes her fearful of being betrayed and abandoned by people she trusts. After few years of avoiding friendships, Sarah decided to let Vivian close and be friends with her. So far, Vivian didn't betray her trust. Sarah is happy because of that.

Sarah and Vivian got drinks and started chatting happily. Sarah didn't want to ask Vivian about Gabriel 'It must be a sore memory for her, so I don't want to bring him up.'

Sarah was telling Vivian how she joined White corp. and that she met Bridgette, and Evalina. Vivian was laughing when she heard stories about Bridgette and fumed on stories related to Evalina.

"You need to be careful about Evalina, she sounds like someone who gets carried away and does crazy stuff without thinking about consequences.", Vivian warned Sarah.

"Yes. I know... I also believe that she will not stop by herself. She needs to leave the company, and our lives. But I don't have any strong evidence at this time. My only option is to watch my back while I wait for her to make her move." Sarah explained her plan with a concerned expression. It's not easy just to sit and wait for an attack. She is more comfortable when she is on the offensive.

"Why don't you ask Aiden to speak up?"

Sarah shook her head, "She can just accuse him of favoritism, and that will bring trouble for him. I don't want to give her that opportunity. I will deal with her."

Vivian's phone lit up buzzing. She got a message. Phone was on the table, face up, so Sarah was able to see that Vivian got a message from Gabriel. Sarah could not help but ask, "You are texting with Gabriel?"

Vivian looked guilty and nodded.

Sarah observed her friend, "Vivian, what is going on?"

Vivian hesitated, "I'm back with him."

"Really? How come you don't look happy about it?"

There was a long silence until Vivian spoke, "He still didn't clear up things with Victoria."

"Can you say that again? I think I misunderstood you."

"You didn't. He is still with Victoria... it's something that his parents set up. Since they were kids, their parents talked how two of them will get married and give them grandchildren... And he is working on figuring out how to tell them that he does not want to be with Victoria. But they are difficult and stubborn, so it's taking time..."

Sarah was looking at Vivian, and her heart was breaking. "Does Victoria know about you?"

"No.", Vivian shook her head.

"So, you are the second woman?", Sarah blurted out her thoughts without thinking. In next moment she regretted her words, seeing that she hurt Vivian's feelings.

Vivian's head was lowered, she didn't dare look at Sarah. "It's not like that... If Victoria knows about me, there is a chance that she will tell Gabriel's parents, and that will ruin his plans to ease them into the situation.", Vivian's voice was faint. Like she herself does not believe in what she just said.

"Vivian, how can there be something like easing into this kind of situation?"

Vivian sobbed, "Sarah, my heart is broken because of this. But I'm much more miserable without him... No matter how it looks... I need to believe that I'm not making a mistake and that he will do the right thing... Please don't judge me..." Vivian lifted her head and looked at Sarah, tears were falling down her cheeks. "What would you do if this is Aiden? Would you be able to let go of him if he swears that you are the only one in his heart?"

Sarah felt her heart breaking. What would she do? Would she be able to let go? At the thought of not being with Aiden, Sarah felt as if someone sucked all air out of her chest. It was excruciating. Absolutely unbearable. Sarah felt that she is on the verge of crying. She hugged Vivian.

After some time, Sarah said in a faint voice to Vivian: "I don't know... I want to comfort you, but I don't know how. I will not judge you, only you know how you feel. Only you have the right to make decisions for yourself, and no one has the right to judge you. I will support you no matter what your decision is. But don't expect that I will be nice to him."

Vivian looked at Sarah and smiled through her tears. "I can live with that."

Two of them cried and laughed for some time.

The bartender gave them scolding looks few times. He was happy that bar was mostly empty. With their sobbing, two of them will scare his customers away. He hoped that they leave soon.

"Is this why you avoided me last few days?", Sarah asked Vivian.

"Yes", Vivian admitted. "I didn't know how to tell you. I'm ashamed to admit the situation I found myself in."

"Besides Aiden and I, no one else here knows about her, right? We will not tell anyone. So, try to relax and enjoy your time with him, if that is what you chose for yourself.", Sarah advised Vivian.

"Can you tell Aiden, please?"

"Yes. And I am confident that he will not judge you either. Don't worry about it.", Sarah confirmed.

Vivian nodded and showed a grateful smile.