Chapter 35
The Fallout…
Vivian - The Next Morning
I wake to the sounds of some birds outside the patio doors and the sun streaming into the room. Ben is fast asleep next to me, his arm wrapped over my chest. I catch a glimpse of his ring finger and see the gold band there, proof of what we did yesterday. We got married. We really did it.
I have a husband. A real husband, not a friends-only, win-win deal.
A husband who loves me and whom I love. I carefully extract myself from the bed, then slip a robe on, take my phone off the bedside table, and make my way out onto the balcony similar to the one where, two nights ago, I made a very big decision.
My heart pounds and my stomach churns as I sit down and open YouTube to read the comments.
They’re a mixed bag. A LOT of people writing how disappointed they are in me, and how I betrayed them.
Some saying ‘who cares? It’s her life. She’s got to live it,’ and others saying they’ll never trust me again.
Quite a few are saying that they knew Dominic was gay the whole time, and that they never bought the whole pansexual angle.
Some commented that they hope he'll be making videos with Seth now, because they’d be on board for that.
I knew this was coming. And I deserve it.
But I’m going to write every person back to thank them and apologize.
Then I’m going to fade away quickly from the influencer game.
I’ve already got a new job prospect. Paige needs a partner at her marketing firm, Sun Splash Marketing.
It’s a pay cut, but it’ll be incredibly fun.
Besides, I already have a dozen ideas for how to grow the business, so who knows? Maybe soon it’ll be a whole lot better.
I keep scrolling through the comments, stopping on GinaFey25’s, even though I can hardly bear to read her message.
GinaFey25: I don’t know what to think. I’m happy for you.
Of course I am, because I care about what happens to you.
But I’m also hurt. I followed you for years, and you straight-up lied to all of us.
And I feel abandoned by you for quitting on us all.
I get it. But I’m still sad. And mad. But I still care enough to tell you that you should NOT go check out LornaLuvsLuxury’s last post. She’s gloating and doing her ‘I told you so’ dance.
Do yourself a giant favor and skip it. But also, some of your die-hard bliss girls have rallied around you and left some equally nasty comments telling her to mind her own business.
My stomach twists at the thought of Lorna posting about me and the world knowing I’m a liar. But I have to let it go, because it happened. I did what I did, then I came clean. It took far too long, but I did it. And it’s nice to know some people are sticking by me. I write her back immediately.
Me: I am so sorry, Gina. You are definitely one of the people I was thinking about when I was feeling guilty about lying. I knew I was letting you down. I hope someday you can forgive me. And thank you for letting me know about her post. I will definitely avoid it.
GinaFey25: You’re welcome. I’m sure I’ll get over it someday.
I’ve done my share of stupid things out of desperation before.
I know you don’t want to keep your Blissful Living channel, but maybe you can post once in a while and let us know what you and your new man are up to.
Or just write to me personally. I’d like that.
Me: I’ll definitely slide into your DMs to check in. And I wish you all the best, Gina. I really do. Thank you for being here all this time.
“Good morning, Mrs. James,” Ben says, standing at the patio doors. “Err, or Mrs. Whitlock-James? Or Ms. Whitlock?”
I laugh, then say, “I feel like we know each other well enough to be on a first name basis.”
He walks over and sits on the edge of the chair, putting his hands on either side of my hips. “Do you think so?”
“I really do.”
We share a lingering kiss, then he says, “Are you trying to distract me from the whole last name thing? Because I promise I don’t care at all what you decide to do.” He shakes his head. “Not that I don’t care. What I mean is, I’ll support whatever decision you make.”
“Perfect answer,” I say, kissing him again. “I’d like to go with James, though. Whitlock belongs to a father who never cared.”
“Fresh start—I like that,” he says.
“Yes, a fresh start.”
We kiss some more, and before it can turn into anything, my stomach lets out the mother of all growls. Ben pulls back. “Room service?”
“Definitely,” I say as we both stand up and walk back inside. “And then I thought maybe we could see if Dom can bring Henry by for a couple of hours to play in the pool before we leave for Eden.”
He turns to me. “Really? You don’t want to make this all about us?”
Shaking my head, I say, “To be honest, I’m already missing the little guy just thinking about being gone for another night.”
“God, you’re perfect,” he says, wrapping his arms around me. “You’re exactly what we needed all along.”
“And you’re exactly what I needed too.”
We kiss some more, and as it turns out, I’m not as hungry as I thought because it takes us close to an hour before we remember we were about to order breakfast. We lay in bed next to each other, and I feel happier than I have in my entire life.
I talk to Ben about the comments on the wedding video, and how I’m feeling about all of it.
He listens without saying much. When I’m done, he gives me a serious look.
“This is going to be a hard transition for you in a lot of ways, and I want you to know I’m here for you.
Whatever you need. If you need to talk all day about how you feel, or all month, or all year, I’ll listen. ”
I give him a kiss. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. You’ve given up everything for us. The least I can do is support you through this.”
“I’m okay. I mean, I’m a little sad, and kind of scared, but mostly, I’m filled with joy, and I know whatever happens, we’ve got each other’s backs, and that’s just about the greatest feeling in the world.”