The Man I Loved Was My Enemy

The giant screen in the university auditorium was playing a looped video of my downfall.

The footage showed me walking out of Julian Sterlings private lounge in the middle of the night, my clothes disheveled.

Then, the screen cut to several fake PayPal transaction screenshots, accompanied by bold, blood-red text: *Vivian Vance slept her way into the prestigious Hudson Spring Fellowship!*

The crowd erupted. Countless judging eyes and phone cameras turned toward me, standing in the very back row.

"No wonder Julian protected her so much before. She was just paying him in bed."

I squeezed the art tube in my hands.

Inside was a painting I had spent three grueling months working on. It held my two-year, unspoken crush on Julian.

Julian was the only light in my dark world.

After my mother died, my stepsister, Melanie, did everything she could to ruin me. It was Julian who had always stood in front of me, shielding me from her attacks.

With tears stinging my eyes, I hurried backstage. I needed to ask Julian what was going on.

But just as my hand touched the doorknob, a mans cynical laughter drifted through the door.

"Julian, that was brutal. With that security footage and the fake transaction logs, Vivian will never be able to show her face in the art world again."

"She brought this on herself. She was the one who got Melanie exiled to Paris years ago. Doesn't Vivian care so much about her deceased mother's 'innocent' reputation? Let's see how she likes being branded a cheap climber herself."

My entire body went numb.

Then, Julians voice, cold as ice, pierced through the door. "She owes Melanie. Its time to pay it back."

Someone cheered. "So, when are you going to tell her you're actually Melanies fianc? If she finds out the guy she's been in love with for two years was just setting a trap for Melanie's revenge, she might actually lose her mind."

Silence fell over the room for a second.

Then came Julians detached tone. "Well wrap this up as soon as Melanie lands in New York."

I felt as if a lump of bloody cotton was lodged in my throat. I couldn't breathe.

So, all his gentleness, his protection, the warm soup he sent me late at night... they were all just bait in a trap he laid for Melanie's sake.

*Click.* The door was pulled open from the inside.

Julian saw me standing there. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but he quickly masked it with his usual, hypocritical tenderness.

"Why are you standing here? Ill handle the drama outside. Dont listen to their rumors."

He reached out, habitually trying to cup my face.

I took a step back, dodging his hand.

At the end of the hallway, a crowd of onlookers was waiting for me to break down, waiting for me to throw myself into Julians arms like a desperate dog begging for help.

Instead, I calmly tossed the art tubethe one containing three months of my heart and soulinto the trash can next to me.

"Julian, the painting is ruined. You dont deserve it anyway."

Ignoring Julians shocked expression, I turned and walked out into the freezing rain, my back perfectly straight.

That cheap affectionI didnt want it anymore.

By the time Julian chased me outside, the rain was pouring.

He held an umbrella over my head, his tone carrying the usual arrogance of a savior. "Going back to the dorms will only get you mobbed by paparazzi. Be good. Let me take you back to the Vance estate."

---

###

**Vivians POV**

If this were yesterday, a single "be good" from him would have made me swallow any amount of grievance.

But now, it only made me sick.

I pulled my wrist out of his grip. "No, thank you."

Julian frowned, about to snap, but the phone in his pocket began to buzz.

He glanced at the screen, and his cold, harsh expression instantly melted into soft warmth.

I knew who it was. Melanie was back in New York.

Julian answered the call right in front of me, his voice so gentle it could pour like honey. "Hey, don't worry. Ive suppressed the news. Your father is hosting a welcome-back dinner for you tonight. Im on my way."

Hanging up, he looked at me, drenched in the rain, his patience finally wearing thin. "How long are you going to keep throwing this tantrum?"

I looked at him and suddenly smiled. "Julian, in what capacity are you attending the Vance family dinner tonight?"

Julians face stiffened. He didn't answer.

I didn't give him another glance. I turned and walked straight into the storm.

When I arrived at the Vance mansion, what awaited me wasnt a dry towel, but a brutal slap across the face from my father.

*Slap!*

The force knocked my head to the side, and blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

My father threw a printed withdrawal statement at my face. "Do you want to disgrace this family completely? Melanies welcome dinner is tonight, and the Sterling family is coming. Sign this. Admit that you used improper means and withdraw from the fellowship. Dont drag your sister's name into your dirt!"

Eleanor, Melanies mother, sat on the sofa, sighing hypocritically. "Vivian, once a girls reputation is ruined, she should learn to be sensible. Don't make things difficult for Melanie."

No one asked if I was framed.

In the Vance house, even my breathing was considered a sin.

I wiped the blood from my lip, picked up the statement, and said coldly, "Fine. Ill attend the dinner tonight."

Back in my cramped attic room, I reached into the deepest drawer and pulled out a manila envelope. Inside was my acceptance letter from the Carmel Art Restoration Studio in California.

My Snapchat was sitting on a message from the program director. They would only hold my spot for three more days.

I took a picture of the acceptance letter and sent it back. "Ill report in three days."

I was leaving.

I was going to disappear completely from this living hell created by Julian and the Vance family.

But before I left, I was going to tear off their hypocritical masks with my own hands.

Melanies welcome party was incredibly grand.

She wore a custom haute couture gown, looking like a delicate white rose, socializing effortlessly among the elite guests.

The moment Julian walked in, Melanie naturally slipped her arm through his, calling out sweetly, "Julian!"

Julian looked down at her, his eyes filled with pure adoration.

Halfway through the party, my father clapped his hands and announced loudly, "Tonight, besides welcoming Melanie home, I have another piece of great news! The Vance and Sterling families have agreed on an alliance. These two are deeply in love, and their engagement party will be held next month!"

Thunderous applause broke out.

All the guests turned their malicious side-glances toward me, standing in the dark corner.

---

###

**Vivians POV**

They were all waiting for methe "discarded toy Julian got tired of"to go crazy.

Instead, I set my glass down and walked straight toward the happy couple.

Melanie pretended to be innocent, grabbing my hand. "Vivian, you don't hate me for keeping this from you, do you? Julian and I... our families were worried youd feel awkward, so we didnt say anything sooner."

Julian stared at me, his brows knitted tightly. A flicker of panic, which even he didn't seem to realize, flashed in his eyes.

But I just curved my lips, my voice ringing clear throughout the hall.

"Why would I? Congratulations, Julian."

Julian's face went instantly cold.

A flash of jealousy burned in Melanies eyes. She grabbed my arm and forced me toward the VIP lounge. "We haven't caught up in so long, Vivian. Come talk to me."

The moment the lounge door shut, Melanies sweet disguise shattered into pieces.

"Nice act," Melanie sneered maliciously. "Aren't you dying of jealousy inside? Your mother stole my mother's place, so Im going to take everything from you! Now everyone knows youre just as dirty as your mother was. How are you going to compete with me?"

"My mother married my father before she even knew you existed!" I balled my hands into fists.

Melanie suddenly let out a creepy laugh.

She grabbed a glass from the table, smashed it hard onto the floor, and then grabbed my hand, slamming her own palm down onto the jagged shards!

Blood gushed out instantly.

The door was kicked open, and Julian rushed in.

Melanie immediately collapsed into his arms, sobbing. "Vivian! I was just trying to ask you to stop bothering Julian! Why did you stab me with glass?!"

I stood there, my own hand dripping with blood from the flying shards.

But Julian didn't even look at me. He swept Melanie up into his arms.

As he walked past me, his gaze was like a knife. "Vivian, do you have to be this sick to be satisfied?"

I looked at my bleeding hand. I didn't shed a single tear.

In the study, my father was furious.

"Get on your knees!"

I stood tall, staring coldly at the man who was biologically my father. "I didn't push her."

"You dare talk back?! If Melanies hand is ruined and she can't paint, I will ruin your life!" My father grabbed an inkstone and hurled it at my feet.

Outside the door, Melanie leaned against Julian, her hand wrapped in thick gauze, crying dramatically.

Julian looked down at me like I was a stubborn criminal. "Kneel and apologize to Melanie. Do it, and Ill pretend this never happened."

"And if I don't?"

A cruel light flashed in Julians eyes. "Then the scandal about you sleeping your way into the Hudson Fellowship will hit the front page of every major outlet tomorrow morning. Vivian, dont force my hand."

How hilarious. The man who pushed me off the cliff was now standing on high ground, demanding my gratitude.

---

###

**Vivians POV**

I suddenly laughed, so hard that tears almost came out. "Julian, what makes you think you can still threaten me?"

The study fell into a dead silence.

My eyes, which used to be filled with endless love for him, were now completely dead.

I didn't want him anymore.

My father waved his hand impatiently. "Lock her in the pool house storage room! Don't let her out to embarrass us before Melanies engagement party!"

Several bodyguards brutally dragged me away.

As I passed Julian, I stopped, my gaze sweeping over the two men who had pushed me to the edge.

"You both want me to disappear, right? Fine. Ill give you exactly what you want."

Julians heart skipped a beat for some reason. He instinctively called out, "Vivian!"

But the only response he got was the cold *click* of the storage room lock.

The dark storage room had no heating. It was freezing like an ice box.

I pulled out my burner phone, which I had hidden in my sleeve, and dialed my best friend, Chloe.

"Are they insane?! They locked you up like a dog?!" Chloes voice was shaking with rage over the line.

I looked out the window at the dark night sky, my voice eerily calm. "Chloe, Im going to Carmel."

"When?!"

"In three days."

During these three days, I needed to gather all the evidence of Melanie framing me and my mother.

I was leaving, but I wasn't running away with my tail between my legs.

I was going to dump every bit of dirt they threw at me right back onto their faces!

I was locked up for two days.

The Vance family told everyone I was sick and couldn't see anyone.

Julian came once. He looked at me through the barred window, holding a box of medicine.

"Melanie has decided not to press charges."

I was looking through my mothers old sketchbooks, not bothering to look up.

Julian set the medicine on the window sill. "Your hand needs antibiotics."

I glanced at it. "Thank you, Melanies fianc."

Hearing that, Julians face darkened.

He stayed silent for a moment before speaking quietly, "You didn't use to talk to me like this."

"I didn't know who you really were back then."

His breath hitched. "Vivian, I admit some things were handled poorly, but you need to think about why Melanie was sent abroad in the first place. Shes fragile, and she spent two years alone in Paris. You owe her an apology."

I finally looked up. "She applied for that exchange program herself. Her signature is on the application, and the recommendation letter was signed by my father, not me."

Julian froze.

"You can look it up if you don't believe me," I said. "Though, you probably don't want to."

Julians brows knitted tightly. He opened his mouth to say something, but his phone rang again.

It was Melanie, crying on the other end, saying her hand hurt and she was scared of scarring.

He looked at me one last time, but in the end, he turned and left.

Chloe snuck in through the back fence at dawn on the third day.

She brought me a maids uniform and pressed a small flash drive into my palm. "I found the original backstage footage from the auditorium. The guy who edited it was from the student union, and hes tight with Melanie. Also, the security guards cleaning cart had a dashcam on it when the lounge incident happened. I got that footage too."

---

###

**Vivians POV**

I gripped the flash drive tightly. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, just go," Chloe whispered. "If you don't leave now, your father will literally drag you to the engagement party and force you to apologize on live stream."

I changed into the uniform and followed Chloe out the back gate.

I didn't take a single thing Julian had ever bought me. I only took my ID, my mothers sketchbooks, a few old clothes, and my acceptance letter.

Chloe's car was waiting at the corner of the street.

Seeing how pale I was, Chloe couldn't help but curse, "The Vance family and Julian are literally a pack of wolves"

"Save your breath," I smiled softly. "They aren't worth the energy."

After dropping me off at a temporary motel, Chloe still didn't feel safe leaving me alone, so she insisted on staying the night.

We squeezed into the small bed, neither of us sleeping much.

Chloe cursed the Vance family until her throat was hoarse, then suddenly went quiet. "Vivian... are you scared?"

"Yes," I admitted.

I was scared of the unfamiliarity of Carmel. I was scared that my hand injury would affect my painting. I was scared that the Vance family and Julian wouldn't let me go, and I was scared that in some weak moment, I would soften because of some old memories.

Chloe rolled over and hugged me tightly. "Go anyway. Being scared is no reason to stay."

I nodded in the dark.

I finally had someone with whom I didn't have to pretend to be strong.

And because someone knew I was scared, I found the courage to take the next step.

First, I went to the university.

My rejected painting from the Hudson Spring Exhibition was piled in the corner of the storage room. The canvas had been splashed with black ink, the title *Spring Rain on Hudson Street* smeared into an ugly mess.

The storage manager looked apologetic. "Vivian, the administration ordered us to discard this."

I knelt down, touching the wooden frame with my uninjured hand.

"Ill discard it myself."

I took the painting with me and handed the flash drive to a professor I trusted.

The professors face darkened after watching it. He asked if I wanted to release it immediately.

I shook my head. "Please keep a copy of the original for now. Once I leave New York, submit it to the board."

The professor looked at me. "Are you sure about this?"

"I am."

When I left the campus, the sun was just rising.

Sitting in the taxi, it was the first time I hadn't sent Julian a single text.

Outside the window, New York was slowly waking up. The streetlights faded into the distance, and I suddenly felt a weight lifting from my chest.

I wasn't unwanted.

I was just finally choosing to walk away.

I couldn't leave New York immediately, though.

The director of the Carmel Studio notified me that some paperwork required my physical presence at Columbia University's administration office, which would take at least two days.

Chloe almost lost her temper, but I remained calm.

"It's fine. It gives me time to tie up loose ends."

By the time I went back to campus to finish the paperwork, the wind had already begun to shift.

Since my professor had submitted the original video, the university had put my suspension on hold.

However, the anonymous school forums were still filled with hate, claiming I had bribed the professor to clear my name, or that I was using Julian's influence to get off the hook.

---

###

**Vivians POV**

I didn't reply to any of the threads.

I went to the records office to retrieve my files. When I came out, I ran straight into Melanie.

Her hand was still wrapped in gauze, and she was surrounded by a few of her classmates.

Seeing me, her smile faltered. "What are you still doing at school?"

"Paperwork."

"For Carmel?" Melanie sneered. "That place is a barren desert. Youre actually going? Well, makes sense. Staying in New York would only remind everyone of your cheap scandal."

I stared at her. "Whether I leave or stay has nothing to do with you."

Melanies eyes flashed with anger. She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper only the two of us could hear. "You think getting some footage will save you? Vivian, dont forget. Your mothers reputation is still in my mothers hands. If we want to, she will always be a dirty homewrecker."

My fingers tightened around my files.

Melanie always knew exactly where to stab me.

If she had mentioned my mother in the past, I would have lost my mind.

But this time, I just looked up. "Then you better make sure your story has no loopholes."

Before Melanie could react, Chloe came rushing from the other end of the hallway, holding up her phone. "So sorry to interrupt, but I was just live-streaming! Melanie, care to explain to the viewers what you mean by 'her mothers reputation is in your mother's hands'?"

Melanies face drained of color.

The surrounding students began to whisper.

I didn't stay to watch the drama. I hugged my file folder tightly and walked away from the crowded hallway.

I was done fighting with Melanie.

I knew where I was going, and I knew how I would speak for myself from now on.

That live stream quickly went viral on the university forum.

People started questioning Melanies sweet, innocent persona. Some even traced the hate threads about me and realized they all originated from the same few IP addresses.

I didn't participate in the online discussions, but I took screenshots of every single thread.

I no longer expected others to fight for my justice, but I would make sure every piece of malice left a paper trail.

That night, the Vance family sent a car to pick me up.

The driver said my father demanded I return home immediately. The Sterling family elders were also there.

Chloe tried to stop me, but I thought about it and said, "I'll go."

"Why?!"

"For the last time."

The Vance mansion was brilliantly lit.

Julian was sitting on the sofa, looking noticeably more exhausted than a few days ago.

Seeing me walk in, his first question was actually, "Where have you been staying?"

I didn't answer.

My father slid a new statement toward me. "Melanies engagement is around the corner. We can't have any negative press. Sign this. Admit that you and your friend edited that live stream to frame Melanie."

I looked down at the paper and suddenly laughed.

It was amazing how biased a human heart could be.

I picked up the pen. But instead of signing, I ripped the paper in half right in front of my father's relieved face.

"I am never taking the fall for any of you again."

---

###

**Vivians POV**

Julian stood up abruptly. "Vivian!"

I looked at him. "And that includes you, Julian."

My father raised his hand to strike me, but this time, I didn't flinch or look down.

I stared straight into his eyes, my voice steadier than I ever thought possible. "You can slap me, but it won't make that paper real. You can disown me as your daughter, but you will never use me to save Melanie's face again."

The maids in the living room froze.

My fathers hand stayed suspended in mid-air, as if he was realizing for the first time that his silent, submissive daughter had finally grown thorns.

Julian was staring at me too.

The annoyance in his eyes was still there, but beneath it was something elsesomething like shock, as if he had never seen me look so fierce.

I used to think that when pushed into a corner, sacrificing myself to keep the peace was the right thing to do.

But tonight, I refused.

And so, the humiliation that was meant for me stayed right where it belongedwith them.

I didn't stay at the Vance house that night.

Julian chased me out to the courtyard, grabbing my wrist.

The wound on my hand hadn't healed yet, and his grip made me turn pale with pain.

He instantly let go, his voice softening. "Let me drive you."

"No."

"Vivian, we need to talk."

I looked at him, realizing how tragically late those words were.

When I wanted him to explain, he was comforting Melanie. When I wanted him to believe me, he was forcing me to apologize. When I was locked in the storage room, he only cared about whether Melanie would press charges.

Now he finally wanted to talk, but I had nothing left to say.

"Julian, Im leaving for Carmel tomorrow."

His face paled. "Who gave you permission to leave?"

I smiled softly. "See? You don't want to talk, Julian. You just want to control me."

Julian froze.

A car pulled up at the gates.

Chloe poked her head out the window. "Vivian, get in!"

I shook off Julians hand and ran to the car. Chloe hit the gas immediately.

Julians hand was left hanging in the air, his eyes finally filled with genuine panic.

"Vivian! Don't try to scare me by running away!"

I looked at him through the glass. "I'm not trying to scare you."

As the car sped off, Chloe cursed all the way.

I didn't say anything.

I leaned against the headrest, watching the New York skyline disappear behind us.

I grew up here, lost my mother here, and gave my heart to Julian here.

Now that I was leaving, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Chloes rants finally quieted down. She didn't tell me not to be sad; she just said, "Even if youre hurting, don't look back. You don't run back to the knife that stabbed you."

Hearing those words, the ache in my chest finally found a place to rest.

It turned out that having someone on my side didn't require me to prove my worth first.

The next morning, I went to the bank, deactivated the credit card my father had given me, and dropped off every single gift Julian had ever given me at the Sterling Groups front desk.

The receptionist recognized me, looking incredibly awkward.

"Miss Vance, Mr. Sterling isn't in today."

"Thats fine. Just make sure he gets this."

On top of the box was a neat list, detailing when and where he had given me each item.

No complaints, no questions, just a clean return.