Chapter 55: Do You Think I'm At Fault?

'It's not the time to think about such things right now,' Vivian told herself as she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

She needed to focus on what was important at the moment, and that was comforting Gwen and making sure that her daughter was alright. And so she walked towards Gwen's bedroom door, knocking on it.

"Gwen, please let me in." Vivian said in a gentle voice. "I know you're hurt and angry right now, but we should talk about it. Don't keep it inside of you, or you'll just end up feeling worse in the end."

She waited patiently for her, hoping that Gwen would respond soon. But, after several moments, there was no answer.

'She won't talk to me?' Vivian felt hurt as she pressed her ear against the door.

At first, she didn't hear anything, but then she heard muffled sobs coming from inside the room, followed by sniffling. She knew that Gwen was crying, and it pained her heart to think about what her daughter might be going through at this moment.

'Oh, my poor baby...' Vivian thought to herself as sadness washed over her. She then knocked harder on the door again. "Gwen! I won't leave you alone until you let me in!"

Once again, there was no answer from within the room. Vivian began to worry about what was happening on the other side of the door, but soon enough, she heard footsteps approaching, followed by a soft click as the door opened up to reveal a tear-stained face staring back at her with red, puffy eyes.

"Come in..." Gwen mumbled in a weak voice as she stepped aside to let Vivian into the bedroom.

As soon as she entered, Vivian wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling her into a tight embrace. She held her close for several moments before letting go and taking Gwen's hands in her own, giving them a gentle squeeze.

"Come, let's sit down on the bed and talk." Vivian said, leading her to the bed and making her sit on it. She then sat down next to her daughter, who was still sobbing quietly.

"There, there... It's okay, sweetie. Don't cry anymore, and try to calm down first." Vivian whispered in a soft voice as she rubbed Gwen's back. "Everything will be fine, I promise."

After a while, Gwen stopped crying and began to regain control over her emotions, wiping away the tears from her face with the back of her hand, though they continued to flow down her cheeks no matter how hard she tried to stop them.

She was still shaking slightly as she looked up at Vivian with a sad expression, and the pain in her eyes was evident in her every move and gesture.

"Mom... what should I do?" Gwen murmured as she struggled to speak, her voice quivering as she tried to contain her sorrow. "I don't know if I can handle this... I'm so confused...

I don't understand why he would do this to me... How could he cheat on me like this?!"

She then broke down and began sobbing again, burying her face in Vivian's chest as her tears wetted her clothes.

"What... what do you mean?"

"Well, let me tell you something about your father that I never told anyone. You see, we didn't get intimate until our marriage due to his beliefs. And I accepted it since I thought he was just being romantic and wanted to wait for it."

She then let out a sad sigh, her expression turning sorrowful. "But everything changed after your birth... I thought it would be the same as before, but I was wrongvery wrong. It turned out that he had lost his ability to perform his duties as a husband during the pregnancy period.

That's why we stopped having sex after that."

"What?! But... I'm nineteen! That means you haven't had any in nineteen years?" Gwen was flabbergasted upon hearing Vivian's story.

"Yes, it has been a very long time since the last time your father touched me. Anyways, you should have realized by now what I was trying to tell you, Gwen."

"I don't know, Mom... We still saw him kissing another woman on TV. How can I just ignore it and accept it like that?"

Gwen replied after a while. She looked down at her hands, fiddling with her fingers as she spoke, unsure of what she should do.

Vivian nodded her head, as she also found that unacceptable, but suddenly she remembered something. "Didn't you just say that it was on TV? Are you sure that was real and not an act?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Gwen asked.

"It means what I said. What if that wasn't real and was an act for an ad? You do know that even many married actors kiss other actors to film some romantic scenes, right? So how can you be so sure that it was real?"

"You mean that... he might not have cheated on me? That he was just acting in that ad?" Gwen looked up at Vivian in surprise, her eyes glistening with renewed hope and optimism.

"Yes, I'm not saying that for sure, but you should find out before jumping to conclusions, or else you'll regret it later. You know what they saydon't shoot the messenger." Vivian replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "It's your decision.

Whatever you want to do, I will support you, no matter what. Don't forget that I am your mother, and I will always love you. So, you don't have to hesitate to ask for my advice and support if needed. But in the end, it's all up to you.

I can't make this decision for you."

Gwen thought about it for a few moments before making her decision and smiling at Vivian. "Thanks, Mom. I know what I'm going to do now."

"Good. Just remember, you need to follow your heart and not some stupid beliefs." Vivian smiled as she stroked Gwen's hair.