Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 106: Cheap Love

Chapter 106: Cheap Love

When Alon got Mandy’s call, he nearly jumped out of his chair. "Where are you?" he asked, his voice tight.

"I don’t know exactly. I just found Vivian. She was..." Mandy’s voice trailed off, leaving the rest hanging in the air.

As Mandy continued, Alon’s vision blurred, and his hands started to tremble. "I’ll be there right away!" he promised, his voice urgent.

He quickly alerted the bodyguards who were still out searching and turned to Lyra. "Something urgent’s come up today. Can we pick this up tomorrow?"

It was clear his mind was elsewhere, no longer on the conversation with her.

"Sure," Lyra said with a slight smirk, her tone more accommodating than expected.

The housekeeper escorted Lyra to the door, but before she could say anything, Morrison arrived in a Lev, ready to pick her up. "I figured you would need to head back."

He stepped out quickly, opening the door for her. "Everything’s set at the factory."

"Good," Lyra nodded as she climbed into the car.

Once they were out of the housekeeper’s view, she allowed herself a small smile. "See if your friend wants to be my driver. If not, find him something else that fits."

"He only finished elementary school, so he’d definitely take the driving job. All of us just want to escape that awful place."

Back in the Forgotten Quarter, Mandy watched as the bodyguards swarmed like bees, drawing unwanted attention throughout the area.

"Vivian’s inside," she said quietly.

The bodyguards stormed the building, and the chaotic sounds turned into painful screams.

The man who had been assaulting Vivian froze. Terror washed over him as multiple particle guns aimed straight at him.

Shaking, he threw his hands up in surrender.

Vivian, bruised and battered, struggled to stand. The security captain, a level-seven Peculiar, quickly removed his jacket and placed it around her.

Blood trailed down her legs as she pulled a gun from the man’s body and fired at his manhood.

Before collapsing, Vivian managed to whisper, "Cut it off. I want him alive."

The entire Forgotten Quarter felt the tension rise, with other groups too frightened to even make a sound.

When Alon finally arrived, the bodyguards had already decimated the group. "Where is she?" he demanded.

The security captain opened the car door, revealing the disheveled Vivian inside.

Without warning, Alon kicked the captain to the ground.

"I told you to find and protect her, and this is what you give me?!" His voice was raw with anger, his eyes red with rage. No matter how frustrated he had been with Vivian’s reckless behavior, all he felt now was overwhelming pain.

The bodyguards stood in silence, heads bowed. He was fully aware that they were in deep trouble once they got back.

On the drive to the hospital, Alon turned to the security captain, his voice icy. "Where is it?"

The captain whispered something, and Alon’s expression grew darker. "Lock that monster up and give him a proper ’welcome,’" he ordered, a dangerous edge to his tone.

After Vivian was treated for her injuries, Alon noticed Mandy sitting quietly in the corner. He walked over, his face stern.

Mandy looked up, her eyes unfocused. "Alon..."

"Miss Wright," Alon cut her off, his voice cold. "Please address me properly."

His words, sharp as a blade, drained what little color remained in Mandy’s face.

"Why didn’t you contact me sooner? Instead, you turned off your opticomputer, just like Vi!" The once gentle and composed man now stood before her, his voice as biting as a winter chill. "Vivian suffered because of this, and you bear at least half the blame! Don’t you feel any guilt as her friend, knowing what she went through?"

He gently tilted her chin upward, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I thought you were obsessed with me. But now, it seems it’s just ordinary and cheap feelings."

Those words hit harder than any blow.

Mandy felt like her heart had been torn out and left to dangle on display, with nothing but ridicule and contempt from those watching.

Yet, she was the one who had been forced into this mess.

She knew there had been a way out, a chance for both of them to escape, but Vivian had used her as a distraction, a mere stepping stone.

She had barely made it back alive.

Slowly, Mandy’s expression shifted from shock and hurt to a cold emptiness, tinged with sarcasm. "If I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t have reached out." It was something she would never normally say. "I could’ve just run, left Vivian behind to be captured and tortured... By the time you found her, she would’ve been completely broken, wouldn’t she? And she took it on herself, not me."

Alon’s face twisted with anger as he pushed her away. "You’re a snake! How could Vivian ever be friends with someone like you?"

Tears streamed down Mandy’s face as she covered it with her hands, her voice breaking. "You’re right... I never should’ve been her friend. I’ll return the money. I need to speak to Vivian, and once she’s awake, I’ll say what I have to and then disappear. You’ll never have to deal with me again."

With that, she clutched her torn clothes and slowly slid down the wall, ending up on the cold floor.

...

In the other room, with a skilled healer at her side, Vivian woke up quickly, though she looked far from the girl she had been before.

Sitting up, she glanced around, realizing she had been saved, and frustration flared within her. She slammed her fist against the bed.

Those bastards—they would pay for this.

"Vivian, how are you feeling?" Mandy’s voice came from the bedside. She was now in fresh clothes, her demeanor calm, but something in her eyes made Vivian uneasy.

"Yes, I feel blissful and blessed after being tortured by those animals! And you?" As she yelled impatiently, Vivian remembered how she had pushed Mandy toward those men to buy herself time, a small pang of guilt gnawing at her.

But Mandy’s gaze had changed. No longer cautious, she stared straight at Vivian, her eyes reflecting the cold, harsh light like a specter of revenge. "I killed those men, found you, and then called your brother for help."

She didn’t give Vivian a chance to respond before adding, "But your brother blamed me for not contacting him sooner and accused me of being partly responsible for what happened to you. He humiliated me."

Guilt briefly flickered in Vivian’s mind, but Mandy’s tone, dripping with sarcasm and bitterness, made her eyes widen.

"Are you blaming me?" Vivian asked.

"Shouldn’t I?" Mandy slowly pulled back her clothes, revealing the bruises and bite marks on her skin. "You were rebelling against your family, but why did I have to pay the price alongside you?"

Vivian quickly looked away, unable to bear the sight of Mandy’s injuries. "Don’t forget, you owe my family money. What’s wrong with asking you to help out?"

"I’ve already paid it back. And I’m not saying this to get an apology." Mandy stood up, her expression unreadable. "Vivian, do you know the difference between a two-astrocredit loaf of bread and one that costs ten?"

Vivian didn’t answer, so Mandy continued, her voice cool and distant. "For you, it’s just a matter of taste. But for me, it’s the difference between eating and starving."

Mandy paused, her words heavy with finality. "See? We’re worlds apart from each other. From now on, we’re no longer friends."

Mandy adjusted her clothes slowly, then stood up and walked away without looking back.

Vivian watched her go, her small, frail figure fading into the distance. To Vivian, Mandy was just another fleeting presence in her otherwise glamorous life, someone who would be forgotten in time.

Mandy didn’t allow herself to dwell on the sadness. With the day still young, she decided to head to the factory to continue her part-time job.

Not long after she clocked in, she was summoned to the office by Lyra.

The contrast between their moods couldn’t have been more striking.

Lyra stood by the window, her gaze resting on the girl before her. "Have you been crying?" she asked, her voice laced with curiosity.