You Were Never That Important Chapter 09
Cierra was the first to leave him.
That night, she sent Raiden a WhatsApp message: “Let’s break up. This is your mess, so leave me out of it.”
Then she blocked his number and deleted his contact, cutting him off completely.
When Raiden saw the text, he was sitting in his rented apartment, eating some cheap takeout food.
He stared at the glowing screen for a long time.
Then, he hurled his phone across the room.
Over the next two weeks, Raiden was the picture of total defeat and desperation.
He hit up everyone he knew for a loan — relatives, friends, old classmates.
Every single one of them turned him down.
Some hung up on him the second they heard his voice, others made polite excuses about being strapped for cash, and the rest simply ignored his calls.
He blew off his court date.
Instead, he went looking for Konner.
He figured if he could just beg him to drop the lawsuit, he wouldn’t have to pay the massive settlement.
He waited outside the film set from morning until night.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
Konner never showed up.
On the fourth day, he found me instead.
I had wrapped up my work early that afternoon and was heading out alone.
Just as I stepped through the doors, a figure darted out from the side of the building.
“Vivien.”
Startled, I took a step back.
Once I recognized him, my eyebrows shot up.
The Raiden standing in front of me looked completely different from the guy I’d seen just two weeks ago.
He was sporting heavy stubble, his eyes were hollow and sunken, his clothes were severely wrinkled, and he smelled of stale sweat.
He just stood there, clearly unsure of what to do with his hands.
“Vivien, please… please help me…”
His voice was a hoarse rasp, laced with a distinct, raw desperation.
“I know I was wrong before. I shouldn’t have called you ugly, and I shouldn’t have badmouthed you to Mr. Gorney…
“I made a mistake. I really know I made a mistake now.”
He took a step forward and bent his knees, actually trying to drop to the ground right in front of me.
I sidestepped to avoid him.
“Don’t.”
I looked at him, keeping my voice dead steady. “You chose to quit the show. You racked up this debt. You picked your own girlfriend.”
I let the words hang for a second. “You brought all of this on yourself.”
Raiden froze.
He looked up at me, a fleeting flicker of confusion crossing his face.
Then, that confusion caved into total despair.
I didn’t give him a second look. I walked around him and left.
I’d barely taken a dozen steps when I heard his voice call out behind me. “Are you really going to refuse to help me now that I have nothing left?”
I stopped and turned around.
He was planted in the exact spot I’d left him, his face pale and completely exhausted.
“We owe each other nothing,” I said. “Why should I help you?”
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
I looked away and kept walking.