3. DONE WITH THE ACT

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Deafening chaos ensued after Nicola's unexpected statement.

Nobody was really surprised about the affair even though they pretended to be. What surprised - or most certainly shocked - them was how bluntly Nicola admitted to knowing it. 

"What are you talking about?" Dominic hissed as he grabbed the mic from her hand and forced her to face him. "I am not having an affair!" He knew that he was screaming this to another set of deaf ears. 

"What makes you think I care?" Nicola chuckled wryly before repossessing the mic. "Natasha, maybe you should reattach yourself to your 'business associate'?" She air-quoted before tossing the mic back to the staff.

Dominic glared at Nicola, seeing some personality in his wife for the first time and not appreciating it the teeniest bit.

Nicola heaved a breath and gathered her skirt in her hands, hauling the heavy material up and hurrying down the podium.

She had been daunting in her confrontation but the chronically-exhausted-with-life woman was drained by the pain she hid behind her taunts.

Nicola made her way out of the ballroom and she picked up Stacia calling out for her but the footsteps that followed her were not the click-click of her sister's heels but the tap-tap of a man's dress shoes. 

As soon as they were away from the prying eyes and ears of the onlookers, he grabbed her hand and spun her to face him.

Dominic glowered down at his wife.

"What the fuck was that, Nicola?" His voice came out strained as if all his energy went into controlling his rage.

Nicola, unfazed, shrugged. "It is what it is."

"It is not what it is." He let go of her hand and took a step forward. "You blew the whole situation out of proportion. It was an accident, and I was going to apologize."

"Save it. I am not going to forgive you." She said, her eyes dead.

"And I am not going to forgive you because you humiliated me and Natasha in front of all those people." Dominic's voice had started to rise but Nicola remained calm.

She smiled. She did. It almost stumped Dominic because he had not seen that expression on her face in almost a decade. "What about all the humiliation and pity that I had to face?"

"I told you it was an accident." Dominic knew he was wrong. But his mind neutralized his botch with the bitchy move Nicola made.

"My words were no accident, though," Nicola said. "I know what I said, I stand by it, and I won't apologize for it."

Dominic had to double-take. Was this really his wife? And if she was going to show her bitchy personality finally, did she have to do it in front of all those people?

"Nicola-"

"Nicola!" Dominic turned as Natasha reached his side, interlinking her arms with his as if it were her birthright.

"We are really sorry about the situation. I know you must feel humiliated to have  our relationship come out in the open." Dominic's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "It is understandable that you would lash out."

"What?" For once, Dominic did the right thing. He pulled away from the other woman. "What relationship?"

Natasha stared at him dumbfounded.

"Both of your relationship." Nicola made the input while Natasha nodded.

"It's okay Dom, Nicola knows the truth. So does the world now."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Dominic clutched his hair as he took two steps back. "So everyone except me thinks that I am having an affair?"

"If the other woman in question also believes so, then it must be true." Nicola wanted to walk away but the situation was starting to pique her interest.

Either her soon-to-be ex-husband had no clue or he was that exceptional of an actor.

"Dom..." Natasha's voice was just above a sweet whisper, her eyes glazing over in adoration. "We can now openly accept our love."

"WHAT LOVE?"

"What love?" Nicola chuckled wryly. "There's no love. There's only an affair."

"Nicola, you don't know anything about our relationship so don't speak in between." Natasha held a hand up at the younger woman.

Nicola huffed. She had half a mind to smack some sense into this woman. She was the other woman, but she dared to talk to the legally wedded wife like that.

Oh, wait. Nicola took a calming breath. She did not care.

Her next words held no emotion but they were versed to cut deep. "You are delusional if you think he loves you, Miss Cunningham. If he really loved you, he wouldn't have been fucking me senseless almost every night for the past two years. Love and loyalty are not mutually exclusive."

Nicola turned on her heels and walked away, not letting the events of the evening slump her shoulders.

Nicky's spirit animal was a hare. And hares didn't show weakness in the wild.

"I won't believe her." Natasha turned to Dominic. "I know you love me."

"I don't." He shook his head animatedly,  hating how things were turning out. "Nat, we are friends!"

"We are more than friends!" She was starting to sound hysterical.

"We can't be. I am married." He held up his ring finger. "We are at my wedding anniversary party."

"Are you saying you love Nicola then?" Natasha knew the answer to that question all too well. 

"No." He didn't need to think twice to answer that. "But I respect the woman who is my wife. I will never be unfaithful to her as long as I am married to her."

"What about me?" She placed her hand on her chest, looking up at him with as much adoration as she did before he declared her feelings invalid. 

"You are a friend." He slumped.

"That's not what the world believes."

"That's for me to fix." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Indeed, that was for him to fix. 

Natasha stared at him mutely for a good two minutes, trying to figure out if he was joking with her. But when she found no evidence of such a thing, she felt herself losing all her cool. 

"You strung me along." She gritted out, feeling tears sting the corners of her eyes. 

"Have I ever told you I loved you?"

She paused, moisture dripping down her cheeks. She looked down as she shook her head.

"Have I ever at least kissed you, at least on your cheek?"

She continued shaking her head.

"Then, please enlighten me, on what basis did you think I was into you?"

Natasha was speechless. She could not look at his face. This was not the man she thought she knew.

"On the same basis that made everyone believe you were into her."

Nicola was back, this time in the casual clothes she had arrived at the mansion in, her hair a lion's mane.

Dominic walked over to her. "You could have opened your mouth and asked if you had doubts. You could have voiced your insecurities-"

Nicola snorted.

Dominic's eyebrows pinched together.

"I have no insecurities regarding you and your woman."

"She's not my woman."

"I didn't care then. And I don't care now. The only thing I care about is how you humiliated me today. And I will respond to that. That is, my lawyer will."

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