The Ex

Chapter 5 The EX

SIMS GROCERY STORE, NEW YORK.

Xander kept staring like a thunderstorm had hit him. He would never have imagined in a lifetime that Nina would be checking goods at a grocery store. She had bags under her eyes even though she had make-up on. Nonetheless, Nina looked as beautiful as ever. It would have been shocking if she had lost her beauty. And his heart seems to be doing a victory dance at the sight of her.

“How have you been?” He asked, finally breaking the almost consuming silence.

Nina cleared her throat, shifting in the chair awkwardly. “Good. I guess.” It appears the universe has a thing or two against her. She would have preferred Andrea to meet her at the store instead of Xander.

“I’ll check your items in now.” She was grateful for a while that he saw her on duty and wouldn’t have the excuse to talk to her.

But to her shock, he was waiting right outside the store after her shift was over. Which meant that he would have waited longer if she had to stay until late at night. There was no need to be rude to someone who waited so long, which was why they were seated opposite each other now.

They had dated back in college, and he was the first person she ever loved and gave her heart to. Their relationship was more like a fairytale, and Nina had envisioned them getting married and starting a family many times. The relationship has ended sour cause she had caught him cheating. Nina might not be fated to end up with the good man, and love is beginning to seem like an arduous chore for her.

“How are you doing, Nina?”

“Do you care to know?” She asked with a scoff. It annoyed her that he had persistently refused to plead guilty even though she saw him with the girl on his bed naked.

His face fell at her harsh response. What happened between them wasn’t meant to be at all. It had broken him so much that he searched for her face in every woman he had encountered. But no one could hold a candle to Nina. Not even close. “Do you still hate me? It's been so long.”

“Exactly.” Her voice shook. “It's all your fault. You turned me into this. Suppose you had not cheated on me years ago; I wouldn’t have had to experience this nonsense.” Nina fought hard to keep the tears back, but her hormones had no interest in holding back. A tear escaped her right cheek as she bit into her lips.

Xander wanted to defend himself, but he sensed she wanted to talk. “What happened to you? And don’t pretend like you are fine. I know there is something up with you. I can see the bags under your eyes. I know you don’t trust me, especially since we haven’t been in contact all these years. But I want to hear from you.”

Even though Nina was hesitant, she needed someone to express her pain to, even if that person was one of those who had hurt her in the past. Also, the soft look in his eyes makes her feel safe. Safe enough to forget whatever happened between them for a few minutes.

Her eyes became heavy again. “You know how hard I tried to make sure I was kept on scholarship all through college.” She said with a faint smile.

Xander beamed. How can he forget the first thing that made him realize he had found the love of his life? “You were so resilient—a force to reckon with. I couldn’t keep up. And I remember how worried you were about everything paying off in the end. You practically mumble it at every chance you get. Even though I consistently assured you that I got you.”

“Well, you didn’t.” She sniffed. “Turns out I was just worrying for nothing. After graduation, I got an offer at M&M Foods. Professor Scott had recommended me. My life was amazing. I could give back to my community and be happy with myself. And then I met him, my now ex-husband, Asher Taylor.”

“He is the CEO of M&M Foods.” He stated.

Nina raised a brow. “You know him?”

“Yes, I have a business affiliation with the company. I knew Asher was married, but I didn’t know who the wife was.”

She cackled dryly. “Well, I am the wife of his past now. We have been married for four years, and for the past three years, he has been nothing short of an asshole. I often ask myself what went wrong and if I was doing something I shouldn’t.” Nina snickered, wiping the lone tear rolling down her face angrily. “My dumb self didn’t know he was two-timing. That bastard had me fooled. I found out about his affair two weeks ago when I announced my pregnancy to him.”

“You are pregnant?” There was a distant tone of disappointment in his voice.

Her voice broke as she continued speaking. “Yes. I am eight weeks old now.” She sniffed. “You know I don’t regret being pregnant. It's just painful that the man I considered my everything will deny having anything to do with my pregnancy and even going as far as calling me a cheat to satisfy his lover.” Nina hissed.

“Do you happen to know this lover?”

“You will be shocked. My best friend, Andrea. I am sure you remember her.” Xander didn’t look a bit shocked as he sipped his drink. She furrowed her brows in confusion. “Why don’t you look surprised?”

He sighed. “You know, I hoped fervently over the years that something would have happened between you and Andrea. And then you get to see Andrea’s true colors. Remember I told you that I never cheated on you?” Nina only nodded without saying a word. “There was no way I would have slept with that lady and not remember. And I never would have done that to you. Three months after we broke up, I accidentally bumped into a lady at a bar. I was spending most of my free time there at the time. She admitted to me that Andrea had hired her to seduce me. The milkshake you had asked Andrea to help deliver to me that day, someone spiked the drink. I wanted to return to you to tell you everything, but you had already left your apartment. And you already blocked me from every platform I could use to reach you. It was a painful couple of years for me, knowing that you never got to learn about the truth.”

Nina’s face remained frozen for a second as she tried to process what Xander said. She remembered Andrea advising her not to give Xander any listening ear as men like him always lie their way out of situations. Their lease wasn’t over yet, and Andrea insisted they leave the apartment and move into another one a bit farther from school. She didn’t mind paying for their gas then.

“Are you serious?” She managed to say.

“Come on, Nina. It's evident now that if she can do this much harm to you, it's not new to her.”

“B—but why?” She sounded like someone on the brink of tears again.

“I am guessing she covets whatever makes you happy and would do anything to ruin it.” He chose to leave out the part of Andrea trying to seduce him many times. It would only break Nina’s heart the more.

Nina held onto her chest, feeling an immense pain in it. She had no idea she had been dining with the enemy for years. To think Nina shared her innermost secrets with the witch who called herself a friend. Gritting her teeth, Nina gripped her drink cup with all her strength. All of the love she thought she had left seemed to be fading away with speed.

Andrea will go down, and most importantly, Asher will regret toying with her emotions. Every person involved in her pain will know what exactly it feels like to hurt an orphan. She will make them pay, even if it is the last thing she does alive.