Chapter 6

Nera walked to her bed slowly, taking a seat. She knew she was disrespecting her uncle, but the frustration swelling deep inside of her needed to be unleashed on someone, and it was just unfortunate it was her uncle in her presence.

She wanted her uncle to slap the living snot out of her. She had hoped a slap would pump some sense into her, but to her disappointment, her uncle walked to her bed and sat next to her.

She could tell he was trembling and struggling to keep his cool. There was a brief pause as if he was contemplating what to say. 

Before asking, he cleared his throat. 

"Did he, at the very least, wear protection?" 

Nera's eyes shot up as a lump formed in her throat.

"You know there are a lot of diseases plus pregnancy," he whispered, trying to hold back his tears.

Nera's jaw grew tense with strain, her brows pulling up, knitting in the middle. She thought she had screwed up because it was a sex party and she did it with an old man, but the thought of diseases and pregnancy never occurred to her.

A vision of an old baby popped up, forcing her to quickly jump off the bed and run to the bathroom.

"I will go and buy you some emergency pills," he offered as he walked out of the room with heavy legs. He walked to the nearest chemist, with Nicole following from behind. He had no idea he was being followed. Nicole had moved to the other side of the house, trying to get some info on where Nera spent the night when the front door opened and Luke walked out.

She could hear him on the phone asking about contraceptives. Her jaw dropped. Her waiting around was not a bad idea after all.

She stood back and watched Uncle Luke buy some contraceptives before rushing back into the house. After some minutes, both the uncle and the niece were seen driving away.

Nicole quickly texted Greg's mom; the contraceptive was a confirmation that Nera had slept out. With such information from Greg's mother, she was sure the entire town was going to find out about the wild night little miss perfect had, and finally, she was going to get Greg all to herself.

She quickly got into her car and drove straight to Greg's apartment, eager to spill the juice.

Greg was still his usual tired self; he had not slept the entire night. He knew he had screwed up and could not see how Nera was ever going to forgive him. He loved Nera; she was the wife type, not Nicole, for whom he felt it was just about sex.

Nicole walked into the apartment full of excitement, irritating the life out of him.

"Hey, get out of my house, this is all your fault!" He yelled at her.

"Oooh, please, you should be thankful I freed you from that lynch," she mocked.

"Do not call Nera a lynch!" He yelled, irritated.

"I think you will not mind what I call her when you find out where she spent her night," Nicole replied, finally getting his attention. 

"Your sweet girlfriend managed to have her wedding night despite her wedding going up in flames," she joked.

"What?" 

"A friend of mine saw her leave a bar with an old man," she whispered as she got near to him. "Nera spent her wedding night with an old man."

"You are lying! You are a fucking liar"

"Her uncle even went to the extent of buying contraceptives for her," Nicole stated, handing him a bill she picked up in the trash bin.

Greg grabbed the receipt, shaking. He looked at it and then at Nicole but chose not to believe her. He knew what type of person Nera was and was not the type that walked into a club and slept with the first person she saw.

He pushed Nicole away and stormed out of the house; if he wanted answers, he was going to find out from the heifer's mouth. 

At the clinic, Nera sat at the nurses' table waiting for her prophylaxis against any form of STI. She could not believe how careless she was; even if it was to get revenge, she was supposed to think of her health first. 

She had just taken her emergency contraceptive and was waiting for the nurse when her phone beeped.

An unknown number had sent her a photo, which she clicked on, only to discover that it was her underwear. The same white lacy expensive underwear that Greg's mother had bought for her. The same underwear that she could not find in the morning in the old man's room.

An incoming call from the same line popped up.

For an unknown reason, Nera's heart began beating very fast. She knew exactly who the caller was at the other end of the line.

There was something about him that made her heart start racing for an unknown reason.

Without hesitation, she quickly cut the call off. She clutched her chest, stunned, as the nurse entered and began explaining long-term contraception to her. She could not believe how the old man knew her phone number or who gave it to him. 

He was supposed to forget her; that was how one-night stands were supposed to work. Strangers meet in a bar, screw each other, and pretend for the rest of their lives like nothing happened, but the old man seemed to be old-fashioned.

After she was done, she walked to the waiting area, where her uncle sat patiently for her.

Her phone rang again; she picked it up again; it was the same number, and she quickly cut the call again.

Her uncle stood up without asking any questions and led the way. The trip back home was quiet, but Nera's phone kept ringing every minute, forcing her to switch it off her phone.

The old man seemed persistent, and she planned to block the number the second she reached home.

However, when they arrived home and she turned the phone on, news about her sleeping out was all over local social media pages. Word had already gone out stating that she had a wedding night without the cheating groom. She could see familiar accounts praising her for her vengeance, while others mocked her for being a loose woman. 

She could see Greg's mother celebrating having dodged a reckless daughter-in-law. Nera could not believe the audacity when it was her son who was a cheating bastard. She was tempted to start a social media war with her, but she restrained herself.

She switched off the phone, irritated, as she threw herself on the bed. It was obvious; Nicole had started the rumors. The two slaps she landed on her stupid face were not enough.

Her uncle knocked on her door and announced that he was leaving. He had not planned to go to work, but he needed some fresh air before he did something stupid. He was very disappointed with his niece; he had expected her to have known better even when her heart was broken.

He had raised her to be a very strong woman, but that was not the case. But work was going to keep his mind busy.

Nera was left alone, weeping in self-pity. She wondered what kind of life she would have woken up to if the wedding had gone on as she planned.

If Greg never cheated on her, she wondered if she would have woken up in his strong arms happy for the rest of her life. 

But the fact remained that he cheated; even if the sex tape had not been played, she would have lived the rest of her life with a stupid cheating husband.

She threw the pillow next to her in irritation as her stomach galloped, reminding her that she had not eaten for the past two days. She has starved herself for a stupid wedding that was never going to be. All her sacrifices flashed in a stupid toilet.

She got up and tried to change her thoughts, Greg was not worth her thoughts. He was a pig, and now that she thought about it, she wanted to stuff her mouth with pork—a lot of pork. She ran out of her room, stared at the fridge, and grabbed herself a pack of pork.

All of a sudden, a knock came at the door. She gritted her teeth in irritation, hoping it was not Greg or anyone else who reminded her of the stupid wedding. All she wanted was to devour the useless pork and pretend it was Greg she was tearing apart.

With her frowning face, she opened the door, ready to yell at whoever she was going to find on the other side, but to her shock, it was the old man from the previous night.

All the intense memories she had tried to avoid the whole day flashed in front of her as she stood rigid with terror, too overwhelmed to move and trying to process how he also managed to find her address.