Chapter 53
Nicole is cornered. She doesn’t know what dream she had last night that led her to be bombarded and hit by a tsunami of facts by Aurora and Asher.
Earlier this morning, Nicole had performed the ritual of seven-colored flower baths. She hoped fervently that the sacred procession of her wedding with Alex would proceed smoothly and without any obstacles.
Initially, she felt happy and proud because she finally became the legitimate wife of Alex Wildblood. Basically, Nicole wanted to prove to Aurora that she, who was considered a servant, could become the only queen in Alex’s heart.
Throughout the day, Nicole had imagined that after this, she would embark on a honeymoon and hoped that in the following days, she would live happily with the man she had pursued since the beginning.
However, Nicole’s painstakingly crafted dream was threatened to vanish. She cursed Asher and Aurora’s interference, suddenly bringing her mother to visit her in-laws’ residence.
Moreover, Alex and Aurora had officially divorced last week, so why was her cousin still bothering and causing trouble?
Not to mention the factual questions Aurora revealed about Alex, who turned out to be sterile. Now, her cousin was bringing up another figure that made it even harder for Nicole to evade, let alone dodge the tongue-lashing.
“Bastian.”
Alex’s voice rang out the loudest, questioning. Looking confused, he turned to Aurora as if asking for further explanation.
“What does all of this have to do with Bastian?”
Aurora smiled. “Goodness, Alex. Haven’t you understood yet?”
Then Alex shifted his gaze towards Nicole. He approached to make sure of what was really happening.
“Nicole, what does all of this mean?”
Nicole looked up, shaking her head vigorously. She tried her best to avoid being accused, let alone blamed as the instigator of the problem.
“For God’s sake, I don’t understand either, honey. I don’t know why Aurora and Asher brought Bastian here.”
“Lies!” Asher exclaimed angrily. He felt like pinching Nicole’s kidney because of her excessive lying and pretending to be innocent. “You say you don’t understand and don’t know anything?” Then Asher stared sharply, squinting at Alex who was bewildered. “Are you stupid or what? Given all these facts and evidence, you still don’t understand!”
“Don’t call my son stupid!” Savana defended. She couldn’t accept her beloved son being insulted. “No one is allowed to belittle Alex here!”
“But, in reality, Auntie’s son is indeed too stupid. How can he not understand something as simple as this? Do I need to explain it in detail?” Asher was annoyed. He pulled Bastian to stand beside him. “It’s clear that Alex is mentioned to have difficulty having children. It’s not just one doctor, but two doctors from different hospitals. From there, you should all think about whose child is in Nicole’s womb right now. Whether it’s another man’s child, or maybe it’s from her lover that you don’t know.”
“Obviously, that baby is Alex’s!”
Savana stuck to her guns. Even after being given clearly valid facts, she still evaded, denying the reality that existed.
“Regardless, I’m confident that the child in Nicole’s womb is Alex’s. It’s already confirmed that it’s a Wildblood descendant.”
“Who says? Don’t be over confident, Aunt Savana.”
Asher laughed. It seemed difficult to present facts to someone as stubborn as Savana. That’s why, because he didn’t want to waste energy continuing to explain, he nudged Bastian to look at him.
“Now it’s your task. Explain to everyone here what your role is? I don’t want to have to call the police to clarify what really happened.”
It wasn’t without reason that Asher bothered to bring Bastian to Alex’s parents’ house. A long time ago, he had already calculated and threatened the man to explain what really happened.
“If you don’t show up on Alex and Nicole’s wedding day, I’ll make sure you don’t survive. I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth.”
After their previous meeting at the apartment, Asher had indeed gone back to see Alex’s friend again. He made sure once again that the man could be persuaded to cooperate.
“B-b-but, if I help explain and provide evidence, I won’t be prosecuted or reported to the authorities, right?”
Bastian, frightened, made sure again. This was the first time he felt helpless.
“Of course. I’ll make sure you won’t have any trouble with the authorities. I won’t even disclose your cheating at Lumire. Also, the evidence of your drug use won’t spread. As long as you can explain fully what has really been happening without holding back.”
Bastian, who had been bowing his head slowly, lifted his face. He saw Alex standing right in front of him now. Their eyes even met for a few moments. Until Alex spoke again.
“You owe me an explanation, Tian.”
“I can explain all of this, Alex.”
Nicole interrupted. But Asher didn’t stay silent. He pulled Nicole slightly away from where Alex and Bastian were standing.
“You stay quiet here. Don’t speak unless spoken to, or I’ll sew your mouth shut!”
Back to Alex, he seemed to wait. He remained silent while observing what Bastian would say to him.
“Actually… I-I…”
“What is it?” Alex chased impatiently. “Quickly explain what really happened.”
“I-I and Nicole indeed had a close relationship behind your back.”
Alex was quite surprised. He had always known Bastian as the only person who supported and even helped smooth out the relationship between him and Nicole. So why was he suddenly involved with the same woman?
“You two were involved?”
Bastian nodded slowly. He didn’t deny it at all.
“Yes, Alex.”
“Go on! Don’t beat around the bush,” Aurora urged impatiently. Even though if Bastian wanted to, he could have shortened the time by getting straight to the point. Not like a scene from a soap opera like this. Where everything seemed to be moving slowly. “Just get straight to the point how close you and Nicole were and what you’ve done.”
Bastian clearly seemed to be repeatedly taking deep breaths. Perhaps nervous, feeling guilty, or maybe just scared. What’s certain is that after that, he seemed confident, then gave an explanation.
“From the beginning, we did have a relationship. In fact, it wasn’t just close. But, it had progressed to a further stage.”
“What do you mean?”
Savana, who was also listening, cut in directly. She even stepped closer to Bastian, who was standing right in front of her son. “What do you mean it had progressed to a very far stage?”
“We both have often had relations like husband and wife, Aunt. Already make out, having sex in every single night.”
“WHAT?”
Savana’s eyes bulged. She shook her head, refusing the answer Bastian gave.
“So, whenever Alex and Nicole finished their dates, I always made sure to stay overnight at Nicole’s apartment. If Alex was busy with Aurora, I was the one serving Nicole. Even recently, when Nicole was pregnant, we had a relationship because Nicole felt neglected by Alex.”
Alex’s eyes darkened. He approached and then grabbed Bastian’s collar to grip it tightly. “So, you and Nicole—”
“Yes,” Bastian nodded repeatedly. “Your hearing is not wrong at all. But, the relationship we’ve had so far has only been for fun.”Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.
Alex shook his head incredulously. He felt deja vu with Bastian’s answer. He had once told Aurora that he and Nicole had been in a relationship for fun all this time. And now, he heard the same sentence from the person he trusted all along. Little did Alex know, his own friend was stabbing him in the back.
“That’s why I’m sure that the baby currently in Nicole’s womb is mine. Not yours, Alex.”
“That’s impossible!”
“That’s the truth, Aunt. I’m even ready to undergo DNA testing to prove who the real father is.”
At this point, Savana still denied it. Basically, she still believed that the child in Nicole’s womb was a Wildblood descendant.
“I’m sure all of this is just Aurora’s trickery. It could all be staged. I’m sure she paid you to admit to sleeping with Nicole. She just can’t accept separating from Alex like that.”
Aurora suddenly burst into laughter. For God’s sake, in a moment like this, her ex-mother-in-law was still joking and being annoying. Instead of introspection, she remained arrogant, insulting her in various ways.
“Oh, dear. Don’t exaggerate.”
“If it’s not an exaggeration, then what is it? As Nicole said, you really can’t accept divorcing Alex, can you? To the point of plotting and accusing Nicole of all sorts of things.”
Aurora pursed her lips tightly when insulted by her ex-mother-in-law. Taking a breath, she took out her phone and showed something to Savana.
“If Mama thinks everything is deliberately staged by Aurora, then what does it mean these photos?”
Savana looked again at the row of pictures stored on Aurora’s phone. From her eyes, she saw so many intimate photos. Even showing Nicole and Bastian in a state of nudity.
“Nicole…” Savana called out in disbelief. Bringing her hand to her chest, she seemed to clutch it with pain. Savana even suddenly felt dizzy and almost staggered upon seeing the latest evidence that Aurora showed. “Please answer honestly, this can’t possibly be you in the photo, right?”
Seeing her mother so shocked, it was Alex’s turn to look. He carefully examined all the photos on Aurora’s phone, then after confirming who the intimate figures were, with a face full of anger, he approached Bastian and delivered a strong punch.
“YOU BASTARD!!!”