Aliya's POV
"Please hand me your phone, Aliya." Nick stretched out his hand, confusing me even more in my state of shock. I opened my car door and stepped out, leaning on it as I wiped away my tears. This was the second time in just one day that Nick had seen me cry, and it was embarrassing.
"What do you need my phone for?" I asked, my voice hoarse and still shaky from crying.
Veins ran through his forehead like lightning as he stared into my eyes. "I know we're not close, and we barely know each other, but trust me—just hand it over. Let me take care of this."
Was he crazy? He was right in stating that we barely knew each other, but here he was thinking he could handle a problem like this just because he might have saved me one or two times.
"I just want to give him a warning, and I have friends who can make sure the picture goes away," he explained, making me even more furious.
"You want me to hand you a phone that has my naked pictures so you can warn the sender? Does that make any sense to you? Do you really think I'm a fool?" I raised my voice, but he didn't flinch. "If you need to look at someone's body to satisfy your friend downstairs, it shouldn't be mine, so go pay someone for that."
He stayed quiet. This was exactly what I meant when I said you could never determine which character Nick really had. He portrayed many, and now he wasn't his sarcastic self but the cold, observing guy.
"Why are you quiet? Oh, that's right—you're broke, and you don't have the money to get your cravings satisfied. I should have known when I met you in the female restroom, but instead, I believed your bullshit story. And now here you are trying to take a sneak peek," I lashed out more, and he smirked.
"What makes you think I'm interested in looking at your naked pictures?" he finally broke the silence, but that wasn't the response I was expecting. I don't know what I expected to hear, but it wasn't it.
"You really think you're all that, huh?" He chuckled, moving closer to me. "I clearly wasn't the one who went ahead to date a man that doesn't care about me. And now, when you can't run from the consequences of dating a maniac, you lash out at me—a stranger who has been nothing but nice to you, always defending and protecting you."
His words hit me harder than the wind in a desert. I wasn't supposed to feel any pang of guilt, and I was supposed to get mad because of how he was speaking to me. But I felt no anger. All I had in me was guilt. He wasn't wrong; he had saved me time and again more than anyone I knew, and yet I threw insults at him.
"I'm going in. I would have gone to my place, but we have some marriage certificates to sign tomorrow. Have fun texting with your lovely ex-boyfriend," he remarked and walked toward the entrance of the house. "Oh, and Aliya—maybe no one gets along with you because of your attitude. Get it checked."
His last words made the pool of tears I didn't know stood in my eyes fall. Was he right? Was I the problem in every situation? Maybe this wall I'd built to protect myself had only made me colder, harder. I hadn't always been like this. I used to be cheerful and open—before my mum died. Before I told her I wished she'd just die during a stupid argument, only for her heart to give out that same evening.
I hated myself, especially how Dad always blamed her death on me. The cheerful and open little girl I was ran into hiding, leaving the cold and distant Aliya behind to face the world.
The night breeze blew harder on my skin as I continued to stare down at the picture Philip sent to me. I let out a deep sigh and headed inside the house.
The night dragged on, and morning came while my eyes were still wide open, staring at every piece of equipment I could find in my room.
I searched for my phone on the bed with my right hand, expecting the worst when I finally picked it up. But when I opened it up, the message Philip had sent to me yesterday was gone. He had deleted it, but there was a new message that read: "I'm sorry, Aliya."
That was strange and unusual. Maybe he had realized what he planned on doing was dumb. I wasn't going to let this go, but for now, I had other things to worry about.
"Well, it's my wedding day and the day I finally cut myself out of that family," I murmured, standing to my feet. I walked over to the mirror, and my eyes couldn't even hide the fact that I had been crying all night. The eye bags were larger than any I ever had recently.
I took a bath and applied some makeup, trying to mask the eye bags. Then I picked out a beige, mid-length gown that brought out my hips, portrayed my hourglass figure, and paired it with some nude heels. I let my brown hair fall on my shoulders after throwing on a white cashmere blazer.
When I made sure to mask my feelings completely with luxury clothing, expensive perfumes, and makeup, I made my way downstairs to find Nick casually standing by the door.
He was dressed in one of the black shirts I got for him, and he paired it with some black pants. His hair was styled perfectly, and his boots shone. He seemed to love black a lot.
As our eyes met, I tried to open my mouth to offer him an apology, but my distant self took over. "Let's get this over and done with," was all I could say, and he nodded without offering a single word to me.
We drove to the courthouse and signed the paperwork that showed we were married legally. After that was done, Grandpa's lawyer explained to me the process of claiming the inheritance, and I thanked him.
"Drop me off here. I have something to take care of," Nick finally spoke to me as I drove back home after an entire day of signing lots of paperwork.
"But we still have to go over the contract so you understand the do's and don'ts," I explained, not taking my eyes off the road.
"Look, lady—we're married now, and I already understand what a person like you would want, so there's no need for all these formalities," he snapped, startling me, but I stayed calm.
"I know you're angry about yesterday, Nick, and I…" I tried to say, but he cut me off.
"You know what, just keep driving. Don't talk. As soon as we're done, I'll go do what I want to do," he sneered, making my blood boil, but I understood his frustration. Maybe if I had been nicer to him, things would be different.
But do I really want to do that? Do I want to let my guard down and let another man disrespect me like Philip did?
We arrived at the house, and he walked in immediately while I trailed behind him. I went upstairs to get a document I had come up with about how our marriage will work. When I found it, I made my way back down and found him seated at the dinner table with a glass of water in his hand.
"I want us to understand ourselves clearly," I said, making my presence known as I joined him at the table. He raised a brow but remained silent.
"First, I'm sorry for how I spoke to you yesterday. Now that I've apologized, here are the rules," I added, handing him the document.
He picked it up and chuckled immediately after glancing at it. "So, what you're saying here is I can date whoever I want in secret, but I'm supposed to be a loving husband in the eyes of the public? That works well for me."
"Don't fall in love with me, blah blah blah. You flatter yourself too much, Aliya," he read the fifth rule on the paper, and my heart skipped. I hated his sarcastic tone. He was about to speak again, but the buzz of my phone saved me. Whoever it was, they texted at the right time.
"New lover?" Nick smirked weirdly as I picked up my phone.
When I opened it, I was met with the sight of Philip's picture. His face looked like he had been involved in a catfight, and clearly, the cat won. His face was all bruised up.
I looked at the number, and it was an unknown one. As I stared at the picture, another text came in.
"Like my gift, little dove? Next time he'd learn never to scare you like that."
My heart raced as I read the message over and over again. The only person who knew about Philip was Nick, and he was right here. I looked up and saw a smirk on his lips as usual, then I turned my attention back to the screen.
Could it be that Nick did this?