Chapter 5 005

Nicole Harper

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At first, I thought, what the fuck? What were the odds that the man who kept appearing in my dreams happened to be the man my mom got married to?

Then I thought, WHAT THE FUCK? Did he cheat on her with me?

That night, I was never really sure who the groom was. If it was his bachelor's party, then he was already engaged yet he fucked me like he didn't care about that. My mom wasn't the best person out there, but that didn't mean she deserved to be cheated on.

"Nikky," my mom said, placing a hand on his chest. "Say hi to Tristan."

My lips parted but words refused to come out. I wasn't sure what to do. If I had anywhere else to go, I would run away immediately. The situation I was in was absolutely insane. Was I supposed to tell my mother what happened? But I couldn't tell her that without revealing that I went stripping. Would she even believe me? Or would she think I was trying to sabotage her marriage?

Tristan stepped forward when I didn't say anything. "Nice to meet you, Nikky."

"Don't call me that," I snapped unintentionally.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at my mom then back at me. Was he pretending not to know me? How noble of him. "Nice to meet you, Nicole?"

I gritted my teeth. Was he trying to piss me off on purpose?

Ignoring my reaction to him, he walked further, trying to take my luggage from me. I stepped away. "I'll carry it in myself."

My mother, oblivious to the tension, or pretending not to care, clapped her hands in delight. "Come in, I'll show you to your room. I took the liberty of decorating it just the way you liked."

I walked over to my mom and didn't look back as she led me inside. I could feel Tristan's stare on my back but I pretended not to notice. The house was huge but I had no time to take it in because I wanted to get to my new room as soon as possible.

Four flights of stairs later, two per level, we arrived at my new room. "You're in between me and Tristan," she explained, pushing the door open.

"You live in separate rooms?"

"He likes his space," she shrugged. Yeah, sure he did. I was sure he used his space to fuck other women, didn't he? "I also prefer to decorate my space however I want. Besides, we have a shared bedroom opposite yours." She nodded at the door opposite the room.

This was such an awkward position to be in. Apart from the fact that I knew the size of her husband's cock, I was also caught in between them physically. Why would she think it was a bright idea to put my room in the middle of theirs?

I wanted to ask for a different room, but I also didn't want to be a bother.

"Do you like it?"

At her words, I properly focused on the room. My tongue poked the inside of my cheek. The walls were painted pink. Everything in the room was either pink or white. I stopped liking pink a long time ago because of her, but she thought she decorated the room just the way I liked.

I forced a smile, swallowing the actual words I wanted to say to her. "Yes."

"Perfect! Settle in so we can go shopping in the evening."

My brows furrowed in confusion. "Shopping?"

"Yes." She leaned in. "Tristan gave me a black card."

"I'm not spending his money!" I responded which was ironic because my last few months of rent were settled with his money.

"Why? Because he's not your father?" I clenched my teeth at her question. She was the same one who told me two months ago that he couldn't pay my debts because he wasn't my father. "I'm sorry for giving you a deadbeat father, but I've atoned myself with this one, no? Don't be uptight." She held my arm affectionately. "Besides, Tristan wouldn't mind."

Tristan wouldn't mind but I would. I didn't like the man. I didn't want to be near him. I definitely didn't want to use his money. Who knew how he got it?

"The flight was stressful, Mom," I decided to change the subject because if I continued to say no, my mom would find a way to convince me. She didn't stop until she had her way. "I want to shower and get some rest for now. We can talk about shopping on a different day."

She stared at me for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "Fine. You've had a hard time at school. Get some rest. I'll tell the housekeeper to make you food."

"It's fine," I shook my head. I didn't want to bother anyone and I also didn't want anyone coming up to my room. "I can cook for myself."

"Nicole–"

"It's fine, Mom. Really."

"Are you sure?" I nodded.

Thankfully, I didn't have to persuade her to leave anymore. She left after that. I closed and locked the door after she left. Then I stood in the middle of the room and looked around.

It was nothing close to my personal taste but I would have to make do with it until I could afford to move out.

I collapsed on the bed and exhaled heavily. I wasn't sure who I offended in my past life. I wasn't sure if this was some kind of karmic retribution, but I still couldn't believe that man was my stepfather.

I'd spent the last month or two clenching my legs whenever I recalled how roughly he took me that night. I woke up wet from dreams about him. Clara thought I was crazy. Even I thought I was crazy for thinking about a stranger so much just because of sex.

Now I was living in his house and he was married to my mother.

Talk about coincidence.

This was worse than that.

This was punishment for daring to fuck a man during a bachelor's party.