Beta's Unwanted Wife And The Curse

Chapter 19

I hesitantly took my seat in the limo, trying to avoid looking at Amanda and Cedric's constant PDA. It was like being stuck in a romantic comedy movie, and I was the third wheel who just wanted to get out of there.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I muttered to myself as the limo pulled out of the driveway.

"Don't worry, Niya," Blake said, trying to reassure me. "It's just a short ride to the mall. You can handle it."

But the ride felt like it took an eternity, with Amanda and Cedric practically making out the entire time. I needed to cleanse my eyes with acid or dip myself in holy water when it was over.

Finally, we arrived at the mall. "Thank goodness," I breathed a sigh of relief as I stepped out of the limo. "I thought I was going to suffocate in there with all that lovey-dovey stuff going on."

"You did it!" Blake chuckled. "I knew you could do it."

But as we walked through the mall, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was living in a Dora the Explorer episode

We did it!
We did it!
We did it together!
Yeah!
We survived the hungry wolves.
We did it!
We did it!
Hooray!

I started singing at the top of my lungs as Blake joined in, high-fiving each other as people stared at us. But as we sang and danced, we heard a throat clearing behind us. We turned to find Cedric standing there, looking embarrassed.

"Um, guys? Can you not do that in public?" he asked, his voice laced with irritation.

"What? Singing in public is a crime now?" I asked, pretending to be offended.

"Well, it is if you're tone-deaf," Blake teased, causing me to playfully punch him in the arm.

"Hey, I'm not that bad," I protested.

"Yeah, you're worse," Cedric said, causing us all to burst out laughing.

"Well now, you two need to learn to behave. What will people think?" Cedric pointed his finger at us, with a particular emphasis on me.

"Uh, I don't really care what people think," I scoffed, causing Cedric's ego to take a hit.

"You watch your mouth," Cedric took a step closer to me, his face red with anger.

Blake stepped in between me and Cedric, trying to diffuse the situation. "Come on, calm down, bro."

But I wasn't ready to back down yet. "Or what, Cedric? What are you gonna do?" I tried to push Blake out of the way, but he didn't budge.

"Niya, stop it," Blake warned me.

"What's the matter, Cedric? Cat got your tongue?" I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a jab at him.

"Get out of my way, Blake," Cedric growled, trying to get to me. But Blake stood his ground.

Amanda placed a calming hand on Cedric's chest. "Come on, love, we're in public. Chill out." Cedric took a deep breath and nodded, visibly trying to calm himself down.

"I'll deal with you later," he narrowed his eyes at me before storming off.

"Phew, that was close," I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"What was that all about, and why did you have to challenge him like that?" Blake rubbed his face in frustration.

"Hey, he started it," I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How do you figure that?" Blake challenged me.

"Well, he just barged in and started bossing us around," I argued.