Nandi | EDITING ✔

Twenty Two.

Nandi

It was dinner time when I finally made it back to the palace. I didn't want to know about how the bride price negotiations went or how much my family thought I was worth. All I knew was that I was trapped and I needed to talk to Justin.

I was forced to look decent for the dinner. With all our guests, I couldn't afford to look like I'd just rolled out of bed. In an emerald green dress by Michael Kors, I made my way to the table and Jerome rose to pull my seat out for me.

"Ah, my gorgeous wife," he gloated as he kissed my cheek.

I could feel myself get sick. I could feel my tears threaten to fall but I wasn't going to shed a tear, not for Jerome.

I sat down and, as fate had it, I was sitting opposite Justin. He looked at me with hatred and disappointment burning evidently in those hazel eyes I once loved looking into.

My parents and Jerome's explained our traditional wedding customs to Justin and his family, but with each word, Justin's face burned red with hurt. Nina looked at me, sympathising, and Mellow wanted to say something but the look on my face stopped him from expressing his opinion. Everyone around the table was happy for me-- everyone except Justin, Nina and Mellow.

When we finally got to dessert, Justin excused himself, saying he wasn't feeling well. I knew exactly what he meant by that since I'd been feeling sick myself, so a few minutes after he'd excused himself, I did too.

I walked through the dimly lit pathway to the guest quarters where a room had its lights burning bright. I knocked on the door and waited. Justin opened up and it was clear as day that he'd been crying. That shattered my heart. This game I'd intended on playing had coke back to bite me for the second time: first, I'd fallen for him when all it was meant to be was a fling, and secondly, he was finding out the bad side of the truth.

"I need to talk to you." I swallowed the lump in my throat as I held open the door in case he'd choose to slam it in my face. I too was seconds away from shedding tears, but I didn't want to.

"I don't want to talk to you, Nandi. Please go." He spoke with so much calm in his voice, though his voice was heavy with emotion.

"Not until I explain everything to you. Please."

"Explain? What, more lies? I don't wanna hear it, Nandi, so go."

I whimpered and looked at his face: eyes glazed over with fresh tears brewing, his flushed cheeks and that red nose, raw with emotion, and that hair that made his frustrations so obvious. I did that to him.

"Justin, I'm so sorry." I blinked and let my tears race down my cheeks.

"Save it. I don't give a fuck." He tried to close the door but I pushed it open with all my might and barged into the room.

"It wasn't meant meant to be like this, okay? I simply omitted--"

"You lied to me, Nandi. I was so real with you; so genuine. You looked me in the eyes, time and time again, and you lied so effortlessly." Justin cried, "how am I supposed to believe anything else you say, huh?"

"Believe me. I don't love Jerome!"

"Yet you're married to the man! What the fuck-- Nandi, you're a liar!"