Chapter 188: Chapter 188

Violet

"Nicole, don't," Elijah said, and now there was pleading in his voice. "Please. Don't do this."

"Why not?" Nicole laughed, the sound harsh and broken. "Why shouldn't everyone know the truth? Why shouldn't she know that you only started pursuing her to make me jealous? That it was all a game to you?"

The ballroom erupted in gasps and whispers. I stood frozen, unable to move, unable to breathe, unable to do anything but stare at Elijah who wasn't denying it hard.

"That's not the whole truth," Elijah said desperately. "Don’t twist your words"

"You made a bet with me," Nicole continued relentlessly. "At that restaurant three months ago, before you even came here. You said you'd make the little desperate girl fall in love with you just to prove you could and that I wasn't special. Just to show me you'd moved on."

"NO!" Elijah shouted, and the ballroom went silent again. "That's not—I never said those words. Nicole, you're twisting..."

"Am I?" Nicole pulled out her phone from somewhere in the folds of her dress. "Because I have the messages where you talked about her. About the 'desperate girl' who'd be 'easy to manipulate' because she was already insecure due to her ex."

She held up the phone, and even from where I stood I could see text bubbles on the screen.

"Should I read them?" Nicole asked sweetly. "Should I share with everyone exactly what you said about her? About how pathetic she was? And how easy would this be?"

"Don't," Elijah said, his voice breaking. "Please, Nicole. I'm begging you. Don't do this to her."

"Why not?" Nicole's face was a mask of pain and rage. "You did this to me. You broke my heart. You used someone else to get over me. Why shouldn't she know what you really are?"

Elijah looked at me desperately. “You know she used this same tactic to break you before, the way she created all those fake ids and images to paint you as the culprit.”

He came towards me, holding my hand. “You believe me right?”

He said and I took a deep breath, recalling all the things we had shared, the way he had said he would risk getting beaten again and again for me.

“Of course, I do. She ruined our life once, not again.”

She turned to look at me with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief.

“You are truly smitten by him, aren’t you? Let me show you his true face.”

She looked at someone standing beside the large screen she had put up, one I had completely forgotten about and nodded her head once.

And a video began to play.

“How many times are you going to play the same fucking…” I started but stopped short when I saw Elijah on the screen.

He was wearing the same clothes I had seen him wearing on the first day I met him. The same glint in his eyes as he sat by the table casually having his drink.

And then Nicole walked in from one of the doors at the back, heading straight towards Elijah.

I watched in horror as she casually pushed the chair aside to throw herself on his lap, straddle him with her legs thrown on either side of the chair.

And Elijah was smiling cockily at her. He grabbed her hair and tugged at it, making her gasp as he proceeded to lower his head, kissing her.

He was kissing her as she started shamelessly grinding on him.

My eyes couldn’t believe what I was seeing, some part of my brain desperately hoped that this clip was fabricated, that it was some other man.

But no, it was him.

And they were making out publicly.

He pulled her closer to deepen the kiss as she laughed, as she smiled and then threw her hands around his neck, locking them behind his head.

“Your place or mine” she asked and Elijah shook his head.

“I am afraid we can’t continue anymore, Nicole.” He said, pulling away from her.

Nicole was surprised and asked “Why, what happened?”

He shrugged. “Because I say so. I told you this would never go beyond sex.”

But Nicole reduced into tears, grabbing his collar and pulling him closer.

“No, you said you would talk to your parents. You are a Deveraux after all.”

He casually pushed her away and got up from the chair.

“On paper I am not. Besides, I got bored of you already plus I never agreed to talk to anyone.”

“What?” She tried to pull him closer again but he grabbed her by the wrist and said in an intimidating voice.

“You were just a nice fuck nothing else. I know you also flirt with other men so just go and sleep with them. Leave me alone. I am bored of your face already.”

I watched in horror as Elijah adjusted his shirt and hair after pushing her away.

“No, you can’t mean that.”

He laughed cruelly.

“I do mean that. You know what, point at any other woman you see here. Anybody. I bet I can win her over easily. That's how irrelevant you are to me.”

He didn’t say that, did he?

Nicole wiped her tears. “You are doing this to hurt me.”

Again, Elijah just shrugged with casual indifference. “No, I am proving a point. Now pick someone if you want a demonstration or don't ever show your face to me again.”

Nicole sobbed but then looked afar, and saw someone walk in through the main entrance.

That someone was me!!

I had arrived in that soft pink dress for my dinner date with Nate to rekindle our relationship. It was the day of the rogue attack, the day I first saw Elijah!!

Nicole pointed firmly at me. “Her”

Elijah turned to look at me with a mechanical motion and saw me step into the restaurant as I went to talk to the manager about my booking.

“Her? Really?” Elijah asked mockingly.

Nicole nodded. “Yep”

Elijah stretched his hands, stifling a yawn and looking very unenthusiastic.

“Shaky legs, nervous eyes and slouched shoulders. She is way too gullible” Elijah muttered on the screen and I looked at the person in front of me, unsure which version was true.

Nicole folded her hands on her chest. “Are you chickening out?”

Elijah reached for a bottle and took a swig.

“I am saying she is too easy. I thought you wanted to give me a challenge.”

My fingers curled into fists, my ears refusing to believe those were the words being said by the man whom I had begun to genuinely trust.

Nicole’s smile turned smug as she neared him, placing a hand on his chest.

“Then just forget this stupid challenge already. You know you can bend me over and…”

I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to bolt outside. But I kept standing, kept listening even if it made my heart bleed all over the floor.

Because I didn’t want to leave even a sliver of doubt about this. I wanted to see this through.

I wanted to see just how much of a monster Elijah really was.