Later that afternoon, Nikka was inside her apartment, relieved that she was able to go home. She had missed being in her own room with the same pink flower bedsheets. She had only been here just a few months and she couldn't believe she will be leaving it soon after she got married to Marcus.
She tried to think of another way for her not to get trapped in marrying him but the more she thought about it, the more her heart yearned for him.
The phone rang and she looked at who was calling. It was Vera.
"Hi, Vera," she answered, glad to hear her voice.
"Girl! Where have you been?! I haven't heard from you for two weeks and I was getting worried," Vera asked, concerned. "Is everything okay?!"
"I'm fine, Vera. I just need to fix some documents and..." she trailed off and bit her lip.
"And? Is there something I need to know?"
She sighed and said, "Well... he's back."
"Who's back? Ohmigod! Did Philip come out?Nikka-"
"No,no. Last time I checked he's still in jail. It's someone else."
"It's Marcus, isn't it?"
"Yes... and... we're getting married."
"What?! You let that fool come back to your life after what he did? Nikka, are you crazy?"
"No... but you wouldn't understand."
"I'm your best friend, Nikka. What else do you think I should not understand? Even up until now I still felt guilty for pushing you to him. If I have known he'll be the biggest jerk, I shouldn't have asked you to-"
"Vera, it's okay. It's not your fault. That was in the past."
"Yes, honey, I know and I'm sorry. But I felt like you've been through so much to get back to this stupid son-of-a-"
"Vera!"
"Okay,okay," and she heard her sigh. "Listen, I don't know why you're doing this but I just hope you're making the right decision. I tell you. If I'm not as big as a whale right now, I would be getting on the next flight over there to see you and kick his butt for leaving you a long time ago."
"Thank you. I miss you, you know."
"I miss you, too. I'm sorry I wasn't at your parents' funeral. You know how Kenny gets super anxious if I mentioned going to a funeral and being pregnant and all."
"I understand, Vera. Just talking to you is enough for me to feel you're there."
"Aww! You're still a sweetheart. So take care of yourself, Nikka. I'll always be here to listen and if anything, I mean ANYTHING you need, just let me know. You can always come to Canada, okay? I'll do whatever I can to help you."
"Thank you. I love you."
"I love you, too."
And she hung up the phone.
She missed Vera so much. Vera had always been there despite of being married early. It's funny how the girl who she thought would never find true love, and just "playing" with the boys had eventually found the one for her.
Kenny was the son of one of Vera's father's associates in Canada. They met one time at a party of their family friends. She told Nikka how she liked Kenny the first time they met since he was very different from all the guys she knew. He was very nice and respectful. He knew all about Vera's past as she told him, but he accepted her and promised to marry her before they have sex. So, even before Vera could finish college, she took the flight to Canada and married the man of her dreams.
"This is it, Nikka. He's the one. I cannot wait anymore," she said excitedly, her smile reached her ears, as she hugged her best friend in the airport.
Nikka was very happy for her but she felt like she lost another friend. Dominic moved to California to pursue his studies after that summer of 2014, while she was nursing a broken heart. Vera was the only one who stayed with her and helped her to move on from Marcus and even supported her in her decision to move in with her brother and his girlfriend, Monique. It could have been the best decision she ever made if only Philip had not been the monster she trusted and loved.
She sighed and tried to put away the memories of that awful day behind. Until now, even if he was already in prison, he still haunted her in her sleep, giving her nightmares.
But last night, despite of what happened, she was had been sleeping much better and the nightmares somehow stopped. Although her heart felt heavy sometimes, she felt secure being with him.
If only she could get past the pain...
She lay down on the bed and tried to rest her eyes when suddenly she heard a knock on the door.
"Who could that be?" she muttered to herself as she got up from the bed and walked towards the door.
She went out of her bedroom and straight to the main door, unaware of who it might be. But when she opened the door, she was shocked to see who it was. Suddenly, her whole body froze as her heartbeat quickened. The color from her face drained as she stared wide-eyed to the person before her .
"P-Philip?" she stuttered, her whole body shook with fear. "Wha-What are you doing here?"
"Did you miss me, Sweetheart?" Philip sneered as his dark eyes pierced through her. She tried to close the door on him but he pushed it with full force, sending her to back away from it. He closed and locked the door behind him.
He walked towards her as she stepped backwards.
"S-Stay away, Philip. You're not supposed to be here. STAY AWAY!" she yelled as she kept movinf backwards away from him. Her knees wobbled as shivers like cold ice continued to envelope her whole body.
"You cannot get away from me, Nikka. You're mine, understand? ALL MINE!"
"NOOO!!!" and she sprung on her feet, trying to get away from him but he caught her by the hair.
She screamed in pain as he covered her mouth with one of his filthy hands and grabbed her by the waist. She tried to scream as he dragged her towards the bedroom, her feet kicked in the air struggling to get off of him, but he was too strong.
Slamming the door with his feet to close, he slammed her on to the bed as she backed towards the headboard. Tears trickled down her cheeks as he crawled towards her, dark eyes piercing through her as a chill covered her whole body. She placed her arms up in the air to protect herself as he grabbed her legs and she cried out on top of her lungs.
"NOOOO!!!! STOPPPP!!!"