Chapter 6 Nudes

• “You...” Xavier sniggered. His face was cold and impassive as he retorted dryly, “Very well, Clarice. I'm not going to let you off the hook that easily! You better watch you and your lover's back.”
• Come at me, my lover is your very own uncle!
• Clarice chided the man to herself, but her face remained calm and composed. She threw an impassive glance at Xavier, straightened her back, and walked away without a hint of hesitation.
• Bang!
• The door slammed shut behind her back, and it almost made Clarice lose her balance. The loud bang finally snapped her back to her senses as she supported herself against the handrails to prevent herself from falling off the stairs.
• Her face hurt from Xavier's slap across her face, but it was a far cry from the pain that was eating away at her heart.
• “Hah.”
• Clarice's lips curled into a self-mocking grin. The woman took some time to regain her composure before she steadied herself slowly as she ascended the stairs. The first thing she did after getting back to the room was to take a shower.
• Standing underneath the showerhead, Clarice numbly let the cold water trickle down her body, and into her heart. Despite shuddering from the piercing cold, she stood immobilized underneath the icy water.
• I deserve this.
• Trembling from the cold, she finally turned off the water after a long time before she wrapped a towel around herself and headed out of the shower. After changing into a fresh set of clothes that finally fit her, the woman headed downstairs to make herself a steaming cup of coffee. She cupped her hands around the warm mug and snuggled up in a seat on the balcony.
• Beep.
• Her phone pinged on the glass table.
• Clarice picked up her phone nonchalantly and noticed that a text came in. The name 'Uncle Elijah' flashed on her screen and Clarice felt a sharp pierce in her heart.
• She quivered at the sight of the name that reminded her of her unruly behavior, giving way for the hot coffee to spill over her hands. The blistering pain made her gasp.
• What is this man getting at?
• Exasperated at Elijah's tenacity, she clicked on the text and it read: Add me on WhatsApp.
• Huh? The old man uses WhatsApp too?
• “Why should I add you just because you asked me to?”
• Frustrated at what she had gotten herself into, Clarice pinched at the name Uncle Elijah on her screen while imagining that she was punching the man's face.
• Just when she decided to ignore the man, Elijah sent over another text. It was as if the man knew exactly what was playing out on her mind.
• The text was short and concise: You might want to consider the consequences of your actions.
• “This b*st*rd is threatening me!”
• Clarice was infuriated, but she had no bargaining chips in hand. Hence, she relented and added him on WhatsApp.
• A photo came in almost instantaneously.
• “Elijah Zimmerman!”
• It was a photo showing Clarice's exposed back and side profile. Vexed, the woman let out a shriek.
• “What the hell do you want from me!”
• Her fingers were trembling from fury, and she sent a voice message over.
• “Don't you think it's so sexy?”
• Elijah's voice was even more surreal in the voice message, but there was no arguing that it felt like molten chocolate for one's ears. However, Clarice did not have the heart to fangirl over his baritone voice as she was about to explode from the anger bubbling up inside her.
• “You sicko! Delete the photos right now! Delete them all!”
• “What did you call me?”
• Elijah's voice was deliberately low and laced with a hint of threat. Even though she could be quite obtuse sometimes, the woman had already sensed the impending danger.
• She breathed in deeply and repeated a mantra to herself. A good woman like me knows when to give in when it's due.
• “Uncle Elijah,” Clarice said sweetly in response, and even she felt goosebumps all over at her own cloying manner. She tried hard to stomach the disgust from overpowering herself and continued to appease the man, “Uncle Elijah, could you kindly overlook your junior's mistake, please?”
• Clarice purposefully added extra emphasis on the word 'junior'.
• “Oh, I don't think I've ever seen any junior so eager to climb into my bed before though.”
• Clarice was rendered speechless.
• I have to hold it in.
• “Uncle Elijah, I apologize for my crudeness. Please have mercy on me and delete those photos. It's not going to do you any good if anyone else spots the photos on your phone, right? They might misunderstand that you're harboring some sort of ill intentions toward me...”