My Bestie's Dad Likes Me Wet-Chapter 93 TAPE

NOVA POV

The next few hours was a painful blur. Since we had to stay outside, Rita and her clique of wannabes didn’t make things easier for me.

My hands were shaking with shame, my lips were quivering with unshed tears, and my stomach was in a painful turmoil.

The term gold digger is an insult to everything I stand for. I’ve never been interested in someone’s money or been influenced by their wealth.

My relationship with Grant was even more of sex before he started lavishing gifts on me, and honestly I don’t even care for the gifts. But how do I explain myself without being misunderstood?

How do I tell them my former bestie’s dad was the one forcing these gifts on me? Does it even sound believable?

I swallowed the scream that was threatening to escape my throat. No, I wouldn’t break down. Not here. Not yet.

If I would be doing any breakdown, it will be after I’ve ended things with Grant. Yes, I have to end whatever beautiful thing we had going on because I was only focused on the present so far.

I knew a day like this would come where I would have to choose between my mental health—or should I say my reputation—and whatever it is I felt for Grant.

I love Grant, but I love myself even more. If word got out that I’m with Grant, my scholarship would pay for it. My sponsors were against things like this.

After school today, I’ll drop off the car at his house and hopefully he wouldn’t be around till I’ve dropped the car and the expensive gifts he bought for me. After which I’ll pawn all the expensive items Luca bought for me for some money, then I’ll go beg Lena, the source of this whole mess.

Hopefully my apology would be enough and she would let the matter drop so I can enjoy my remaining two years in school without any scandal. I’m willing to do whatever she wants for peace to reign.

With the plan in place, as soon as the lecturer left class, I hurried inside the now noisy lecture hall, hoping to get a minute with Lena before everything goes out of hand. But I couldn’t find her in the crowd of rowdy students.

I took a seat with my eyes still searching for her. Then the projector came on by itself, flashing its white screen, which was weird because there was no lecturer in class and no one seemed to be operating it.

I was still observing that when everybody’s phone dinged. My phone dinged as well, but I chose not to check it yet. It’s probably a group message or something.

But when the first set of eyes looked my way, then back at their phones before gasping and whispering words to themselves, my heart skipped several beats.

What could it be this time?

More eyes on me. They were all talking in not-so-quiet whispers.

What is going on?

I dropped my bag to bring out my phone so I could check it as well. Then the projector started playing a video that shouldn’t exist.

A video I never knew was being recorded.

A video that is going to ruin everything in my life as it is.

Tears streamed down my eyes and my trembling lips could barely hold back the sounds escaping my mouth as I wailed, watching myself on the projector.

No. No. No. God, please no.

Whoever it was who took the video was very intentional in not letting Grant’s face show. It was just his back view as he stood between my spread legs while my hands were behind me on the kitchen counter. The video showed vividly that I was being fucked, and my voice screaming "more baby" will forever haunt me to my grave.

The room erupted. Laughter. Jeers. Gasps. Whispers turning to shouts.

"I knew it!"

"Oh my god, Nova Hart is a whore!"

"Who’s the guy?"

"Probably some old rich dude."

"Gold digger confirmed!"

I couldn’t breathe. My chest felt like it was caving in. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening.

I couldn’t meet anybody’s eyes as I fled from the scene. Even as my colleagues laughed and jeered at me as I walked through the crowd to get to the door, many spat their insults loudly just so I could hear.

"Slut!"

"Fake bitch!"

"Scholarship whore!"

I just prayed my legs wouldn’t fail me till I got to my car parked somewhere outside the school. I hoped nobody would pay attention to a weeping student in broad daylight. But before I got far, someone blocked my path.

My eyes were blurry with tears. I couldn’t see clearly, but the voice was definitely Lena’s. The arch devil of my misfortune. Or maybe I was my own devil after all I was the one moaning loudly for more.

"The Dean is waiting for you in her office." She dropped the bomb like she was announcing something light, not something that would alter everything I’ve ever worked for.

Her voice was calm. Too calm. Like she’d been waiting for this moment. Like she’d orchestrated every second of my destruction.

I nodded mutely before making my way toward the building.

I couldn’t focus on anything on my way there. It was like earth was crashing down. I wanted the ground to open its mouth and swallow me whole. I wished I could die. I wished everything could just come to an end.

My vision tunneled. Each step felt like I was walking through water. The hallway stretched endlessly before me, and all I could hear was the echo of my own breathing and the phantom sound of my voice from that video—"more baby, more baby, more baby"—on repeat in my head.

This was my life now. A sex tape. Public humiliation. The end of everything.

But my wishes did nothing to change things when the Dean’s secretary opened the door for me to step in. I quickly cleaned my streaming tears with my cloth sleeves, hoping I don’t look as disheveled as I feel.

The Dean sat behind her massive mahogany desk, her face a practiced mask of disappointment. The kind of look that makes you feel smaller with every passing second.

"Nova Hart. Three consecutive years overall best student. Benefactor of a scholarship of excellence. You’ve represented the school in various academic fronts and you’ve never lost any. Personally, I’ve been your cheerleader from day one and you’ve never disappointed us." She paused, and the silence stretched like a knife being slowly twisted. "Until today."

The world stopped. No—my world stopped. My axis came crashing down and I knew immediately there’s no going back from whatever this death sentence is.

I nodded in tears. I couldn’t stop the streak of tears again. I didn’t even bother to. What’s the essence?

"A video was sent anonymously to the general school chat. We’ve tried to track the number for an explanation, all to no avail. But one thing is certain—it was your face in that sex tape, and that is against the school rules and reputation." She paused as if gauging my reaction, but what could I say?

What could I possibly say?

I wrung my hands between each other, pinching myself all over and hoping this was a damn nightmare. Wake up, Nova. Wake up. Please wake up.

But I didn’t wake up.

"Somehow the footage got to your sponsors, and I don’t know how that happened—" Liar. We both know how it happened. "—but they’ve reached out to the school management to withdraw their donations for your education. They don’t want to have anything to do with you again."

The words hit me like bullets. Each one finding a vital organ.

Withdraw.

Donations.

Don’t want anything to do with you.

"No." The word came out broken, barely a whisper. "No, please. Please, there has to be—I can explain. I can—"

"There’s nothing to explain, Nova. The evidence is quite clear."

"But it was private! It was—someone violated my privacy! Someone recorded me without my consent! That’s—that’s illegal!" My voice was rising, hysteria creeping in.

"Be that as it may, the damage is done. Your sponsors have very specific moral clauses in their scholarship agreements. You signed them. You knew the terms."

"Please." I was begging now, openly weeping. "Please, I’ll do anything. I’ve worked so hard. I’ve—I’ve given everything to this school. My grades, my reputation, my time—everything. Please don’t take this away from me."

"I’m sorry, Nova. But the decision has been made." She didn’t look sorry. She looked tired. Like I was just another problem to be handled. Another file to be closed.

"What about the person who recorded me? What about the person who distributed it? Don’t they get punished?" The words came out sharp, desperate.

"If we can identify them, yes. But as of now, the investigation is ongoing."

Investigation. What a joke. We both knew who did this. We both knew Lena’s fingerprints were all over this destruction.

"So that’s it? I’m just—I’m just done? Years of work, years of—" My voice broke completely. "I have nowhere to go. This scholarship is everything. It’s the only reason I’m here. The only reason I—"

"I understand this is difficult—"

"Nova, I need you to calm down—"

My world darkened. I could feel the edges of my vision going black, my knees weakening. I couldn’t breathe. The room was spinning.

I saw no reason to fight the darkness enveloping me in its accepting and non-judgmental hug.

Everything went black.

And I felt strangely at peace.