He Called Me Tacky, Now He Begs for Me

Chapter 3

At that moment, Spencer and Sharon were sitting on the sofa, and they looked so perfect together that anyone could see they were a great match, but Sharon was clearly uneasy about me, the ex-girlfriend, still coming around the house, and Beryl kept dropping hints that I should make my position clear.

So, I knew better than to wait for a direct request and gave a small smile, saying, "Ms. Archer, don't worry. I won't be coming here anymore, and I certainly won't get in your way. Since Spencer is the most rational and restrained person I know, I'm sure you two will be very happy together."

Spencer, who had been silent the whole time, turned to give me a cold glance and said flatly, "Whether we will be happy together or not is not for you to judge, and after you leave here, are you planning to go running to Keith? Don't kid yourself, because getting into his family is even harder than getting into mine."

I paused at those words, and my mind drifted back to the early days when I first started coming to Spencer's place, back when he knew my parents had just passed away and was worried I would be all alone with my sadness, so he made a point of spending time with me, taking me shopping on weekends and treating me to meals at all sorts of restaurants, and he would even cancel plans with his friends just to sit through movies with me. Over time, I fell for him completely and gave him everything I had.

But later, Spencer started hearing all kinds of gossip from people around him, whispers about how he had been blinded by good looks and ended up with a trophy girlfriend, which was so unlike the person everyone thought he was.

At first, he brushed it off and even told me, "It's my choice, and I don't need anyone else's approval."

That changed one night when, after a business dinner where he had drunk too much, he showed up at my place and just stood there staring at me for what felt like an eternity, and then he suddenly lost control and kissed me.

After that, every time Spencer looked at me, there was always a hint of disgust in his eyes, and I supposed that was when I should have known it was already over.

I snapped back to the moment and said in a flat tone, "Even so, that is none of your business."

His face darkened as he set his coffee cup down with a sharp clink and turned to go upstairs without saying another word.

*****

Over the next few days, I did not see Spencer at all. In the past, whenever he got this angry, he would give me the cold shoulder, and I would always be the one to lose my nerve and text him within a few days, begging to make things right, but this time, I was not going to do that.

Later, I heard from one of his friends that he and Sharon had started seeing each other officially, and they were just waiting for their families to work out the details before getting engaged.

That friend watched my face carefully, clearly hoping to catch me off guard or see me break down, but I just gave a small smile and said, "That is wonderful. I am glad he finally found someone who truly suits him."

Seeing that I was not going to give him the reaction he wanted, the friend wandered off looking disappointed.

After taking one last look at that mansion, I let out a quiet, bitter laugh and started packing my suitcase, because I had decided to leave the city, since although my parents were no longer around, their little house in the countryside was still there, and as I was packing, I suddenly heard a thump from outside the window, which startled me so much that I pulled back the curtain and looked down.

To my surprise, it was Keith, who was just picking himself up from the flower bed outside the first floor, and when he looked up and spotted me, his eyes lit up as he said, "Pretty girl, my family said yes! And my mother agreed to let me come find you, so now I can be with you every single day."

I noticed that he did not look very well and seemed to have lost some weight, so I figured he must have gone through quite a lot to get his parents to agree.

My heart ached a little as I lowered my head and asked softly, "Why didn't you just knock on the door? What if you fell and hurt yourself?"

He looked a bit wronged and said, "That Spencer told me you had moved away and told the security guards not to let me in, but you said you would wait for my news, and there was no way you would leave before I came, so he must have been lying, and I had to come see for myself just to be sure."

I could not help but smile and said, "Good thing you came. Otherwise, I really would have moved away."

*****

The next day, I received an invitation to a party hosted by Zade Corporation, which I assumed was a last-minute addition, and since I did not have anything fancy to wear, I chose a simple black dress that looked decent enough and added a touch of lipstick, just to make sure I looked presentable.

To my surprise, I ran straight into Spencer at the door just as he was coming back, and he stopped and stared at me for a moment, caught off guard, before frowning and saying, "Hazel, what are you all dressed up for? Do not waste your time, because you were the one who ended things, and there is no point regretting it now."

He had no idea that I had also received an invitation, so he assumed I was doing all this just to get his attention.

When he saw that I was not moving, Spencer looked like he had finally lost it, pulling out a tissue and reaching over to wipe off my lipstick, but I dodged, and my mouth accidentally touched his finger, which made him jerk his hand back as if he had been burned.

He said with disgust, "Tacky. Just go back inside."

I had long since gotten used to his mood swings, so I did not let it bother me, and after he left, I went to the party on my own and found a quiet corner to sit in.

Though people kept glancing my way all evening, I paid them no attention because I was too busy turning over in my mind the Zade family's real reason for inviting me, and I was not paying attention to anything else around me until someone bumped into me from behind.

When I turned around, I saw a man I did not recognize, and the moment he got a clear look at my face, a flicker of attraction crossed his eyes as he apologized over and over again. I told him it was fine, but he would not leave and even tried to take my hand. I knew straight away that he was up to something, so I pulled my hand back and made it clear I was not interested.

Spencer saw the whole thing from across the room, where he had been chatting with Sharon, and he suddenly strode over with a dark look on his face and said, "Hazel, you actually followed me all the way here, and now you are out here getting all touchy-feely with men in public. How embarrassing!"

I tried to explain, "I did not do anything. He came over to me on his own."

The man, feeling guilty, muttered something about a misunderstanding and quickly slipped away.

Even though it was all so clear, Spencer still snapped at me, saying, "Then, why did he come to you of all people? You must have been leading him on, just like you always do with..."

He stopped himself right there, but I knew exactly what he was getting at, because he meant that I had led him on, that I had made him break his own rules and lose his self-control.

I lifted my head and looked him straight in the eye, and I said slowly, with every word deliberate and clear, "So according to your logic, the victim is the one at fault? If someone gets robbed, do you blame them for having money and say the thief was simply tempted? Spencer, you are supposed to be this top graduate and investment banking elite, so you tell me, does that kind of logic even exist in this world?"

I had lost count of how many times he had looked at me and lost himself, only to turn away with disgust right after, and he had never once blamed his own weak will, always shifting all the blame onto me instead.

Spencer froze, the veins in his forehead bulging, and he opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get a word out, a voice cut in from behind him, calling out, "Pretty girl!"