I placed my flowers back onto the balcony and almost bumped into Spencer’s chest when I turned around.
“Hey, I’m a soon-to-be-married woman, so you better keep your distance. I’m going to be in a lot of trouble if my man saw us this close.” I pushed the man away before heading to the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee? Here, you can watch the TV while I go get us something.”
“I believe it’s no overstatement when I say that Ms. Yates’ return was highly anticipated. Even Spencer Lynch welcomed the new school artist with open arms at the entrance to the exhibition. After seeing Ms. Yates’ awe-inspiring piece of work, which took her a full year to complete, Mr. Lynch was even more convinced that an artist’s talent shouldn’t be overlooked just because they made a mistake in the past. The drawing is now in Julian Stewart’s hands, waiting to be signed by the man as a symbol of forgiveness. With that, Ms. Yates hoped that the public would give her another chance. The artist had shown remorse and… “
More than anything, I felt stupid for turning on the TV again. It was as if I wanted to spite myself. Crystal was all over the news that day, so I could not help but wonder how much she paid the media for that amount of coverage. It seemed like she really wanted to have a strong comeback.
Seeing how Spencer’s face had hardened even more, I swiftly turned the TV off before making my way to the kitchen. “Be right back.”
At that moment, all I wanted to do was leave the living room where Spencer was. The man looked so mad that it seemed like he was ready to swallow me whole. Spencer would usually smile like he was the nicest guy in the world, but he looked the total opposite when upset.
“How did your work end up as Crystal’s? Did you just hand it to her, or did she trick you into doing it? After following me into the kitchen, Spencer snatched the kettle from my hand to demand my attention.
“Could you please just return the kettle to me first?” From the look in his eyes, I could tell that he was hurt. He probably even felt betrayed.
After letting out a sigh, I explained, “It’s complicated. Whatever it is, it’s between Crystal and me. Besides, you should be happy about what happened. I mean, she got what she wanted, thanks to you. I imagine that she would be very grateful for all that you’ve done for her. And who knows, you two might just end up together. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”
“What I wanted was for her to come up with her own piece of work. She should have attended the exhibition with her own work and bravely owned up to her past. From there, she would start anew as an honest artist, not one who takes credit for other people’s work. That would be a disgrace to this profession! Do you understand what I’m saying, Yvonne? Why would you give her your work? You made yourself her accomplice. Do you realize that?”
Spencer covered his face in disappointment before continuing, “So no, this is not what I wanted. Not at all! I can’t believe this, Yvonne. How did it all turn out this way?”
“I’m not sure I can tell you how to fix this. It is what it is. She wouldn’t have made it this far if she didn’t have your help. You have no idea how vile and selfish that woman can be. That’s just who she is. I told you that you would regret it, didn’t I? Crystal made a bet with me just so she could best me again, and she did. I lost my pride after that. Since you promised me that you wouldn’t regret it, I don’t see why we have to discuss this any further. I still have things to attend to, so I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
I picked up my bag in the living room and gestured for the man to leave my house.
“I was wrong, and I regret it now. I really do,” admitted Spencer in a broken voice before covering his face in shame.
The man finally broke down because he realized that Crystal had betrayed his trust.
Standing in front of the crying man, I was lost for words. At that point, I admitted it was partially my fault, so I promised myself that I would never give in to Crystal ever again.
