Chapter 58 Chapter LVIII

Chapter 58 Chapter LVIII

Holy shit.
She isn’t lying. 
Judging by the ridiculous and most uncomfortable silence that follows Kendal’s statement, I know for sure that there’s no way she’s making this up. 
I dare to glance at Chad, and then over my shoulder at Spencer, and by the way their brows are creased, and their jaws are tense and clenched, I know for a fact that she’s telling the truth.
Her intentions are not the best—that much is obvious—but it doesn’t matter now. Does it?
I don’t want to show her how much this affects me, giving her the satisfaction she is clearly seeking. Kendal might be beautiful, but she’s a snake. I can tell just by how dirty she’s playing to have Spencer cornered in front of me. Of course, she knew he hadn't told me. How, I have no idea. But no one can convince me otherwise. Whatever the reason is for why he’s kept this for me, I’ll find out. But not now.
Right now, I will be the bigger person and just show her I’m not someone to be messed with. The Hayden from seven years ago would never be this mature, but thankfully, I learned a thing or two ever since.
“Oh, I don’t think it was that important for Spencer to bother me with that kind of information. The past is in the past, right?” I finally reply, showing her my brightest and biggest smile. The sarcasm is dripping from my voice, though. “There’s no need for us to waste time talking about it.”
It is a lie, but she doesn’t need to know that. To be honest, a heads-up from Spencer that I would be meeting his ex-fiancée would be nice. In fact, it would be nice to know he even had a fiancée at all. That isn’t the type of news you keep from someone you’re dating, right? Especially after everything we went through.
Kendal was clearly not expecting me to answer her at all, judging by the amount of times she blinks as she looks from me to Spencer and back. 
She chuckles, trying to hide how her cheeks are reddening from embarrassment. 
Good. I hope she chokes on her words. 
Snake.
“I guess you’re right. Why talk about that, huh?” She darts her eyes one last time at Spencer before clearing her throat and looking around, pretending to be looking for someone. “Well, it was nice to meet you. But I need to find the boys now. If you’ll excuse me.”
I don’t bother answering her. Now that she’s out of my sight, I can barely keep my self-control. I don’t want to look at Spencer, or my brother, for that matter. All I want is to get away from here. It feels like the room has sucked all of the air from around me, and it feels like I can’t breathe. I need to go outside and get some fresh air before I freak out or do something I will regret later.
“Hays…” Spencer’s soft voice calls me, and I clench my teeth so I don’t snap at him in front of his guests.
“Not now, Spencer,” is the only thing I manage to say before walking out of his arms and away from him. 
Chad tries to stop me, but I yank my arm free from his grip and head to the front door, hoping no one follows me on my way out. Hopefully, no one does, and I don’t bump into anyone on the way, either. I only encounter the waiter with a tray filled with champagne glasses, which allows me to snatch one up. The gush of cold wind that hits me in the face as soon as I step outside is reinvigorating. I take a deep breath and swallow the uncomfortable feelings threatening to boil up my throat.
I shouldn’t be feeling like this because of a stupid thing that seems to definitely be in the past. Yes, Kendal wanted to affect me, and to my distaste, she succeeded. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like she noticed it. But I hate the fact that she did. I’m sure I’m overreacting, like I do every time, but it hurts. It fucking hurts to know Spencer had planned to marry someone else before me. It’s not fair to think like that—we hadn’t been together in years. For all he knew, there wasn’t even a single chance that we’d cross each other’s paths at all in the future. So, he might as well have been married to someone else, and I’d have no right to be mad at him for it.
So, why am I?
Maybe I’m romanticizing everything, wanting to be the only person in his life that he ever thought of having a family with. Wasn’t that what he told me? That there was never anyone in his life but me? So, how come he has an ex-fiancée? 
I chug down half of the champagne in my glass, closing my eyes to feel the liquid sliding down my throat. I just hope the alcohol kicks in sooner than later. I can’t face this party sober anymore. In fact, I wish I could just go home.
“Hays?” Poppy’s voice brings me back to reality, pulling me away from my excruciating thoughts.
“Yes?” I turn on my heel to look at her, finding her eyes narrowed at me and her brows creased with concern.
“Is everything okay? You passed by me like a rocket,” she notes, stepping out onto the sidewalk and closing the door behind her.
I turn my back to her again, focusing on the cars passing by to distract myself. I’m still not calm enough to talk about it. And I appreciate the fact that Poppy seems to know that by standing beside me, her arms crossed in front of her chest while she looks ahead to mimic me, giving me the space I need.
“Spencer has a fucking ex-fiancée,” I blurt out before I even know what I’m doing. So much for self-control.