Chapter 3

3

I walked back to my seat, but my phone suddenly buzzed in my pocket.

I answered it, and a worried voice immediately filled my ear.

"I just landed. I'm heading your way right now."

"Actually, don't worry about it. I can just head back on my own in a bit."

"No way. I'm not letting my wife attend a reunion and drive home by herself. See you in twenty minutes."

I smiled softly and hung up.

Just as I set the phone down, someone approached my side.

"Mavis."

It was Sienna, holding a glass of wine with a practiced smile.

"It's been so long. Let me buy you a drink. Honestly, I should really thank you."

She leaned in closer, her voice sweet but sharp.

"Simeon told me that if you hadn't tutored him back then, he never would have made it into a top university."

"No need for thanks. We were just helping each other out," I replied, waving it off.

"Still, Simeon's success today is partly thanks to you. I'll have a drink on his behalf."

She started to tilt the bottle toward my glass.

"I don't drink," I said firmly, blocking the glass.

"Oh, just a little bit won't hurt."

Ignoring my refusal, she moved to pour anyway.

I lightly nudged the bottle away with my hand. Suddenly, Sienna let out a sharp scream.

The wine splashed everywhere, soaking her expensive clothes and her designer bag.

She scrambled to grab napkins, complaining loudly.

"Oh my god! This is a disaster! This silk and leather can't touch liquid!"

The other classmates, knowing her outfit probably cost more than their cars, watched with bated breath.

Sienna wiped at the stains for a moment before looking up at me with pure venom.

"Mavis, even if you're jealous of me, you didn't have to do this!"

"Do you have any idea how much this costs? You couldn't pay for this in a lifetime!"

I opened my mouth to explain, but Simeon was already there.

"Mavis, you've gone too far!"

"It wasn't intentional," I said calmly.

I really hadn't meant for it to happen. I barely pushed the bottle; I just wanted to stop her.

But for some reason, the wine had practically exploded out of the bottle and onto her.

I barely got a sentence out before Simeon cut me off.

"I just told you that Sienna and I are getting married. Did you really lose your mind that quickly?"

Simeon mocked me in front of everyone. The people around us began to whisper.

"Wow, I thought Mavis was pretty chill. I didn't think she'd be the jealous type."

"You can't judge a book by its cover. Some people act like they don't care while they're burning up inside!"

"Exactly. I heard they were a thing back in high school. She probably regrets not following him now that he's rich!"

Listening to the gossip was exhausting, but I kept my patience.

"I'm telling you, it was an accident. I told her I don't drink, but she insisted on pouring."

"I was genuinely trying to thank you for helping Simeon study," Sienna said, her voice now dripping with fake sincerity.

"I know it's hard for you to let go of him, but he belongs to me now."

I blinked, genuinely confused as I looked at her.

"Where on earth did you get the idea that I'm hung up on Simeon?"

"Did I say something to give you that impression?"

"Is it my face? My eyes? What exactly am I doing that makes you think I care?"

"Stop acting, Mavis!" Sienna snapped.

"There's no way you don't feel a sense of loss seeing how successful he is now."

"I don't feel even a tiny bit of loss."

I looked her straight in the eyes, making sure every word was clear.

"We all choose our own paths. I am perfectly happy with mine."

Simeon let out a cold, disbelieving laugh. I realized explaining was useless.

There was no point in arguing with people who didn't matter.

If I had known Simeon was going to be here, I might have skipped the event entirely.

It wasn't out of lingering feelings, but simply because there's no need to revisit the past.

"I'll pay for the clothes and the bag," I said, wanting to end the drama.

"Send me the total and your bank details. I'll transfer the money."

"Pay for it?!" Simeon barked.

"Do you even know the price? The outfit is seven thousand dollars. The bag is twenty-five thousand, and that's not counting the waitlist premium!"

"Let's say thirty thousand at the low end. How exactly are you going to pay for that?"

I took a deep breath. I told myself not to get angry.

The doctor said it's important for pregnant women to stay calm.

"Look, I'm not a petty man. Just apologize to Sienna and we'll call it even," Simeon said grandly.

"An apology isn't enough!" Sienna added quickly.

"You have to stand up and promise everyone here that you will never have any designs on Simeon ever again!"

I laughed.

I was actually laughing from sheer frustration.

Looking at Sienna's arrogant face, I picked up the half-empty wine bottle.

The doctor said I shouldn't get angry, but holding it in is even worse for the health.

I stepped forward and slowly poured the remaining wine all over Sienna's clothes and bag.

"AAAAAAH!"

Sienna shrieked in terror, staring at me as if I had lost my mind.

Simeon stood there frozen for several seconds before he reacted.

"Mavis! Are you insane? What the hell are you doing?"

Simeon shoved me back as he rushed to pull Sienna behind him.

Fortunately, the class president caught me and stood in between us, fearing Simeon might do something reckless.

"Simeon, calm down..."

"Mavis, I gave you a chance to walk away!" Simeon yelled, looking like he wanted to kill me. "How dare you do that to her? Who do you think you are?!"

"I don't need you to give me anything, and I don't think I'm anyone special. I'm just me!"

I looked him in the eye and added coldly.

"I agreed to pay for them. That means the clothes and the bag belong to me now. What I do with my own property is none of your business."

"Can you even afford it?!" Simeon sneered.

"Give me your bank details," I said, enunciating every word.

"Are you really going to bankrupt yourself just to win an argument?"

"Mavis, if you had just learned to drop that stubborn pride of yours, we wouldn't be in this position today!"

"The bank details. Now."

My voice was louder this time, filled with authority.

"Fine. Don't regret this," Simeon threatened.

"Simeon, stop talking to her!" Sienna screamed, vibrating with rage.

"If she wants to be a martyr, let her! Give her the details and let's see her struggle to pay!"

Simeon rattled off a string of numbers.

I pulled up my banking app and typed them in, but the system pinged with a password error.

I was sure that was the right code.

I tried another one. Still an error.

Mavis, Mavis... they really weren't kidding about pregnancy brain.

I had completely blanked on my own security code.

Simeon and Sienna stood there waiting, and every classmate was watching, eager for the climax of the show.

When they saw I wasn't completing the transfer, Sienna smirked.

"What happened, Mavis? You were so bold a second ago. Where's the money? Simeon's account hasn't seen a cent."

Simeon was staring at his phone, waiting for a notification that never came.

"I forgot my password," I explained.

"I don't want to lock my account by guessing again."

"What a convenient excuse," Sienna sneered.

Simeon's eyes were full of contempt.

The whispers from the crowd started up again.

"I actually thought she was going to pay. I was feeling bad for her bank account!"

"Who would be that stupid? Thirty thousand dollars is no joke!"

"Now she's just embarrassed herself. She has no way out."

Sienna asked me coldly, "So, what now? Are you going to write us an IOU? How long will it take? A year? Two?"

Her expression was dripping with disdain.

"Looking at how pathetic you look, you probably couldn't pay us back in your entire life!"

"Give me five minutes," I said, holding up one hand.

In five minutes, Jenson should be here.

"Stop pretending. You can't afford this!"

Sienna didn't want to waste more time.

"An apology was enough before, but now? You're going to get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness!"

She was clearly ready to humiliate me completely, and Simeon's face showed a flicker of dark anticipation.

He wanted to see me broken and crawling back to him.