It is now three in the afternoon, and I am already done with all of my classes today.
My friend, Amanda, and I, just went out of the business building. Since both of us haven't had our lunch yet, we were planning on heading towards the Korean restaurant that she recommended the other day.
I was supposed to meet Ansel at around 5 PM after his class, and as I was rummaging through my bag for my phone to message him about my plan with Amanda, I heard someone mention Ansel's name.
"Do you know where Caesar Ansel Chadwick is?" A rather high-pitched voice asked, and the haughtiness in the tone of the person who spoke was quite disturbing.
I shifted my gaze away from my bag to the ladies who were talking a few feet away from us. A young woman, who looked like she is around my age, was asking a group of students about Ansel's whereabouts. The said woman has a long wavy auburn hair that falls above her lower back, and she looked very feminine with her pink wrap dress and a pair of white strappy heels.
Seeing her interact with the group of students, her presence just screams spoiled rich girl.
The three ladies whom the rich girl asked looked at each other before someone among them said, "Why are you asking?"
The response of the group came as a shock as well because of their taunting voice and stance. Amanda, who is standing beside me, murmured a 'wow' at the sight unfolding before us.
"Are they going to fight about your boyfriend?" Amanda whispered from beside me, and instead of concern, it seems like she is enjoying the current situation.
"I'm his fiancée, and I think I have every right to know," the auburn-haired lady replied, her hand resting on her hips, responding to the taunting of the group of ladies.
The three ladies seemed quite shocked at the revelation and once again looked at each other in confusion. Amanda, who was also listening to their conversation hissed, "What is she talking about?"
'I'd like to know the answer to that as well.'
One of the three ladies caught sight of me, and she furrowed her eyebrows before pointing at me. "That is his girlfriend."
'Wow. Is she hoping for a confrontation?'
The auburn-haired lady snapped her head towards my direction. She glowered at me when she saw me, and instead of acknowledging my presence, she returned her gaze towards the three and spoke, "that can't be true. Caesar would never pick someone like her."
I don't know why, but when I heard her say those words, instead of getting angry, I felt rather amused at how she acted. I have unwillingly watched too many television dramas because of my mother, and right now, it feels like I'm in the middle of one.
Before I could open my mouth and interrupt their conversation, Amanda yelled at them, "and I also don't think he'd choose a cheap spoiled brat like you."
My mouth almost fell open at what Amanda just did. Suddenly, the auburn-haired woman stomped towards us and yelled, "What did you just call me?"
I am the kind of person who never wanted to be in the center of everyone's attention. I hate the limelight. I always tried to avoid messy confrontations that would catch other peoples' attention. I prefer to talk and clarify to the other person about the issue instead of going straight into an argument with them.
Right now, seeing the fuming auburn-haired lady in front of me, arguing rather loudly against my friend, it took me everything not to join the screaming match.
"She's not wrong though," I interjected, making the two snap their heads towards me. I raised an eyebrow at the auburn-haired lady and continued, "You just waltzed right into our campus acting like everyone must heed to your bidding, and now, you go screaming just because you heard something you don't like. If that isn't a shameful move by a spoiled brat, I don't know what is."
Although I might have stopped myself from joining the screaming match, I did not promise I would stop my sharp tongue.
***
'I guess it is true that bitches never change.'
I remembered how my first meeting with Christina went when I was still in college. Her arrogance was unbeatable, and she acted like everything has to go her way. We almost had a full-blown fight at that time, luckily, Ansel's class was rescheduled and he came on time to prevent Christina and me from tearing each other into pieces.
And seeing her right in front of me, she seemed like the same Christina I knew, except now, she has better control over her emotions.
After we met earlier, she invited me for a coffee at the café in front of the building. I was quite surprised at her audacity to invite me for coffee, but I guess modesty is not in her dictionary.
Spending more time with her is the last thing that I wanted, but I do not want to reject her offer and seem like I was running away from her.
It should be her who is running away from me.
I still haven't forgotten, and I don't think I will ever forget, what she did to me five years ago. All I wanted to do when I saw her was to grab her hair and drag her out of the building, but I know that that would never be enough. I would only be seen as a scandalous and violent person, and the satisfaction from that would be less than what I would lose.
If I could, I want to crush her into pieces until she could never stand again.
'Like what she did to me.'
I took the cup of coffee from the table in front of me and took a sip. Christina was sitting opposite to me, staring right at me with an unreadable expression.
We sat on the far corner of the coffee shop, away from the eyes of the other customers. Although the place is quite empty, it would still be better to sit away from the others in case either one of us causes an uproar.
She said that she wanted to talk, but it has been minutes since we came here and she hasn't opened her conceited mouth yet. I can guess what she wanted to say when she invited me, and I am confident that I'm rather prepared for anything that she could throw at me.
I placed the cup back to the table soundlessly and shifted my gaze back to Christina. "I don't think you invited me for coffee so you can stare at me the whole time," I said as I raise an eyebrow at her.
Christina glared at me after the words left my mouth. She took her cup of coffee from the table and took a sip before saying, "you're still a bitch you know."
"I could say the same to you."
The moment Christina and I met, I knew we would never be able to get along. She has the ability to bring the worst out of me, and the same goes for me. She would act all ladylike around Ansel, yet when he's gone, she would go back to being the stuck-up spoiled heiress that she is.
"I didn't think you had the nerve to ever go back," Christina spoke, her voice dripping with hatred.
"Are you still futilely pining over Ansel?" I retorted.
I have no clue regarding the status of Christina and Ansel's relationship. I merely heard from Sheila, the chatty young woman from the procurement department, that they are still engaged, but seeing Christina's expression darken at my words, I guess I hit the nail.
"I am his fiancé, unlike you who's nothing to him right now," Christina spat out.
I guess I should commend her for not immediately lashing out at me. If it was the past Christina, she would probably grab me by the hair right now while screaming her lungs out.
"That's really sweet. You have been a fiancé for like," I trailed off, my voice nauseatingly sweet in order to infuriate her. I placed my hand under my chin and continued, "Almost ten years now?"
I would do everything to capture her expression right after I said those words. Christina's face is red in both anger and embarrassment, and I felt a surge of confidence as I was able to humiliate the woman in front of me.
'But it's not yet enough.'
If I could, I wanted to make her experience the pain that she made me go through.
"But still, it's better than being a wife for two years who ran away at the sight of blood," Christina said, sneering at me.
I glared at her. "Are you forgetting that you and that family was the one who forced me to leave?" I said, my voice dripping in disdain, and after those words left my mouth, I felt like my hands were starting to shake from anger.
She's making me out to be the coward wife who ran away, but in reality, she and that family drove me into the corner where I had no choice but to leave. They made my life so miserable that they took away everything, even my will to live.
After the words left my mouth, I noticed a slight apprehension in Christina's face and seeing her expression, I wanted to push her further onto the edge of the cliff.
"Does Ansel have any idea about all the terrible things that you did?" I probed, my voice taut with anger.
Christina's eyes widened for a moment before she broke the eye contact. She shifted her gaze to the side, making me unable to gauge her expression, but base on how she reacted earlier to my question, I guess I hit another nail.
'Ansel had no idea.'
"When I first saw you, I thought you were just a spoiled rich brat who has to get everything that she wanted," I started, my voice starting to lose the anger. Right now, I just want to make her regret meeting me today. "But I was wrong, you are an evil wench who could do atrocious things without a hint of hesitation."
"Does Ansel know that about you?" I said, ending my little speech.
And I guess I knew just the right buttons to push.
Christina snapped her head towards me, her face filled with anger, yet I can see from her eyes that she's also scared.
She's scared because she does not want Ansel to know.
"You should never come back," Christina spat out. She stood from her seat and glared at me. "I will make you regret ever coming back."
I pretty sure her words were not empty, but even so, after everything they had done to make my life miserable, those words do not make me cower anymore.
I stood up from my seat as well and returned her glare with a sneer. "I'm shaking in anticipation."
After I said those words, I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her towards me, making her slam her hand onto the table for support as she was bent forward with the table between us.
"I wonder what a murderer like you will do," I whispered to her ear as I tighten my grip on her shoulder.
A loud gasp left her mouth, and I can almost imagine her furious expression right now.
'Truly, Christina brings the worst out of me.'
Like I know how to make her furious, she also knows how to push the right buttons to make me livid.
I pushed her back and she glared at me with so much hatred in her eyes. I smiled at her in return, knowing that behind that glare, she is still a child who is in reality, very scared right now.
"Thanks for the coffee," I said, smiling at her. One thing I learned from the years of handling Christina is that it is never good to let your anger rule over you if you want to win in an argument. It's better to act unaffected by their words and make them even more furious. "I hope you have a nice day!"
With that, I started walking away from her.
If she was the old Christina, she would probably be yelling profanities at me right now, or she would be making a huge scene by running after me and grabbing my hair, but once I was out of the coffee shop, I could see from the glass windows that she hasn't moved an inch from her position yet, her expression too far for me to see.
But I truly hope, I made her day turn for the worst.