Chapter 7

The first call went unanswered. The second one too. Callie kept dialing, again and again, until finally, the line connected on her ninth attempt. She heard the steady sound of Spencer's breathing on the other end, and memories of her high school days rushed back. Back then, when she had been falsely accused of plagiarism and left utterly defenseless, she had done the same by calling his number over and over. All he had said was simply, "Don't be afraid. I'm here." But now, she questioned shakily, "Did you give her the original sketches of my painting?" Spencer calmly admitted, "Yes, I did." Callie's breath caught in her throat. "Why would you do that?" A few seconds of silence passed before Spencer finally responded, "That painting was never meant to be seen by the world, and it certainly shouldn't have your name on it. You know that, don't you?" So, it was his fear of being exposed. Fear that people might notice how she once felt about him. Callie let out a broken chuckle and closed her bloodshot eyes in exhaustion. "But I'm not the one who plagiarized. It was Talulah. You gave her the original sketches, and I'll never be able to clear my name! You've ruined my entire career!" "Tally only made a mistake. She didn't mean any harm. What's the big deal if you take the blame for her this time? I never wanted you to take painting so seriously anyway. "I only had you learn it to keep you distracted. Don't worry, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life. You'll never have to worry about money." With that, Spencer ended the call. Callie remained in place, still holding the phone to her ear. Her gaze slowly lifted to the mirror in front of her, where a swollen-eyed, tear-streaked face stared back. She barely recognized herself. What had they come to be? Could this cold, detached man truly be the same Spencer who, once upon a time, would have stood by her side against the world? She couldn't tell anymore. After the disaster at the art exhibition, Callie became more determined than ever to repay Spencer every cent she owed. With help from her friends, she took on a variety of part-time jobs—caddying at a golf course and working as a waitress at high-end clubs. Every penny mattered, and she accepted any work she could find. Every day, she would leave early in the morning and return late at night. With just a week left before her departure to Zephyria, Callie finally managed to gather the last few hundred thousand dollars she needed. On her final day of work, she put on her uniform and walked into the club, ready to finish her last shift. But fate had one more cruel twist in store for her. As Callie entered the private room, she saw a group of familiar faces. Men and women gathered around, playing some sort of game, and Spencer was among them. In the first round, Spencer lost, and the host of the game announced his penalty aloud, "Make out with the person you like for three minutes!" The room erupted into cheers and laughter, and everyone turned to glance at Talulah, whose cheeks flushed with embarrassment. However, Spencer stood up and walked through the crowd and straight toward Callie. The entire room fell silent, all eyes fixed on them with confusion and curiosity. Just then, Spencer handed Callie his phone. "Take this and record the whole thing." Callie felt a tremor run through her heart. She had a sense of what was coming, but to her surprise, it no longer hurt as much as she thought it would. Maybe it was because she had already decided to let go of her feelings, thus nothing Spencer did now could hurt her anymore. Calmly, she took the phone, opened the camera app, and pressed the record button. The phone's camera was high-quality. Despite the dim lighting, Callie could see everything on the screen clearly. Spencer returned to his seat, pulled Talulah into his arms, and leaned in to kiss her. At the top of the screen, the timer ticked away until it hit three minutes precisely. But the recording didn't stop there. As soon as the kiss ended, Spencer dropped to one knee and pulled a diamond ring from his pocket. His voice was filled with tenderness as he uttered, "Tally, will you marry me?" Spencer was proposing to Talulah! Callie couldn't make out Talulah's exact response, nor did she care to. The two of them were quickly engulfed by the excited crowd, their figures completely obscured. The cheers and whistles that filled the room were deafening. Callie lowered her hand and ended the recording. At that moment, the manager walked by and informed her that new guests had arrived in the next room and her help was needed. Callie handed the phone to someone and quietly left the private room without hesitation.