He chuckles and leans to the counter on my right, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "If you're expecting to hear I ended up in prison, don't hold your breath."

"No, not that, but what happened? There has to be a conclusion... like an unexpected turn of events... and then you and your dad reuniting and happy ending."

A bitter smile curls his lips. "This isn't a movie. There won't ever be a reuniting."

My face falls. "But you said-" I stop myself midway, the glacial look he gives tells me he's done discussing this topic.

I sigh and angle myself towards him. "Fine, but I don't get it. If your rich dad is out of the picture, how come you can live here? I mean, no offense, but no professor gets paid that well to afford to live in one of the most luxurious skyscrapers of this city. Not to mention, you haven't even been teaching that long."

Spencer stares at me, his expression leaving me to wonder what's going on inside his head.

"You ask too many questions," he says after a while.

I shrug and sip the wine. "What can I say, can't help my curious nature."

He rolls his eyes and a small smile makes its way to my face. Truth be told, I enjoy annoying him too much. "You didn't answer," I probe and he throws an irritated look at me then glances at the pot on the stove before turning back to me.

"Teaching is not my only source of income."

My eyebrows jump high. "So you're saying, you did become rich all by yourself, with no one's support?"

"My only advantage was being a part of the business faculty in Harvard, the rest was just playing with numbers and pushing myself to experiment with every option."

My mouth shapes an O. Playing with numbers! That's one way of putting it.

We fall into a comfortable silence and I spend the rest of the time, drinking wine and enjoying the sight of Spencer Wright struggling to prepare our late dinner.

At this point, I'm convinced he has done nothing except turning on his microwaving, warming the food, eating it, and leaving the rest for his poor cleaner, housekeeper.

We eat the spaghetti in silence, changing small words once in a while until the ringing of his phone interrupts us.

He leaves his stool and answers the call, and instead of focusing on my own food, curiosity gets the best of me and I give in to it, deciding to listen to his conversation.

He leans to one of the chairs of the dining table before receiving the call.

"Saff?" he greets her with uncertainty as if he's not sure it's her. A beat later he awkwardly chuckles. "No, I'm just surprised. Why'd you call?"

Spencer pushes himself off the chair and paces the room. I return my gaze to my plate.

"And... good for you I guess... what else am I supposed to say? It's your gallery, you can put the opening in any city you want, it's not like I know anything about these things," he grumbles and I bite my lip to stop myself from giggling.

"Oh? Here? This coming Saturday? Um... actually I can't come... no... well no one told you to change your opening day's location last-second... what's that supposed to mean? Yeah, I have work to do... yes, on Saturday night... uh... I have," he pauses, and out of sheer curiosity, I turn, catching him rubbing his brow and scanning the table as if he'll find the excuse he's looking for on there.

"To prepare for my classes' exams, I have to hand it to the faculty in a couple of days... That's another perfect reason for me to not come... so? Seriously? What's that even supposed to mean? So what Julia will be there?"

His last question piques my interest way more than I'd like to admit. Twirling the fork between the strings of spaghetti absently, I divert my entire attention to him.

"There was a reason why we called things off."

I frown at his statement. So, they had dated? Or maybe they were engaged?

"You don't need to know everything Savannah... no, just because we ended things on good terms doesn't mean I'm planning on getting back with her."

I raise my eyebrows with surprise. Unexpected relief washes over me but at the same time, a tiny voice at the back of my head eats away my peace of mind by chanting they've ended things on good terms, which means they might get back together. And I can't understand why this matter annoys me. Way more than I'd like it to.

"That's the most ridiculous reason I've ever heard... no... and didn't you say they'll be there? Well exactly... how can you even ask me to stay under the same roof with that witch!"

Again, I glance at him from over my shoulder as he pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.

"Yes, that's another reason for me to not come... come on... don't blame this on me, you already know I don't go to places they'll be at, so you should've considered this before changing the opening day's location..." a beat later he starts chuckling.

"Jeez Saff is this what you've learned from your dad's she-devil wife? Who demands to get back a given gift? I'd like to see you try... no I'm not giving the painting back to you... no... I said I'm not coming... very funny... again, what does this have to do with Julia? I told you I don't care she's there... well if you like her so much why don't you date her yourself?"

I cover my mouth with my hand, trying to my muffle my laughter, and silently shake. Someone's pissy.

"And you're annoying... I won't sleep on it, I've already told you I can't and won't come, that's it... no... do not pull that card on me... because it's not fair... whatever... don't call, my answer won't change... fine, bye." He hangs up, grumbling something under his breath. A dull thud follows and I turn, his phone lays on top of a book as he walks back to the kitchen island, taking his seat beside me and continuing his food.

"So your sister's an artist?" I ask the moment he picks up his fork. Spencer gives a curt nod. "Is it her a first gallery?" I plant my elbow on the countertop as I angle myself to him, watching him closely.

He takes a mouthful of spaghetti, clearly avoiding exchanging words with me as he nods once more.

"You should definitely go."

He shoots me an annoyed glare but I brush it off.

"And what painting were you talking about?"

He purses his lips and turns to glower at me full force. "I'd really appreciate it if you stay out of this."

"I'm just curious." I shrug.

He sighs and pushes his glasses up, then jerks his chin in the general direction of the living room.

My eyes widen with surprise. "The big one?"

He hums a 'yes' as he takes another spoonful of food.

"Wow, she's talented," I mumble to myself.

"She is... actually all the other paintings hanging in other rooms are hers too."

My mouth stays agape. "You must go."

Again, he glares at me.

"I mean it! Come on, it's her first exhibition, you have to be there... and not to mention, if Mason ever spoke to me like that, I'd smack him... hard."

"Good thing Savannah is nothing like you," he mutters and I smile.

"And that lame lie, you can hand in the questioners even a day before the exam."

"She doesn't need to know that, and why are you so concerned about this?"

"You should be grateful I'm giving you a girl's mindset's input." I pick up my wine glass and sip, holding his annoyed stare.

"I didn't ask for this input," he snaps.

I shrug. "Neither did I ask for advice, but you gave it anyway. See, it's how it works, when someone's not being rational, others point it out. Now I'm pointing it out to you."

He huffs. "Stay out of this, okay?"

"Honestly," I start and gaze at the end of the kitchen, the black wall across from me, and continue, "if I were in your sister's shoes, I never would've forgiven you for missing such an important day."

"Thanks for your input, can we move on now?"

I nod. "Sure thing... so you dated Julia?"

∞ ∞ ∞

More about Wright's past is coming up in the next chapter =)

Anyway, sorry for the short chapter, I'm getting super close to my summer semester's exams and had to make sure I have enough chapters so I wouldn't have to put this story on hold again =)

Hopefully after my exams, which by that time we'll be at chap 70 of this story, I'm planning on making the chapters longer [make the chapters about 2-2.5k words 👀 if of course, you guys would be okay with the length, if not, feel free to tell me] to wrap this story up sooner (and hit that complete button xD)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter (I know nothing much happened, but allow me to hype you up for chap 60 👀 lol, hopefully, that'll make it worth it)

Comment your thoughts, don't forget to vote! Thank you so much for reading *.*

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading <3