I gaped, looking straight up at my ex-boyfriend who was about a head taller than me even in my killer heels.
I cursed myself for not contemplating he would be here tonight.
Why the hell wouldn't he be, Adriana, for God's sake! He's still the goddamn DA for New York state. They'd probably rolled out the red carpet for him on his arrival.
"Adriana," he said, still smirking at me, "Fancy bumping into you, here."
"Yes, Mark," I replied, still slightly breathless from the shock, "You'll forgive me if we don't stop to shoot the breeze, I'm just leaving."
I went to move past him, but he stepped in the same direction, shoving his hands deep into his tuxedo pockets.
"It's been...what....six months since we last spoke?" he said, his brows drawing together slightly, "That's a long time..."
I rolled my eyes. When would he let me out of the way?
"Again, I'm sure you'll forgive me, I haven't been counting, for obvious reasons. Goodnight, Mark."
As I went to move past him again, he grabbed my arm and I immediately swung it out of his grasp, just missing hitting him in the face, my nails catching his temple.
He winced, but the devilish smile was quickly rearranged on his face.
"Mark, for the love of God, let me past," I fumed, "What do we have left to say to one another?"
I looked out towards the crowd of people at the end of the corridor and willed for someone to come down here to use the bathroom so I could make my escape...
Mark crossed his arms across his chest, "You haven't considered my proposition since we last had a conversation?"
I scoffed, "Your proposition? Mark, I'm not even going to spend any more time talking to you. Anything we had is dead and buried, and as far as I'm concerned, you never existed - now if you'll excuse me--"
"Not so fast." he stepped in front of me again, and I was just about ready to scream, "You look beautiful this evening, Adriana. Really gorgeous. You never wore any of these killer dresses for me."
"Mark, enough!" I shouted, becoming more than frustrated, more than annoyed.
His fingers briefly trailed against my cheek and then he gripped my wrist tight, "Come on, Bunny, I told you already how stupid I was a year ago. I'm a changed man."
"Mark, it doesn't matter, I'm in a relationship, I'm with someone else, now get off me!" I squirmed, but his vice grip became even tighter as he held me in place.
"Why won't you return my calls to your office, hm?" he lowered his voice, "You know how good it was between us, don't you? Hm? Even my mother misses you. She asks about you all the time. Come on, Ana..."
And then it all became clear.
I could smell the alcohol on his breath as he pinned me against the wall, hooking his leg around mine so I'd fall if I tried to escape. He'd been drinking hard liquor - an issue which had come up a few times in our relationship, when I'd been less than pleased about it.
But right now, I couldn't care less, I simply wanted out, and I wanted to be back with my husband.
"Mark, get off!" I pushed on his chest which was like a brick wall, "You've had too much to drink."
"Come on, Ana, please?" he slathered, holding my chin in his grasp, "Why don't you want me? Why don't you--"
"Because she has me."
The familiar voice made me sag, the tension evacuating from my body, and turning my head to the left I spied my Spencer, advancing down the corridor, a murderous look on his gorgeous face.
Mark stepped back immediately, clearly surprised to see my best friend and I took the opportunity to wiggle out of his hold and run towards Spencer.
"Oh, thank God!" I breathed, pressing my face into his chest, "He's drunk, Spence, he just caught me outside the ladies room and I--"
"Hush." he said, catching my chin between his index finger and thumb and kissing my lips, "It's okay. I'm here. Go back to the party."
I raised my head, looking back at Mark who was clearly in shock if his stance was anything to go by, his powder blue eyes dilating.
"Him?" he raged, face reddening, "Him? He's the guy? You're f*cking...him?"
"I suggest you stay the hell away from my wife, Holloway." Spencer snarled, "If you know what's good for you."
If my ex was shocked before, he was stunned now, staggering backwards, his mouth open, "Wife? You married this assh*le, Adriana?"
"Damn right," Spencer replied, and there was a glint in his eye, some on-edge emotion I couldn't put my finger on, "My wife. What did you always tell me, Holloway? To man up and grow some balls? To tell her how I felt? Well you were right on that one, I suppose. So I did. And now I'm the man with the girl of my dreams. So back the hell off, and I don't ever want to see you within 100 feet of Adriana ever again. I won't ask twice."
I was staggered at what I was hearing.
Did this mean Mark knew all this time how Spencer had felt about me? Was I really the only one who wasn't in the loop?
What the hell was going on?
"You always were an arrogant piece of sh*t, Haywood," Mark scoffed, "I had your card marked from the start."
That was it. This was where I had to intervene.
"Spencer, leave it." I said, pulling on his arm, "Let's go home."
Spencer briefly turned to look at me, his eyebrows furrowed, "Baby, go back to the party. Mark and I need to...chat."
But I wouldn't leave. What was Mark going to do? What was Spencer going to do? I couldn't take my eyes off the pair of them glaring at each other.
Then Mark broke the standoff, his eyes flicking towards mine.
And reflected in them was a venom so familiar, it was almost as I was transported back to that night. That night over a year ago when he'd ended things with me.
"If I say this relationship is over then it's f*cking over. I'm not wasting my time on this, especially not on you."
I had to admit it was still sore.
"So, what, Adriana?" his lip curled, as he gestured with disgust towards Spencer, "This was your plan all along?"
I was shocked that Mark was addressing me now, his expression firm and his lips pressed in a line.
"You don't speak to her." Spencer growled, standing in front of me, "You don't even look at her."
But I had to know.
"What do you mean?" I breathed, still curious.
Mark snorted and began pacing in front of me, "You know exactly what I mean. The whole time, the whole time we were...dating, did you have your eye on him? The big shot with lots of money? Was I a springboard?"
"I told you, already, don't talk to her!" Spencer fumed.
I scoffed, appalled. That was the card Mark was choosing to play with me? Knowing full well his reputation, it was mightily ironic.
"No, and you know that as well as I do," I responded, galled at his analysis of the situation, "And besides, even if I was using you, which you know I wasn't, why should it matter? You were sticking your d*ck in anything that looked sideways at you the entire time. Why are you even asking?"
"I'm asking if my ex-girlfriend was a wh*re the entire time while playing the sweet little virgin act," Mark snarled, "Because that's sure as hell what it looks like."
I gasped at Mark's coarse language, but truthfully I wasn't surprised. He had no respect for me whatsoever. Not when we were dating and certainly not now.
"Oh Holloway," Spencer laughed, with no humour in his voice whatsoever, "You were so close."
"So close to what?" Mark spat, his features twisting.
"You see, my wife expressly forbade me from chasing you down and handling you myself when I wanted to, when you left her, and while I was itching to do so, I respected her wishes." Spencer flexed his fingers, "Now, you can say whatever the hell you want about me - truth is, I don't give a f*ck. Especially not about pond scum like you. But you see, then you had to go and say what you just said about Adriana - my wife. And now I have to break my promise. I wish I could say I was sorry."
Before I could even fully digest what was happening, Spencer had drawn his hand back, slamming his fist full into Mark's face in a perfectly timed, stream-lined punch that expended precious little energy, a loud crack resounding.
"Spencer!" I screamed, grasping his arm as Mark went flying, catapulted across the marble floor, knocked flat on his ass.
"Oh, I so enjoyed that," Spencer goaded, his voice full of rancour, "I've been waiting a long time for that, you b*stard."
Mark attempted to scramble to his feet, blood pouring from his nose and dripping onto his snow white evening shirt, but he was clearly having difficulty.
"Stay down, you f**king prick," Spencer commanded, shrugging my grasp off and stepping towards Mark's prostrate form, "Or I'll take great pleasure in knocking you on your arse all over again. You've been asking for that from me for far too long."
"Spencer, please," I pleaded with him, shocked at his tone, "Spencer!"
I could feel the tension rippling through his shoulders like a wave as I tried my hardest to tug him away.
But he wouldn't have it. He stood with a victorious smirk on his face, a winning boxer in the ring as he glared down at Mark.
My ex meanwhile was practically balled up in a pathetic huddle on the floor, bleeding from the nose.
Clearly the alcohol had helped to throw him off balance and coupled with Spencer's killer punch, he was clearly feeling sorry for himself as he groaned in agony.
"You broke my f*cking nose!" He wailed, "F*ck you, Haywood!"
"No, f*ck you, you piece of sh*t," he hissed, "I cannot believe I let you within a mile of Adriana, you're not even fit to wipe her shoes."
"Spencer, come on." I insisted, grabbing his hand in mine, "Come on! You're going to cause a scene!"
He turned to me, and it was almost as if he was blinking the cloud of anger that had descended upon him away.
Compared to the way he'd stared down Mark, it almost took my breath away how tenderly he was looking at me.
"Okay," he raised my hand to plant a kiss on my knuckles, "Okay, I'm done."
Just then, two guys practically burst out of the men's room, clearly tipsy - loud and boisterous.
Oh, seriously?! Where were these guys 10 minutes ago when I needed them?
They both stopped in their tracks, assessing the situation before them, blinking.
"Nothing to see here, gents." Spencer interjected, fixing them both with an intense stare.
They shrugged, looking at one another, and with one last look at Mark who was still on the floor, made their retreat down the corridor.
Spencer's lips pressed together in a thin line, "Are you okay? Let's get out of here."
"I'm fine," I insisted, looking him over, "That was unnecessary, you know."
He shook his head, "That Adriana, was a long time coming, is what it was."
I sighed, glancing at Spencer, "Let's split before anyone sees you here."
I looked over at Mark who'd managed to prop himself up against the wall, the collar of his shirt now soaked in blood, while he whimpered pathetically.
And surprisingly, I felt...nothing. Nothing at all. Not empathy, or sadness. But not fury or disgust either. Just...nothing.
What became clear to me at that very moment was that the chapter of my life with Mark in it had well and truly closed.
There was no point in me dwelling on the past when I was unable to change it. And there was no point in worrying what Mark would do next or where he'd resurface. He was powerless, impotent to do anything which could affect me or my happiness.
I took Spencer's hand and allowed him to lead me down the corridor, away from Mark.
And I didn't look back.
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[Author's Note]
So, I'll tell you the truth. I've been waiting to write that chapter for a LONG time. Just like Spencer, Mark has had it coming in my head for...forever. I was waiting for the opportunity for him to get his just desserts, and it seemed like now, with Adriana as a married woman, was the perfect time. Did you think so?
I also felt as smug as Spencer getting to land that metaphorical punch of revealing Adriana and him being together....I could almost see Mark's jaw dropping as I wrote it. Brings a smirk to my face even now.
The song, Don't Hurt Yourself, is one of my favourites...think it encapsulates this chapter well. And the picture is how I imagine the ever-charming Mark at tonight's Ball.
Hope you are keeping well! At risk of repeating myself, I'm drawing ever closer to the end of this novel, which makes me happy and sad in equal measure. But there are still a few cats to let out of the bag before I'm done, so stick around!
Until next time,
- Bex. 'xo