Hello again! I wanted to let you know that I am interested in branching this story out to give more attention to other pairings aside from Spoby. But FEAR NOT, this is still, and always will be, a Spoby story. From the past chapters, you have probably already noticed that the other girls have separate relationships and separate drama. It is still my priority to develop and write about the Spoby romance and the love triangle, but there are going to be subplots with the other girls and their lovers, as they are a big part of Spencer's life!
At World's End
Chapter 8
Spencer applied another coat of lipstick before leaving the bathroom. When she stepped outside, she almost jumped back because Andrew was standing right there. He smiled at her, tilting his head to the side and admiring her beauty. He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing up and down her arms gently.
"My love, where are you headed out to all dolled up like this?" he asked, chuckling. "You look marvelous."
"Thank you... and I told you that I am going to the town festival tonight," she replied. "I asked you if you wanted to come but you said that you have work to attend to."
"Oh, right. I truly am sorry about that. I wish I could accompany you tonight but I have important work matters to take care of," he sighed. "Have a lovely time at the festival, though."
She smiled weakly before turning around, breaking from Andrew's grasp.
"Spencer," he called after her. She stayed standing the other direction. "Are we all right?"
She pressed her lips together.
"Why wouldn't we be?"
"Right..." he nodded his head. "So... is the knight attending the festival tonight?"
She tensed up again. She made a bold statement to Toby about how she could fearlessly do whatever she wanted since Andrew did not control her life, but she certainly was afraid to break the news to him. He was easily upset by a lot of things, and deep down she knew that Jasper being crowned the next King of Rosewood was still bothering him.
"He is," she confirmed, not wanting to lie to him.
"Of course," Andrew hissed, rolling his eyes. "So you put quite the effort into your look tonight for what? To impress him? Did you invite him?"
Spencer turned back around to face him. She gritted her teeth together, growing frustrated.
"I put effort into my look tonight because I wanted to. I am going out tonight and I wanted to look and feel nice, so I did. I did not do it for you, or him, or anybody other than myself. And as for asking him to attend? Yes, I did, but I simply did not want him to be alone in the castle tonight. I thought that he could use some fun and come see the festival. All my other friends are attending," she harshly and quickly explained.
He folded his arms.
"So, you consider him your friend, then?" he asked.
"Yes, I do," she told him. "I understand you not wanting him to be anything more than that, but you cannot possibly have a problem with him being a mere friend! It would be just like Hanna, Aria, Emily, and Alison are to me!" She shook her head, then continued, "Before you can say anything else, let me just say that I am going to the festival tonight, and Toby is coming as well."
"Fine, have it your way," he gave in, not wanting to lose her. "Go to the festival. But remember, Spencer: you have a loyalty to me. I am going to be your husband. I am going to be the prince of these lands. And while it may be fun to run around with your knight in shining armor, you have a loyalty to me. Just remember that."
Spencer watched Toby's eyes light up as he watched the performance going on in town. He looked so eager and amused, as if he had never seen anything as exciting as this. His excitement reminded her of a little boy. His amusement amused her, and she was honestly relieved that he enjoyed it so much. She was afraid that he was going to return to the castle with regret that he came that night instead of working on his battle notes, but he would be too kind to speak up. Instead, he would politely dodge around it, pretending like he did not hate it.
But now, she could visibly tell that he was enjoying it.
As soon as the performance ended and the actors took a bow, the audience began clapping and cheering wildly. Feeling the excitement of the moment, Toby joined in and starting cheering along with the others in the audience. Spencer laughed to herself; she truly hadn't seen him so happy this entire time that he was in the castle.
"I'll take it that you enjoyed the show, hmm?" she asked.
He broke from his own sphere of cultural enjoyment and came into reality again. He turned to look at her, still shaken and distracted by the marvelous sights he had just seen. He took a moment, but regained his composure.
"Y-yes, yes," he nodded his head. "I am very glad that I came here tonight. Those actors truly know how to put on a good show!"
Spencer smiled.
"Indeed, they do. I am just glad that you enjoyed it," she said.
"Well, be sure to let me know the next time one of these shows is happening in town. I would be more than delighted to attend another one!" he exclaimed. "It was magnificent!"
"Will do," she agreed. "You know, these types of shows go on all the time around town. I am surprised that you haven't been to more. I certainly go to them whenever I can. I really appreciate this type of art."
"I never really went out all that much, if I am being honest," he confessed. "I was too wrapped up in my own world."
She looked at him sympathetically.
"Well, it is never too late to begin experiencing the finer things in this world," she told him. "And you certainly were in your own world while you were watching the performance!"
He laughed.
"What can I say? It was fantastic," he said.
"Next time, I will take you to see a comedy," she grinned. "If you thought the drama was good, wait until you see the comedy. One time, I laughed so hard that there were tears coming out of my eyes!"
"I hope that the day comes soon, because I am already interested," he said.
Just then, Hanna, Aria, Emily, and Alison all arrived.
"Toby the knight!" Hanna exclaimed, raising her eyebrows. "I was not expecting to see you here... with Spencer."
Spencer scratched her head.
"Oh, I just thought that he could come see the fantastic performance. He had been working so hard all day," she shrugged it off.
"As you say," Hanna nodded in disbelief. "Anyway, I am glad that I saw you here! I wanted to invite you to come have dinner with us. And Toby, you are more than welcome to join us if you are interested."
Toby seemed hesitant, his mouth trembling.
"Oh, um... I—I do not know if that is a good—" he started.
"No, you should come!" Spencer encouraged. "You have not eaten yet, have you? We will all have something to eat in town together."
"All right..." he gave in, not wanting to refuse Spencer.
He had almost refused her offer to come watch the performance, and look how that turned out— he absolutely adored it. He decided to just trust her. Maybe the dinner would be the most fantastic thing he had eaten in a long time.
"So, it's settled!" Hanna exclaimed. "Both of you will be joining us! Elliott, Caleb, Casey, and Wesley are waiting at the establishment for us now."
A nice table was set up with several plates. The food was already on the table, and the drinks were already poured.
"Add one more plate, please," Hanna requested because of Toby, the surprise guest.
Everyone took their seats at the table.
"Hello, everyone. I do not think I have met you all, but I am Elliott Rollins. As you may already know, beautiful Alison is my lady," Elliott introduced himself. He reached over, taking her hand and kissing it.
Alison seemed uncomfortable and retreated her hand quickly, but Elliott did not seem to notice.
"Pleasure to meet you," Wesley said with a sweet smile.
Elliott grinned. "Oh, Wesley Fitzgerald, is it? Of course I know you. How could I not know the prize son of the Fitzgerald family? It is a pleasure to meet you, as well."
Wesley reached over and squeezed Aria's hand.
"This is my lovely lady: Aria Rose Montgomery," he introduced. "Soon to be Aria Rose Fitzgerald."
"Lovely," Elliott commented. "And of course I know you, Spencer Hastings. It is an honor to meet the future Princess of Rosewood. Andrew Campbell sure is a lucky fellow."
Spencer faked a laugh, picking up her wine glass.
"The rest of you should go around and introduce yourselves," Elliott suggested.
Each person went around saying their name and possible relation to the others. Soon, they got to Toby, and he tensed up. He felt like he did not belong there.
"Tobias... Toby Cavanaugh," he introduced himself. "I am a knight for the kingdom."
"Not to be rude," Elliott started, pressing the wine glass down on the table, "but why are you here, Tobias Cavanaugh?"
He felt his face heating up.
"Um, well... I was at the festival with Spencer and the ladies invited me to join you all," he explained.
Elliott seemed set off by the whole thing, but simply nodded his head and moved on.
"The royal wedding is going to be fantastic!" Elliott exclaimed. "I certainly am waiting for Jasper and Margaret's wedding, but I also am eagerly awaiting yours, Spencer. Have you two begun your planning yet?"
"A little, not much... We still have much to discuss," Spencer honestly answered.
"Very well. It will not be any royal wedding, but I want my ceremony with Alison to be grand," he proudly said, looking over at Alison. "I want to have it as close to a royal wedding as it can be! You like that, don't you?"
"Yes, of course..." Alison answered.
Emily glanced over at her, sensing that something was off.
"So, Alison, how does it feel to be back in Rosewood?" Emily asked to change the subject. She really did seem uncomfortable discussing things with Elliott.
"Oh, it is quite nice," Alison smiled. She looked somewhat sincere when she spoke. "I truly am happy to be able to spend time with all my dearest friends again. It is one of the greatest things that I was missing while I was in Paris. It was what prompted me to return. I wanted the old, homely feeling of Rosewood back."
"Turning down a lux life in Paris for me?" Elliott playfully asked. "Is that so, my dear?"
"Of course," Alison nodded, but she did not seem like she meant it. She got up from the table. "If you will all excuse me, I need a breath of fresh air, so I am going to step outside for a moment."
Caleb glanced at Hanna and then over to Elliott as Alison hurried out of the establishment.
"Elliott, is everything all right with her?" Caleb inquired.
"She is fine," Elliott laughed. "She just wants some air. Is that a crime?"
"She seems... off. And she is your lady, is she not? Shouldn't you be more concerned?" Caleb asked.
Elliott scoffed, "Mister Caleb Rivers, I have kept my mouth shut about you all night long, but your attitude is now making me change my mind. You are a mere commoner... almost a peasant with no successful career whatsoever. It is astonishing that a lovely, decent lady like Hanna has even considered you for marriage or a relation. You have no right to meddle in my relationship with Alison. I think I know her better than you do, and she is perfectly fine."
"I'm sorry I even asked," Caleb muttered sadly, pressing his lips together.
Hanna glared at Elliott, but decided not to provoke him further. Instead, she just squeezed Caleb's shoulder to comfort him.
"Well, I am going to check up on her anyways, even if you insist that she is fine," Emily said, almost bitterly.
Emily got up from the table and headed outside.
Elliott raised his eyebrows, glaring at Casey.
"You are really going to let your lady disrespect you like that? What is it with these commonfolks? They have no... class."
Casey folded his arms.
"How is she being disrespectful? Alison is her friend, and she is checking up on her," Casey insisted.
Spencer shook her head.
"Elliott, there is a lot of talk coming out of your mouth right now. We understand that you are a successful man, nobody is doubting you. But look at Wesley— he is just as successful, yet he is not talking out of his ass!" Spencer yelled.
Considering that Spencer was going to be the princess, Elliott kept his mouth shut. Toby smiled at her. He was glad that she was willing to stick up for others— it was one of her qualities that he adored. She seemed to always fight for what she believed in. But the one thing she wasn't willing to fight for was their relationship. He figured it was no big deal, and was only because she truly did love Andrew and wanted to marry him. He felt like a fool for thinking that one regretful night meant that she would leave her fiancé, who was about to become the Prince of Rosewood.
"Alison," Emily called, stepping outside. "Is everything all right?"
Alison sniffled, but then turned to Emily with a fake smile.
"Yes, everything is perfect," she said. "I simply wanted some fresh air, like I said."
"It is more than that," Emily said sternly. "I know you, Alison. I know when something is wrong."
"It does not matter!" Alison cried. "There is nothing I can do about it."
"Is this about Elliott?" Emily inquired. When Alison nodded her head, Emily sighed, "Oh..."
"I have to marry him, Emily. I have to," she said, sniffling again. "My parents want me to. They will not have it any other way. And he is not a terrible man... he is all right. But he can get quite rude sometimes and he is just not the type of person I pictured spending forever with." Alison swallowed hard, turning to Emily, "I pictured spending forever with you, never getting married. I told you that I wanted to spend forever with you in Paris."
Emily swallowed hard. She did not know what to say. She had always loved Alison, but this was so strange because she never truly believed that she felt the same way. She simply believed that Alison was toying with her.
"Why did you really come back to Rosewood, Alison?" Emily asked curiously.
"I meant it when I said that it did not feel right in Paris," Alison replied. "Paris is a lovely place to be, but not when you do not have the person you wanted there. Something felt off and I know exactly what it is. I really did want you to be there with me. That was always my dream."
"You know that it cannot be that way..." Emily sighed. "We both have to get married. It is a part of our plans. What are we supposed to do as two friends wandering around Paris without our husbands?"
Alison smiled, "Just about everything we've ever wanted to do."
With that said, Alison stepped forward, propping onto her tiptoes, and placed a soft kiss on Emily's lips. They had kissed before in the past, but Emily did not believe that it meant anything because Alison was very unclear with her feelings back then.
"Alison," Emily breathed as they both pulled back. "We cannot do that—"
"Do you love him?" Alison asked. "Casey Lance?"
Emily bit her lip.
"He is good to me," Emily told her.
"That does not answer the question..."
"I do not know. But I have to marry him, regardless."
"And I have to marry Elliott. But what if we just ran away to Paris together?"
Emily raised her eyebrows.
"Are you saying that you want to... as more than friends?"
Alison shrugged her shoulders.
"I haven't a clue what I really want, but I know that it is not Elliott Rollins. And I do know that you, me, and Paris has always been a dream of mine."
Emily was silent, unsure of how to respond. In her wildest fantasy, she would gladly accept Alison's offer and run away to Paris with her, but it just was not logical right now. She had no clue where her heart stood. All she knew was that she was feeling things that she used to feel for Alison again.
"You are right. I am crazy... I was crazy to even suggest something like that."
Emily was confused. "I never said you were crazy."
"I can see it in your eyes, Emily," Alison laughed sadly. "Sometimes dreams just have to remain dreams."
Before she knew it, Alison was heading back inside.
Aria went home with Wesley that night, trying her hardest to pretend like Ezra was nonexistent. Hanna went home with a quite distraught Caleb who could not get Elliott's harsh words out of his mind. Reluctantly, Alison went home with Elliott, knowing that she had to try to make this work now. Emily was not in the mood to go home with Casey that night, so she told him that she was going to stay with Spencer at the Campbell castle. So, Spencer, Toby, and Emily headed back together.
When they stepped inside, the servants were cleaning up the dinner table. The others were still sitting there, laughing as they finished up their conversations. Emily pressed her lips together, her face going sour when she saw that Paige McCullers was sitting there next to her sister Margaret McCullers. She had no idea that she would be walking into this by coming over to the castle. She wanted to escape her problems, not be reminded of the other ones. It would honestly have been better for her to just have gone home with Casey that night. Paige's eyes met hers awkwardly, which Emily dodged and quickly stared down at the tiled floors of the dining hall.
"Spencer, darling! Welcome home!" King David exclaimed. "And you brought your friend Emily! And of course, hello, Tobias."
"Hello, sir," Spencer smiled. "Is there a big dinner going on tonight? I was not informed."
"No, no, it was nothing," David assured her. "Margaret just wanted to invite her sister to have dinner with us here."
Margaret smiled at her sister.
"Maybe you will consider moving into the castle with us now, sister?" she asked.
Paige bit her lip.
"I do not know," she said.
"Well, Paige, my darling, you are always welcome in this castle," Cynthia grinned.
Eyeing Emily, Paige spoke up, "Maybe I will spend the night here tonight, since I am already here. It could give me a feel of what living here would be like..."
"That would be fantastic!" Margaret exclaimed, squeezing Jasper's arm tightly. He chuckled at his future wife's enthusiasm. "So I will see you at breakfast then, my dear sister?"
Paige nodded her head, "I think so."
Emily felt her stomach churning. Her escape from her situation suddenly just turned into another... situation. She would not have any time to clear her head and think about things if Paige was staying here, too. And she was planning on spilling her guts about what happened with Alison to Spencer in hopes that she would understand and be able to give her advice (although she was not even sure that her closest friends would accept her having feelings for a woman). But now there was no chance that she could tell Spencer. She was pretty sure that Paige would be beyond angered to find out that Emily had kissed another woman. Paige knew that she was with Casey and understood if they had to engage in romantic activities to keep the relationship going, but kissing another woman was a violation.
David, Cynthia, Jasper, and Margaret headed up the stairs to their respective rooms while Andrew, Paige, Emily, Spencer, and Toby remained downstairs in the dining hall. Andrew stood up from the dining table, stepping over to where Spencer was standing, practically shoving Toby away from her side.
"How was the festival?" Andrew asked.
Spencer was not sure if he was curious because he cared, or if he was curious because he wanted to know if anything happened with Toby.
"Lovely," she replied.
Andrew raised his eyebrows, "Lovely, hmm? What did you do?"
It definitely seemed to be the latter, considering the suspicion in his eyes. Toby felt awkward, tempted to hurry upstairs and get away from this mess.
"Listened to the music performers, watched the drama, ate a nice dinner," she explained.
"Sounds like a nice night," he commented.
"Indeed, it was," Spencer nodded her head.
She shifted her gaze away from Andrew. She did not appreciate that he was subtly trying to interrogate her.
"How was dinner? Did you meet up with any of the other girls?" Andrew asked.
"Yes, all of them. Their men attended as well," she replied. "That is why Emily is here right now. We decided that she would stay here for the night."
"I see," Andrew nodded his head.
Spencer squinted her eyes. She did not want to make a scene in front of the others, but something about his attitude was pissing her off.
"If you are finished with this interrogation, I am going upstairs to show Emily and Paige to their bedrooms," Spencer announced sharply.
"Right," Andrew nodded his head, biting his lip.
With that, Spencer guided Emily and Paige up the large staircase. Toby started to follow them up, but Andrew stopped him, slamming his palm against Toby's chest to halt him roughly.
"And where do you think you are going, Cavanaugh?" Andrew demanded, raising his eyebrows. "Do you really need to follow my lady upstairs?"
Toby swallowed hard, "No... my bedroom is also nearby—"
Rolling his eyes, Andrew cut him off, "I know what you are trying to do, Tobias Cavanaugh. I see right through your act. You are trying to play the silent martyr— trying to be the innocent man who is always there for my lady so that she will be charmed and want to leave me for you. But the reality is that she will never love you. She will always want me more."
Toby wanted to attack him back, but he promised himself that he would do whatever he could to avoid conflict with Andrew. Without saying a word, Toby pushed past Andrew's hold, trying to walk towards the stairs again. Andrew rushed over, slamming his palm against Toby's chest again.
"Do not walk away from me while I am talking to you!" Andrew yelled. "There was no reason for you to go to that festival with Spencer!"
"She invited me," he gritted his teeth.
"Is that how you commonfolk learned to behave? Accepting the offer of another man's lady? You have no decency or respect!" Andrew cried. "Spencer is my lady, and I am going to be the Prince of Rosewood, so I suggest that you stop this right now. A good man would never go after another man's lady."
"I am not going after her," he insisted.
It was true that he did not have the intention of stealing her from Andrew, he would not lie and say that he did not wish he could have Spencer. And he already made a grave mistake with her that Andrew would clearly not be pleased about. Before Andrew could think of a response, Spencer rushed back down the long stairwell with burning fury in her eyes. Freaking out because Spencer had seen him doing this, Andrew quickly retreated his hand from Toby's chest.
"Spencer—" he began.
"What the hell is going on?" Spencer demanded. "You cannot do this to him!"
"I was merely having a word with him," Andrew lied.
"That is not what it looked like. Do you think of me as a fool?" she hissed. "Get away from him!"
"I did," he sighed. "Please, it is not as bad as it looks."
"Oh, I think it is," she growled. "What kind of prince will you be if you have no decency or tolerance? You need to gain a grip on your rage. You cannot go around treating the people of this town that way!"
Andrew pressed his lips together, unsure of what to say. He knew he messed up badly, and that Spencer was going to be very angry about this, at least for a little while.
Still holding a bitter face, Spencer grabbed Toby's arm and jerked him away from the scene. She started marching up the stairs.
"Where are you going, Spencer!?" Andrew cried. "Are you not going to come to our bedroom?"
"No, I think that I will spend the night in a guest bedroom," she informed him once she reached the top of the stairs. "I cannot even look at you right now, Andrew."
"He was going off wildly— it was madness, you should have seen it, ladies," Spencer informed the two women sitting inside of Emily's bedroom.
Spencer had called them all to Emily's bedroom to discuss what had occurred downstairs. Toby nervously stood by the doorway, not participating in the conversation.
"How are you going to marry someone who cannot control his anger like that?" Emily questioned curiously.
"I do not know," Spencer sighed. "I wish he would just... be friendlier to others."
"I am sure he is just being protective," Paige suggested. "He loves you a lot, just as Jasper loves my sister a lot. He was just being a jealous man because he cannot handle the thought of you with any other man. Do not be so hard on him, Spencer."
"We will see tomorrow. Tonight, I will just go to one of the guest bedrooms to sleep. I do not want to be near him right now," Spencer explained. "I will see you all in the morning... I am getting tired now. Shall we leave, Toby?"
He nodded his head. Both of them exited the room, leaving Emily and Paige together. Emily swallowed hard. She did not want to be left in the room alone with Paige, or they were bound to talk about their relationship, and Emily was not in the right state of mind for such a conversation.
Inevitably, Paige smiled at her, pressing her hands to Emily's cheeks.
"Oh, Emily... It is so wonderful that you came to the castle tonight!" she exclaimed. "We should do this more often before Casey robs you away. We can see each other here. Nobody will suspect a thing. It will just be you and I."
Emily was looking at her nervously.
"Darling, Emily... Is everything all right? You do not look so well," Paige pointed out, clear concern in her eyes.
"I am fine," Emily assured her. "I just— I do not think that me staying in your room is a good idea. I should probably get back to mine."
Paige tilted her head to the side.
"This is our only chance to be together without others watching," Paige whispered. "Even if you want to go back to sleep in your room, you should at least stay here for a little while, and... be with me."
Paige pressed her lips against Emily's, kissing her. Emily kissed her back so that she would not question it, but her stomach was churning way too much to enjoy this. She ended it as soon as she could, staring at the floor of the bedroom.
"The more I think about things, the more I start to feel like they are crazy..." Emily confessed.
"What do you mean?" Paige asked.
She shifted back on the bed so she could get a better look at Emily's face and try to read her.
"About life... about us... about our respective plans for the future," she explained. "How long can this go on for? Forever? Sneaking around behind Casey's back? You are going to have to get married eventually, too. So, what will it be? We just keep doing this for the rest of our lives? Because I do not know if I can. The guilt will eat me alive."
Paige had never truly thought about what their plan would be. She had no idea how long this was meant to go on for. She was just enjoying the moment.
"So what, then? Do you plan on getting married to Casey and staying with him?" Paige asked incredulously. "You and I both know that is crazy! You do not love that man at all and will never be able to. I do not know what is to come in the future, but I do know how I feel about you— I am certain of my feelings. Are you?"
Emily did not respond. The truth was quite clear, but she could not bring herself to say it aloud to Paige in fear of upsetting her. She truly did care for Paige; she had no intentions of hurting her, but there seemed like no other way out. While her concerns about how they would go on with this relationship behind their husbands' backs were valid, those were not what was keeping her from continuing this relationship with Paige. Her mind was a hazy blur of feelings and she could not commit to being with Paige right now. Not when she had no clue what to do about her obvious feelings for Alison, which had been burning in the back of her mind ever since the moment that Alison stepped into the Rosewood Tavern.
And the blur deepened just that day when she went outside with the sole intentions of comforting her after sensing her discomfort with Elliott and his behavior. That kiss they shared made everything even more complicated. She had no idea how to progress with Alison, Casey, or Paige. She knew she had put herself in a terrible position, and now she would have to worm her way out of it, all while she had no idea what she truly wanted.
Did she want the stability of a nice, decent husband like Casey? That would be the simplest route; it was the same type of route that Alison was taking with Elliott after Emily had taken too long to respond to their kiss. Marrying Casey would be easy and Emily desperately wished her love life would become easy again. He was a good man, he loved her, wanted to marry her, and the whole public would not judge them for being together. With both Alison and Paige, she would have to deal with a secret for maybe the rest of her life, as almost nobody (except the ones who were deemed as off their rockers) was accepting of same-sex relations. Did she want to take the challenge of that path? Did she want to dive back into old feelings with Alison? Or did she want to try something new and fresh with Paige, whom she shared a nice connection with? Did she want to run away to Paris and live the vacation-esque dream that she and Alison had discussed when they were mere teenagers?
She pressed her lips together.
"I am not certain of anything," Emily confessed.
And it was the truth.
Paige huffed out bitterly, shocked that sweet Emily would reject and hurt her this way. She shook her head and pulled herself off of Emily's bed, excusing herself quietly and rushing out the door to head back to her own guest bedroom.
"You did not have to defend me against him, Spencer. Now the problem has just escalated even further..."
Spencer tilted her head to the side.
"Do not worry about it. That was a necessary scolding, okay? Andrew cannot get away with speaking to you that way!"
"He can," Toby asserted. "He is the future prince of this kingdom. He has power over me."
"A good leader is good to his people," Spencer shook her head. "That is no way to talk to somebody who has done no wrong—"
"I would agree," he cut her off, "but it is not like I am innocent. Some of things he was saying were true... I am no innocent man. You know what we did, Spencer. Is he wrong to be jealous?"
"He does not know about that," she shook her head.
"But maybe he suspects it. And the more I think about it, the more I understand where he is coming from. Sure, he should learn to control his anger and maybe get his points out in a better manner, but is he truly wrong? I was thinking: if he and I switched places, I would also be very upset if I suspected that you were secretly interested in or sleeping with somebody else," he told her.
Spencer understood what he was saying, and she hated how right she was. She looked at him pitifully. He was a good man. And maybe she had corrupted him and pushed him into such drama all for that one night of pleasure.
"Oh Lord, Toby... I wish I could just take that night back," she almost sobbed. "I ruined your life. I made a good man do a bad thing—"
He shook his head, taking a step forward.
"You did not ruin my life, Spencer," he assured her. "If anything, it only got better after you came into it. I would not have anything that I have now if it were not for you. Yes, things are complicated right now, but they will get better."
She smiled at him. Reaching forward, she boldly took his hand and gave it a light squeeze.
"How are you so good?" she asked, genuinely curious.
He chuckled, shaking his head modestly. When he looked back up from the floor, his eyes met Spencer's chocolate orbs. He pressed his tongue to his cheek, feeling flustered. Oh, how badly he wanted to kiss her right now, but he couldn't... he just couldn't. He could not make her make another impulsive decision that she would regret. She needed time to mend her relationship with Andrew so that she could peacefully marry him and Toby could peacefully move on from her. Toby knew that was for the best, and he desperately wished that it would happen faster.
He wanted to meet another woman who charmed him more than Spencer did so that he could forget all about his feelings for Spencer, which kept growing despite his better judgment. So badly, he wanted to let her go. It would make everybody's lives easier. Maybe with time, Spencer and Andrew would heal and Toby's heart would heal. Then, maybe— just maybe— Toby could try to move on from her with someone new. Maybe he could peacefully be happy and stop yearning for Spencer Hastings.
He turned his head away to break their gaze because he knew that if he kept staring at her, he was going to be too tempted and would end up kissing her. The only way to stop that was to stop looking into her alluring eyes. After breaking their gaze and instead fixing his eyes on the patterns on the carpet, his heart rate finally started slowing down, and his temptation to kiss her lowered.
"I will see you tomorrow at breakfast, then?" he shifted gears so that she would leave his room already so that he could try to stop thinking about her romantically right now altogether.
She nodded her head, smiling at him sweetly.
"Of course," she said. "See you tomorrow morning, Toby."
"See you, Spencer..."
Once she was out his door, he shut it. He pressed his back to the door, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath. Oh God, how would he ever forget about her when he was in this deep?