Hayden stiffened before pursing his lips and snapping in an annoyed tone, "Mel is right. Gifts are just a formality. If it really bothers you that much, I'll just compensate you with one later. But with so many people present right now, you'd better not make things difficult for me."
He shrugged my hand off his shoulder, his eyes full of warning.
"I was just kidding." Melissa's eyes curved in a smile as she smoothly went on, "Don't take it so seriously, Selina. Let's continue with the games, alright?"
After losing a round of dice, she urged Hayden to drink on her behalf, her body plastered against his back like it was the most natural thing in the world.
When playing Truth or Dare, she was dared to kiss a person of the opposite gender. She didn't even hesitate before turning around and kissing Hayden right on the lips.
Hayden flushed all the way to the tips of his ears and scolded her with a grin, "Hey, watch it!"
With a pout, Melissa retorted, "What? What's wrong with two best friends kissing each other? Selina doesn't seem all that bothered about it! Right, Selina?"
I heard her smug thoughts almost immediately. [As if she would dare to kick up a fuss in front of so many people! I bet she's bursting with frustration!]
Once again, everyone's gaze was on me.
I let out a soft laugh. "You already kissed him, so what's the point of asking me about it now?"
Meeting her gaze head-on, I added, "Or could it be that you're waiting for me to say that it's fine?"
The smile on her lips froze, and she subconsciously grabbed Hayden's arm tightly.
I found her behavior more repulsive than outright provocation.
An awkward silence spread in the room. Her eyes reddened, though she pretended to be unaffected.
"Selina, I really didn't mean anything by it. It was just a game! Don't overthink it."
With that said, she withdrew her hand as though she had been hurt by my words but was still putting on a strong front, fully playing up the pitiful act.
In her mind, however, she was mocking me. [Go ahead and continue pretending! Let's see who Hayden cares for more!]
Hayden instantly frowned deeply and turned to bark at me, "Selina Grant, do you have to be so mean? Mel has always been this straightforward! She doesn't have any ulterior motives!"
"Is that so?" I tilted my head to look at him. "So she's using my boyfriend to prove how straightforward she is?"
"It's just a game! Do you have to take it so seriously?" Hayden practically yelled at me. "When did you become so petty?"
How utterly ridiculous.
I had always thought that he was just loyal to his friends and simple-minded.
Only now did I realize that he was just pretending to be ignorant. He was greedy, wanting to have his cake and eat it too.
The others quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Melissa is just playing around. Don't mind it too much."
"Hey, now. There's no need to argue over something so insignificant, Lina. Show a little respect, okay?"
"We all know you're not the type to keep score over every little thing…"
Hayden glared at me, his hands curled into fists so tight that his knuckles had gone white.
He was this angry and hostile toward me, all for the sake of a woman who was supposedly just "one of the boys".
Once upon a time, he would drink on my behalf and shield me behind him as he took on anything and everything for me.
Now, however, he was treating me so coldly, so harshly, all because of Melissa.
A sense of helplessness slowly spread through me.
This relationship was rotten to the core.
For a moment, I simply met Hayden's furious gaze, not saying a word. Then, I turned and left, pointedly ignoring the sound of him gently comforting Melissa behind me.
