SHE HATES ME

She Hates Me is a short story written by Reiu Somao-I and shared with The Ugly Writers under the theme Closing Chapter

“Hector, do you know? I hate you.”

Those were the words that forever shackled Hector Dimitri. It was like a curse that made him unable to fall in love even if he’s already thirty.

He proclaimed himself as the most wanted man during his high school years. Indeed, it was not far away from the truth. He got the looks, and he was very handsome, in fact. He got money from a rich conglomerate family and owned several businesses. He has the body and a strong, competent athletic build. He had the brains, was a diligent student, and was always in the ranking of top achievers. And his personality wasn’t so bad if you know him well.

Hector was not really wrong when he claimed that everyone liked him, but he overlooked one person, Venus Vivaldi, the top student in their entire school.

Unlike Venus, the goddess of love, she has a mediocre look; unfortunately, by society’s standards, she is not pretty. She’s on the chubby side and has a nerdy look, eyeglasses, and an outdated fashion sense. Perhaps that’s because she came from a humble family and only relied on scholarships. That’s why she could enroll in a well-known school that students from affluent families mostly attended. It was also one of the reasons why many students poked fun at her, but they couldn’t really touch her because she’s the school’s pride in academic competition.

One day, Hector and his friends heard some students saying Venus might have had a crush on Hector. They openly criticized her because they thought she didn’t suit Hector.

Upon hearing this, Hector’s ego becomes bloated. He wanted to step on that prideful facade that Venus had since he couldn’t surpass her in school ranking.

January 27, at 11:20 at noon. It was the time and date that Hector could never forget.

With overflowing confidence, he approached Venus, sitting in a corner in the cafeteria while she was having her lunch.

“Venus, I heard some news.”

The girl looked back with a glare. Hector was already annoyed.

“What is it?”

“I heard that you had a crush on me. Well, everyone likes me so it’s not new to me. But, you should’ve told me so, although I won’t be able to reciprocate your feelings.”

She sighed. She dropped her utensils, covered the lid of her lunchbox, and faced the boy.

“Hector, do you know? I hate you.” With her eyes full of disgust, she pushed Hector’s shoulder with her hand.

“Stop being delusional. Your face is too common. You’re just a rich asshole relying on his parent’s money and reputation, who has a big ego but is too dumb to realize that you are the very definition of an undesirable man in the world. So shut the hell up and never utter those disgusting words again to me. I-HATE-YOU.”

She whispered in a low tone voice and left Hector speechless.
Days have passed, it became weeks then months. Finally, it’s graduation day. Venus and Hector were the valedictorians of their class, and they came as salutatorians. He would always feel so small whenever he saw Venus after that day. He also became quieter than usual and focused until the end of their school year.

“Venus.” He called her.

She just stopped and looked back at him.

“Congratulations.” Venus said even before he could speak.

“Congratulations, and I’m sorry.”

Venus wondered why the boy was apologizing to her.

“Do…you still hate me?”

She smiled and said, “Yes, I still hate you. Goodbye, Hector.”

The graduation day was the last time Hector saw Venus, but her words became a curse.

Years passed, but Hector was still single. He didn’t have the same interest in women as he did before. Nothing seems to catch his attention. But there was something that never changed; he couldn’t bear to hear three words, “I hate you.” It was like a trigger for him to tremble because of an unknown feeling.

“Hector!” His colleague and best friend, Vince, called his attention.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Have you responded to the high school reunion invitation yet? It was sent to us.”

“I haven’t seen it yet. Give me one moment.” He took his phone and scrolled on it, finally seeing the invitation. He saw the list of people who confirmed their attendance, and one name caught his attention: Venus Vivaldi.
“Vince, we’re going to the reunion.”

“Ohh, really? I thought you wouldn’t like the idea but…” Vince could not continue his words because he saw the burning determination coming from Hector’s eyes. “Okay, we’ll attend.”

Vince got curious after seeing his friend finally looking alive after so many years, so he scrolled the list of confirmed attendees, and when he saw Venus’ name, he found the answer to his question. “I see why you want to attend all of a sudden. The one who puts a curse on you finally showed herself.”
The reunion day has arrived. Hector and Vince saw many familiar faces when they arrived. They actually caught everyone else’s attention, especially Hector, because of his overwhelming presence. But Hector has his own mission. When they arrived, he was already busy looking around to search for Venus, the reason he was there.

Finally, when the wind blew as they all gathered in an al fresco reception, he smelled a familiar scent that could only come from one person he knew, the scent of apple.

Hector’s eyes immediately shifted from one area to another until he found someone sitting in a faraway corner beside the fountain, Venus.
Honestly, when Hector was walking towards Venus, his hands were already shaking and sweating for unknown reasons.

She was still the same. Although the way she dressed might have improved, she still has the same body built, chubby and plump. Her hair was tied in a one-sided braid, and her eyeglasses had a bigger but slimmer frame. She’s easy to recognize.

“Venus..” he spoke in a low tone.

She moved her head and looked at Hector. He felt chills ran all over his body when her eyes landed on him.

“What? Hector Dimitri?”

Hector just nodded his head a little. He was actually petrified.

“What business do you have with me?”

“I have a question.”

Venus lowered her head and made known that she’s listening.

“I..do you..still have ill feelings towards me?”

She scoffed. He bit his lower lip. After all those years, he knew he was asking the most stupid question, but he needed to break the curse.

“Are we still a child to talk about this? Honestly, I don’t even remember you anymore until you showed up here tonight.”

Hector should feel embarrassed, but there’s a greater feeling taking over than that: pain. He has never forgotten Venus since then, but his existence to her seems like a speck of dust.

“After all these years, why do you even… look down on me?”

“I don’t look down on you; it’s just that I hate you…”

“STOP!” Hector’s body was in a terrible state of shock. His whole body was trembling and he could feel his heart palpitating.

“Just…don’t ever say those words again. I don’t understand why you feel that way towards me. I just want to return to how I used to be, but you made me like this! Why do you even…”

“This is what I meant when I said those words to you back then. Hector, did you ever initiate things on your own? I bet not because you were given everything that you need. Money, fame, reputation, women, and whatever, but…did you ever step out and confront what you want?”

Hector raised his head and looked at Venus again. He could feel his heart lightening. As the wind blew again and the scent of apples lingered on his nose, he realized something for the first time.

“Did you…back then, did you already know?” His vision was getting blocked by tears welling up in his eyes.

Venus smiled. It was the first time after so many years he saw her smile.
“Finally, you caught up.” She smiled at him while her chin rested on her hands.

At that moment, Hector recalled how Venus had already entranced him since they first met in their first year in high school.

She was unattractive physically but that was not what made Hector drawn to her, it was her subtle kindness that he would often observe in their class. She has a big heart that he never saw nor experienced because of the environment he was raised in. He was always watching her. She was his resting place. She was his inspiration and rival at the same time yet he knew that he couldn’t shower her with all his feelings because there would be people who would use her against him.

He hides all his emotions. He forced himself to become an asshole and live like a jerk. He learned to camouflage himself and deny his feelings.
Hector walked towards Venus and grabbed her for a kiss. His eyes were shedding tears.

“How can you be so…cruel?” He whispered.

“I’m not the one who did it, and it was your play to begin with.”

“Don’t you dare try to say those words to me again, or I’ll go crazy for real.”

“Should I say the opposite?”

“Let me say it first since I missed saying it for so long. I love you, Venus.”

She laughed softly. “Yes, I know. You were too obvious, actually.”