Chapter 27 Legal Notice
Veronica's POV:
Just as I had feared, the first blow came fast... and it came hard from none other than my father.
Three hours after the scandal leaked, my father had already sent a legal notice to Theo and Max, accusing them of kidnapping me and hiding me from my family.
I stared at the PDF on my phone… and a hollow laugh tore out of me.
Family? Do they dare to call me family? What kind of family forces their daughter to marry a toxic, manipulative man?
My father's hypocrisy was unbearable.
“Damn, this looks nasty,” Theo said, leaning over to read the document. His brows furrowed in disbelief. “This is completely illegal. Veronica isn’t a minor. She’s twenty-five — she can live wherever she wants. This doesn't count as kidnapping!”
“It’s all just a joke,” Max said from the couch, tossing his arm over the backrest lazily. “Your old man is pulling a stunt to scare you into going back. A pathetic blackmail attempt.”
“Whatever it is, Max,” Theo snapped, “our father won’t be happy seeing this.”
And right on cue — Theo’s phone rang.
He went pale the moment he saw the caller ID.
“Speak of the devil,” he muttered under his breath.
I was standing ten feet away… but even from that distance, I could hear the angry shouting from the other end.
Sharp. Loud. Cutting like a whip.
Theo winced, running a frustrated hand through his blonde hair as he tried to calm his father down. His voice was low, patient… but the yelling only grew louder.
A sinking heaviness spread through my chest.
This wasn’t just hurting me anymore.
I had dragged the Ashford brothers into the fire with me. Because of my scandal… because of my messy life… because of that damn paparazzi footage…
Their already-strained relationship with their father was only getting worse now... just as I'd feared.
A wave of guilt washed over me so strongly. This couldn’t continue.
I couldn’t hide behind them forever... not while my father weaponized the law, the media, and pure intimidation to drag me back into his control.
Maybe it was time that I stopped running and started confronting him, and made my stand clear — once and for all.
I knew my father more than he did. He was too stubborn, like a bed of nails. The more his client resists a deal, the persistent he gets and finally explodes.
If I kept hiding, he’d only tighten his grip and keep on attacking the Ashfords.
I swallowed hard, my voice barely a whisper. “Maybe… I need to talk to him.”
Because as terrifying as it was… I couldn’t let the two men who protected me suffer the consequences of the chaos my father created.
“No, Veronica,” Max said sharply, pushing himself off the couch, now standing up straight. There was nothing lazy or playful in him now — his entire posture was tense, alert, and protective. “Don’t do something that stupid. You can’t win them just by talking.”
His tone rattled through me.
“But what else am I supposed to do?” My voice trembled despite my effort to sound firm. “Should I let you both face this baseless legal notice? Let the media tear you down because of me? Let your father scream at you? Let mine drag you to court?”
“Yes,” Max said without even blinking. His blue eyes were burning — fierce and unapologetic. “Because it’s his reputation too. Your old man isn’t going to take this all the way. He’s playing power games. Testing the waters. So let him drown in them. Why don’t you let him be the first one to surrender?”
Before I could even react, Theo cut in. “No, Veronica. Don’t listen to him.” His voice was calm, steady, but firm — the opposite of Max’s wildfire energy.
“You shouldn’t escalate this. And you shouldn’t hide. Just talk to him. Try to fix the relationship, fix the misunderstanding. Sometimes peace really is the better path.”
I looked between them — they were two opposite forces, both so certain they were right.
Max: rebellion and fire.
Theo: peace and diplomacy.
And I stood right between those two worlds, feeling like I was splitting apart.
I closed my eyes for a moment… and my father’s face flashed through my mind.
His cold stare. His words never softened. The disappointment and the resentment he already had... of having a daughter instead of a son.
Already, he wouldn’t hug me much. He wouldn’t comfort me or even ask if I was okay.
But some part of me… the part that had been desperate for his approval my whole life… still wanted him to see me as more than a burden.
I still wanted to prove him wrong, and wanted him to say, “You can lead the company. I believe in you.”
And wasn’t that the whole reason I joined the app project with Theo? To prove myself? To show him I was capable of building and scaling something?!
“You’re right, Theo,” I finally said, my voice quiet but steady. “I should talk to him. Maybe I can still salvage something before this explodes for all of us.”
Theo nodded in relief, softening his handsome features.
But Max… Max’s expression shut down instantly. His jaw clenched. His blue eyes hardened in a way that punched straight into my chest.
I understood exactly why.
Choosing Theo’s advice wasn’t just about the plan.
It was about choosing Theo. Trusting him more than Max. And Max felt it.
Only Theo accompanied me as I went to meet my father at a neutral spot — a quiet coffee shop overlooking the Malibu shoreline.
I told myself I was prepared to face my father.
But I wasn’t prepared for him.
Chase.
“Veronica, my darling,” Chase said, walking toward me with a fake concerned expression that was clearly visible to me. Before I could dodge, he wrapped his arms around me as if nothing had happened between us. “Are you alright? Do you know how worried I’ve been?”
My blood boiled. This man — this monster — was the reason everything in my life fell apart.
He was the reason I lost confidence in myself. The reason my father stopped trusting me. The reason I ran away from home.
And now he had the nerve to touch me?
I shoved him back with full force. “Stay away from me, you bastard. How dare you show up here?"
My voice shook from rage — not fear. The look on Chase’s face froze.
And this time… I didn’t flinch.