Chapter 91 This was a trap
Veronica's POV:
I was clenching my jaw so hard I thought my teeth might crack, as I looked at my father who was speaking with Laura Bellamy.
Laura fucking Bellamy. She was the pawn Chase had used to create that fake engagement party.
And now she was here, at our Debutante Ball, laughing at something my father said, like they were old friends.
"What are the Bellamys doing here?" I asked my father's secretary, a middle-aged woman named Margaret who'd been with him for fifteen years and who I was ninety percent sure he'd had an affair with at some point.
It was something we... Theo and I... just brushed off and moved on. Another in a long line of our father's affairs that we pretended not to notice.
Margaret leaned closer to me and whispered, "Mr. Ashford has developed a close relationship with the Bellamys recently. There have been... talks."
"Talks about what?" I pressed.
She hesitated, glancing at my father to make sure he wasn't watching. "Lately, there have been discussions about him promising one of his sons to her. For marriage."
I actually jumped, nearly spilling the champagne I'd been holding.
One of his sons. That meant either me or Theo.
Which one of us was his sacrificial lamb now?
Usually, I would have brushed this off without a second thought.
My old man would only assign Theo to such complex agreements... business mergers. I was the disappointment, the screw-up who partied away the family fortune and brought nothing but embarrassment.
But now that I've come clean to my family... now that I'd put on the suit, taken on responsibilities, and shown my actual capabilities... I was no longer spared from his business deals, was I?
Fuck this.
I should have stayed rogue and untamed. And kept on partying my dad's money away instead of being this sincere, dutiful son.
At least then I'd have been useless to his schemes.
"Max!" My father's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts in my mind. "Come here. I want you to meet someone."
No. No fucking way.
I approached, and my father's hand landed on my shoulder in what probably looked like paternal affection to everyone watching. To me, it felt like a trap closing.
"Laura, you remember my son Maximillain," my father said smoothly.
Laura Bellamy looked up at me, and I felt my blood boil at what I saw in her eyes. Her eyes were full of desire.
This is how most women look at me, don't they...
"Of course," Laura said, like a honey. "Hello, Max."
"Laura," I said, flatly. I refused to make this easy. "Weren't you actually engaged to Chase Pemberton? What happened to that?"
I asked it purposely, wanting to see her squirm.
But Laura didn't squirm. Instead, something hard flashed in her eyes before she covered it with a sweet smile.
"Bad things sometimes happen," she said lightly. "Misunderstandings. Miscommunications."
And suddenly I understood.
Laura was getting back at Veronica. She actually believed it was Veronica's fault her engagement to Chase had been broken.
In Laura's mind, Veronica was the villain who'd stolen her fiancé and ruined her life. She refused to see... or refused to acknowledge... that Chase had been the one cheating on her... the one orchestrating the whole humiliating situation.
And now she was agreeing to whatever scheme my father was cooking up.
"Max," my father interrupted before I could say anything else. "Bad agreements sometimes happen, especially in our world. The important thing is moving forward with the right partnerships."
He smiled at Laura with genuine warmth... or as close to genuine as my father got.
"And Laura here is really quite accomplished," he continued. "Her family's connections would complement our tech holdings beautifully. She's cultured, educated, well-connected. Exactly the kind of woman who should be part of the Ashford family."
Oh God. Oh no.
"Which is why," my father said, his hand tightening on my shoulder, "I'm planning to make an announcement tonight. About you two."
The world seemed to tilt around me.
That's why this Debutante Ball existed. Not just as a charity event or social gathering.
It was a stage. A carefully orchestrated performance where my father could announce my engagement to Laura Bellamy in front of five hundred witnesses, making it nearly impossible to back out without massive social and business repercussions.
This was the trap. And I'd walked right into it by showing up, by proving I could be responsible, by making myself useful to him again.
"An announcement," I repeated, blankly.
"Yes. I think around nine o'clock, during the debutante presentations. We'll make it part of the ceremony... continuing traditions, building family legacies, that sort of thing." My father was practically glowing with satisfaction. "What do you think, son?"
What did I think? I thought I was going to be sick like the time I'd taken ten shots at once. I thought this was a nightmare. I thought...
Theo, you lucky bastard. Where are you when I need you?
Because Theo would know what to do.
Theo would have some calm, rational strategy for getting out of this without causing a scene. Theo would...
But Theo was with Veronica. Doing exactly what we'd planned, we were investigating the family feud, trying to uncover secrets. He had no idea what was happening over here.
I was on my own.
"Father," I said carefully, "I think we should discuss this privately before making any public announcements."
"Nonsense," he said dismissively. "Everything's already arranged. Laura's family is thrilled. The contracts are being drawn up. This is a good match, Maxwell. You should be grateful."
"Grateful," I repeated numbly.
Laura was watching me with those calculating eyes, probably already planning the wedding, the merger, the social position she'd reclaim by becoming an Ashford.
And my father... my father was doing exactly what he'd always done. Using his children as chess pieces in his endless game of power and control.
"I need another drink," I said abruptly, pulling away from his grip.
"Max..."
"I just need a drink," I repeated, already walking away. "I'll be back."
I could feel eyes following me as I crossed the ballroom... some curious, some knowing, all of them witnesses to whatever drama was about to unfold on the stage very soon.
I pushed through the doors onto one of the balconies overlooking Central Park, gulping in cold air that burned my lungs.
Nine o'clock. He was planning to announce it at nine o'clock.
I checked my watch. It was already eight-thirty.
I had thirty minutes to figure out how to stop this. I need to find Theo and Veronica, to warn them, to come up with some kind of plan.