Chapter 33 The Email That Changed Everything
Veronica's POV:
I was too scared to even get out of bed that morning.
Anxiety wasn't just eating at me… it was devouring me from the inside out, clawing at my chest until I could barely breathe.
For the last seven days, Theo and I had been working on the prototype as our lives depended on it, sacrificing food and sleep.
Now we were waiting for the email from the critics who would review our work.
The thought alone made my stomach churn violently.
The critics' panel wasn't just any review board. They were legends in the tech world... former industry titans, venture capitalists who'd built empires from scratch, and engineers whose innovations had shaped the modern digital landscape.
If they liked our work—if they approved us—we would receive an invitation to the Global Future Systems Expo. A single launch there would mean instant global exposure, millions of subscribers overnight, and recognition most startups could only dream of.
It was the fastest way to go big in the tech world. Startups would literally kill for a seat at that expo. I'd heard stories of founders who'd remortgaged their homes, burned through their life savings, destroyed relationships—all for a chance at that one golden ticket.
But the critics were just too strict, too selective, and too ruthless. They never handed out invitations without absolute credibility. Without proof that you weren't just another dreamer with a half-baked idea. Their rejection rate was something like ninety-eight percent. Maybe higher.
And Theo himself had faced rejection from them once before, years ago with a different project. That fact terrified me more than anything else.
If someone like Theo could get rejected once... then what guarantee did we have this time? What made us think we were good enough now?
I glanced at my phone on the nightstand.
9:30 a.m.
The email was expected at ten.
I opened the fridge, searching desperately for something... anything... that could dull the panic roaring through me.
My eyes landed on a bottle. Alcohol.
Without thinking, I grabbed it and twisted the cap...
“That’s mine.”
I shuddered at the sound, nearly dropping the bottle. “You scared me!” I yelled, spinning around to find Max leaning casually against the counter, arms crossed.
He raised an eyebrow. “You already look scared.”
“Yes, I am!” I snapped, shaking. “Why wouldn’t I be? My entire future depends on one email. Those people are known to be heartless critics who reject them without mercy. So tell me... why wouldn’t I be afraid?”
Max exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I know why you’re doing all this nonsense.”
I blinked at him. “Excuse me?”
“Nonsense,” he repeated. “I mean...” He gestured vaguely between us. “Why are you pressuring yourself over 'one single email?!"
I felt heat rise to my face. “You have no idea how hard we worked on this,” I shot back. “And you know what this means to me. My father’s approval depends on this. If I succeed here… maybe he’ll finally see me. Maybe he’ll finally love me.”
The words tumbled out before I could stop them.
Now Max looked at me with pity, as if I was a poor little duckling. “This,” he said, eyes darkening, “is exactly what I call nonsense.”
It felt like he’d slapped me.
“How dare you,” I whispered, fury and hurt crashing together. “How dare you say that?”
"You think you have to achieve something to win your father's love?" he interrupted, stepping closer, making me shudder for a whole different reason now. "Trust me, Veronica, it doesn't work that way. You don’t earn a parent’s love by achievements. I've seen this pattern a thousand times. It never ends the way you think it will. It's better if you just give up trying and accept that your father is actually an asshole..."
I didn't let him finish.
I paused, closed my eyes, and let out a deep breath... the kind Theo had taught me during our early morning yoga sessions. In through the nose, slow and controlled. Out through the mouth, releasing the tension.
I was trying to find calm in the chaos.
"You know what," I said tightly, opening my eyes and setting the bottle down on the counter. "I don't have time to argue with you. I need to go..."
Without waiting for his response, I turned and walked straight to Theo's room.
It was 10:00 a.m. now.
The email must have arrived.
My heart pounded so violently I could feel it in my throat, in my temples, in every nerve ending. I knocked once, then pushed the door open without waiting for an answer.
Theo was standing near his desk, laptop open and glowing in front of him.
His posture was rigid, his shoulders tense. And his green eyes... those usually calm, reassuring green eyes... lacked their characteristic light. They looked dim and sad.
And just like that, my heart sank.
"Did we actually fail the review?" I asked, feeling like the ground was about to open up and swallow me whole.
For a moment... a horrible, endless moment... Theo just shook his head slowly, looking gloomy. Like he was going to deliver the worst news imaginable.
My chest constricted painfully. No. No, no, no—whatever it was, I didn't want to hear it.
Then suddenly, without any warning at all, Theo straightened up, and his handsome face broke into the biggest grin I'd ever seen. "I was just messing with you... just relax," he smiled and then threw his arms into the air and shouted, "We won, Veronica! The critics approved us!"
I froze, unable to process the words.
"What?"
"They approved us!" he laughed. "They loved the prototype! We're invited to the Global Future Systems Expo!"
"Oh my God, Theo... you scared me with that little act!" I gasped, my hand flying to my chest where my heart was still racing.
I felt so much relief inside me, which I hadn't felt in a long time.
I ran to him and threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly as if he might disappear if I let go.
We both burst out laughing... too loud, uncontrollable and joyful laughter that filled the room and chased away every ounce of fear that had been suffocating me all morning.
We did it. Against all odds, against the ninety-eight percent rejection rate!
"I can't believe it," I whispered into his shoulder, tears pricking at my eyes. "I can't believe we actually made it."
"Believe it," Theo said softly, pulling back to look at me with those green eyes now glowing with triumph and relief. "This is real, Veronica. We're going to the expo. We're going global."