Chapter 38 A secret buried for years
Veronica's POV:
"Veronica... Veronica... look at me."
Max's voice revived me from the trance I was in. I blinked, feeling disoriented, the sound of waves suddenly louder, and closer.
Cold water lapped against my neck.
My breath hitched as I realized where I was. I was standing in the ocean, the water rising up to my throat, the shore far behind me. Too far from where I was. The sand beneath my feet felt unstable, shifting with each wave. My heart started pounding violently, reality crashing back into my consciousness like ice water.
How did I come this far? When did I walk into the water?
Before panic could fully take hold, strong arms wrapped around me from behind. In one swift motion, Max lifted me up. I barely had the time to gasp before he was carrying me back toward the shore.
I dropped forward onto all fours, coughing violently, salt water spilling from my lungs... water I hadn't even realized I'd swallowed. My chest burned as I struggled to breathe, each inhale feeling like sandpaper scraping against raw tissue.
The world spun around me, the beach lights blurring into streaks of gold.
When I finally looked up at Max, still gasping, I realized we weren't alone.
A small crowd had gathered... beachgoers staring, whispering with curiosity and judgment. Some had their phones out, capturing me. It all made my skin crawl, making me feel like I was an animal in a zoo. How embarrassing!
Max straightened instantly, positioning himself between me and the onlookers.
"Show's over," he said coldly, raising his voice louder than their murmurs. "You can all go now."
The way he said it in a assertive way made people look away, embarrassed or perhaps intimidated, drifting back to their own lives until the beach was quiet again.
Now it was just us, and the beach lights.
He crouched in front of me, intensely scanned my face as if checking for injury. "Are you okay?"
I nodded weakly, still trying to catch my breath, my throat raw.
"Why are you always pulling these stunts, Veronica?" He exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his wet, dark hair, sending droplets scattering. "First the rooftop. Now this. Falling off the edges, drowning yourself... what is it with you?"
I blinked at him, stunned by the assumption. "Is that how it looked to you?"
"Of course it did," he said without hesitation, his blue eyes searching for mine. Then his expression shifted, softened. "And don't bother explaining—I already know what this is about." He paused. "It's your father, isn't it?"
I froze, my entire body going rigid. Slowly, I nodded, unable to form words.
Max sighed and sat down on the yoga mat beside me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his skin despite the cool night air. The sky above us had darkened completely, but beach lights were casting golden reflections on the sand and water, making everything feel dreamlike.
He leaned back in his hands, staring up at the stars for a moment before speaking again. "You remind me too much of my mother," he said quietly.
I turned to look at him, surprised by the vulnerability in his voice.
"My mom was just like you," he continued. "Always trying to impress my father. She married him by becoming his perfect assistant first. Organized his entire life. Managed his schedules, anticipated his needs before he even voiced them."
A bitter smile crossed his lips, there and gone in an instant.
"At first, my father appreciated it. Praised her. Made her feel special, necessary, loved. But slowly... that became her entire identity. Pleasing him. Making him happy. And no matter how much she gave, it was never enough." His jaw tightened. "He kept demanding more. More perfection. More sacrifice. More of herself until there was nothing left of her."
Max swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. "And you know what happened in the end."
"She crashed the car... and killed herself."
My throat closed, air suddenly impossible to draw.
"And you," he went on, turning fully toward me now, his eyes boring into mine with a fiery intensity that made me want to look away but couldn't. "You're walking straight down the same path."
"Just stop. Please. He's never going to love you the way you want. Even if you succeed with this startup—even if you become everything he claims to want—he'll just give you another goal. Another target to chase. It will be just another impossible standard to meet. And the moment you fail, if you fail, you'll be right back where you started."
His gaze held mine, unflinching. "That's the reality, Veronica. You need to accept it."
The dam inside me broke.
Tears spilled freely, uncontrollably, as sobs tore out of my chest. My body shook with the force of them, years of pain and longing and disappointment pouring out all at once.
Max didn't hesitate. He pulled me into his arms and gently guided me down until my head was resting against his broad, tattooed shoulder. His skin was still cool from the ocean, but his warmth seeped through me anyway, grounding me even as everything inside me fell apart.
"You don't know the entire reality of me," I cried, my mouth muffled against his skin. "You don't know everything."
"What do you mean?"
"I..." I paused, my heart pounding so violently I thought it might break through my ribs.
Because this was a secret I had buried for years. A secret locked so deep inside me that sometimes I almost convinced myself it wasn't real.
I had never told this to anyone—not even my best friend Penny, or a single soul outside my immediate family.
Only my parents and I knew the truth. The pressure of the secret that I carried was the biggest burden in my life.
I hesitated, torn between fear and something else. What if he judges me for this?!
But then I looked at Max... he already knew too much about me, doesn't it? More than I had ever allowed anyone to know. He'd seen me at my weakest, my most broken, and he hadn't turned away. So I can really trust him with this.
"My father hates me for a reason," I whispered, feeling afraid that someone could hear me. "Not just because I'm a girl... or because I disappointed him or failed to be what he wanted."
"It's because I did something terrible when I was eleven." The words felt heavy, poisonous in my mouth, like they might choke me. "I did something unforgivable."
"My father hates me... because... I killed my younger brother."
Max went completely still, widening his eyes slightly, his breathing shallow.
The secret was out.
And suddenly, I felt lighter, and more terrified—than I ever had before.