Chapter 47 Booby prize of the year
Veronica's POV:
The way Chase cursed me, the venom in his threats, only infuriated my anger even more.
How dare he?!
Chase turned and started walking quickly back toward the gardens, clearly trying to escape the crowd, the judgment, the scene I'd created.
But I wasn't done with him. Not even close.
"Take that back!" I yelled, following him as he pushed through the ornate glass doors leading to the outdoor terrace.
Max paced beside me.
"Or else I'll step back on that stage and continue exactly where I left off. I'll tell them everything, Chase. Every dirty secret of yours..."
Chase spun around, flushed with anger. "Come on, Veronica. Give me a break. You've made your point. You've humiliated me in front of everyone who matters. Isn't that enough?"
"Enough?" I nearly screamed. "And you get to talk about that? About having enough? After what you did to my startup, my reputation, my entire—"
"Stop it! Stop it right now!"
A female voice cut through our confrontation, high-pitched and furious.
We all turned to see Laura emerging from the gardens, her elegant gown slightly disheveled, her perfectly styled hair coming loose from its updo, her face blotchy with tears and rage.
She rushed forward and shoved me backward with surprising force. I stumbled, would have fallen if Max hadn't caught me, his hands steadying me as Laura advanced with fury in her eyes.
"You bitch!" Laura screamed, her composure completely shattered. "You ruined everything for me! My engagement, my future, my entire life plan—what did I ever do to you? What gave you the right to destroy my happiness?"
I scoffed. "Are you insane? This man is a fraud. A liar. A manipulator who was using you as a pawn in his sick game to control me. I actually saved your ass from making the worst mistake of your life, you ungrateful—"
"Stop lying!" Laura interrupted. "Just stop! I know why you're really here. You want him back. You can't stand that he moved on, that he chose me over you, that he was finally happy with someone else. So you came here to ruin it, to take him away from me, to make yourself feel better about being dumped."
I stared at her, my mouth literally falling open in disbelief.
This couldn't be real. She couldn't actually believe that narrative, could she?
But looking at her face—she looked hurt—I realized with horror that she absolutely did believe it.
Chase had gotten to her first, had poisoned her mind with his version of events, had convinced her that I was the villain in this story.
A bitter laugh escaped my throat. The absurdity of it all—standing here being accused of wanting back the man who'd made my life a living hell for months—was almost funny in how completely wrong it was.
"You think I want him back?" I asked. "You think I came all this way, endured this nightmare of an evening, stood up on that stage and risked my reputation—all because I'm jealous? You got it all wrong, Laura..."
I looked at Chase, who had the audacity to look almost hopeful, like maybe Laura's delusion would work in his favor somehow. Like maybe if she believed I wanted him back, he could use that to manipulate both of us.
And that's when I knew exactly what I needed to do.
I walked forward deliberately, my heels clicking on the stone terrace, and grabbed Chase's hand. He looked startled, confused.
Then I took his hand and placed it firmly over Laura's, pressing their palms together like I was conducting some kind of ceremony.
"Here," I said, loudly. "Now I wholeheartedly give him back to you. Take him. He's all yours. Congratulations—you've won the booby prize of the century."
I stepped back, releasing their hands, and spread my arms wide in a gesture of dramatic presentation.
"There you go, Laura. Chase Pemberton. He's all yours now. Happy? Is this what you wanted? Because if so, you can absolutely have him. No contest. No competition. I forfeit entirely."
Laura's face went from angry to confused, clearly not expecting this response. "You... what?"
"I'm giving him to you," I repeated slowly, like explaining something to a child. "With my blessing... Please, take this man off my hands permanently. Date him, marry him, have his children if you want. I don't care. I want nothing to do with him ever again."
"Veronica—" Chase started, but I whirled on him with such fury that he actually flinched.
"Don't," I snapped. "Don't you dare say my name like we're friends, like we're anything other than enemies."
I turned back to Laura, softening my tone slightly because despite everything, she was also a victim here.
Just a different kind of victim than me.
"Laura, I'm going to tell you something, and you can choose to believe me or not. That's entirely up to you. But I'm going to say it anyway because you deserve to know the truth."
I gestured to Chase, who was standing there looking increasingly uncomfortable. "This man doesn't love you. He doesn't love anyone except himself."
On our way back, Max said, “Do you know what you just did?” His blue eyes searched my face, warm now, fierce in a way that made my chest ache. “That took courage, Veronica. Real courage. Most people spend their entire lives afraid to do what you just did.”
I let out a shaky breath, my hands still trembling. “It feels… strange,” I admitted softly. “Standing up like that. For myself. I’ve never done it before... you know? I always tried to explain, to soften things, to make myself smaller so people wouldn’t leave.”
I looked down at my palms, then back at him. “Now I look back see how much of my life I've lost in being meeky..."
A fragile smile touched my lips. “It feels different. Like I finally chose my dignity over my fear.”
"I always knew you had it in you..." Max smiled back.
And just like that my heart fluttered uncontrollably...