Chapter 7 The Offer
Veronica's POV:
“Well,” I swallowed hard, my throat tight. “Please don’t compare your fathers with mine. At least yours gave you the chance to prove yourselves, even if it came with criticism or pressure. My father doesn’t even give me that much. He just decides everything for me... who I marry, what I do, how I live."
My voice cracked at the end, but I didn’t care. I was already feeling like a lost cause... at this point I didn't care what those two men thought of me.
Penny sighed softly beside me. “V, maybe you just need a break from all this. Go somewhere peaceful. A retreat in Bali, maybe?”
I let out a bitter laugh. “You’re kidding, right? The moment I swipe my card for a plane ticket, my father’s going to know. He tracks everything that I do..."
“Then stay with me for a while,” Penny said quickly. “I’ll be busy this week, but at least you’ll have time to clear your head.”
Before I could answer, Max’s voice cut through like a blade. “What a stupid plan.”
I glared at him. “Excuse me?”
Max shrugged, smirking like a typical bad boy that he was. “You know that your daddy tracks you... yet, you plan to stay with your best friend... I bet a million dollars that he’d have you tracked before your suitcase hit the floor.”
He leaned forward his black hair, and blue eyes glinting with something almost wicked. “If you really wanna break free, princess, you’ve gotta go somewhere he’d never think to look. Make him sweat a little. Let him come crawling back on your terms.”
His words startled me. The idea of rebelling... of forcing my father to finally take me seriously... seemed good.
And the worst part?! Max actually made sense.
I turned to look at him, half-annoyed, half-curious. “You seem to have a lot of experience running away from people.”
He grinned, that devil-may-care spark lighting his face. “Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea. People always chase me, especially chicks. So how about this ... come with me to Vegas for the weekend. I’ll show you what heaven looks like. We can even sin together.”
I groaned at him. And there he was back again, into his reckless, annoying bad boy form.
“No thanks,” I rolled my eyes at him. “The last thing I need right now is a front-row seat to your definition of sin.”
I was fuming in rage but then Theo stepped in, his presence felt as calm and cooling as a breeze after a storm, reducing my raising temper.
“There’s no need for her to go to the sin city,” he said firmly, shooting his brother a disapproving glance. “Our family owns a private beach house in Malibu coast. It’s secluded, secure, and has the world-class cuisine. No one could trace you there, Veronica. You’ll be safe until things settle down. Maybe the silence and the ocean waves could heal you."
Theo’s voice steadied something inside me. I would have accepted Theo’s offer in a heartbeat... the safety, the calm, the distance from everything — but something tugged at me to pause, to think.
“Wait,” I said slowly, looking between the two brothers. “Why are you two even here? I understand Penny called at the last minute, and you… saved me. But why?”
Theo smiled sweetly, while Max smirked, leaning casually against the rooftop rail.
“Correction,” Max drawled, “I saved you. Not him. He showed up a minute late to the scene.”
Theo gave his brother a warning glance, but I exhaled deeply, rubbing my temples.
“Fine." I exhaled. "Then just tell me what you both want in return. Because clearly, you didn’t show up here just to play hero.”
“What we want,” Theo said steadily, but every word landed with weight, “ is for you not to marry Chase.” Then he nodded, his beautiful green eyes serious. “If you reject him now, his company will collapse. It’s already hanging by a thread... all smoke and borrowed capital. Your father’s endorsement is the only thing keeping it alive. If you walk away, Chase Pemberton’s empire will crumble.”
I stared at him, disbelief tightening in my chest. “So that’s why… he has my father wrapped around his finger. He’s using my father to keep himself afloat. And he... has no idea of it.”
“Exactly,” Theo said quietly. “And that’s why we tracked you in the club the other night... to warn you. Everything that happened afterward was… unforeseen. It could have gone a little smoother.”
Max chuckled beside Theo, his smirk returning. “What my overly polite brother means to say is, we tried to tell you last time that Chase is an asshole, but someone decided to throw whiskey at my shirt and storm out.”
I gasped, recalling the way drink dripping down Max's perfect suit. Perhaps what I did was a mistake. Chase was my real enemy... not these two.
Silence fell for a long moment in the rooftop.
Finally, I spoke, my voice low but firm. “So, destroying Chase is what we all want, isn’t it?” I looked between them, feeling something cold and sharp replace my earlier weakness.
“Exactly,” Theo smiled, like honey.
And for the first time, it hit me... maybe this was the only way to take down Chase.
For everything he did to me. For drugging my drinks and laughing when I believed his lies. For calling me his maid, his boring little toy.
And most importantly, for twisting my father’s mind — a man who already resented me for being born a girl — thanks to Chase, now he hated me even.
What he did to me was just unforgivable! Chase had fed on my insecurities, used my love as his weapon, gaslit me and made me feel small. He didn’t just betray me... he broke the parts of me that trusted like an innocent child would, that dreamed and loved.
So maybe I should accept Theo’s offer... not just for them, not even for revenge.
But for me.
To take back what was mine.
To save my father’s company and earn the one thing he never gave me... his respect and validation.
To prove him that even as a woman, I could outsmart men like Chase, outplay them in their own ruthless game, and rise higher than they ever expected me to be.