Chapter 83 Spiralling
Veronica's POV:
I almost gave up on the brothers on the flight back to California.
We were boarding a commercial flight... apparently the Ashford private jet was still under maintenance, forcing the billionaire brothers to fly like normal people.
I ended up stuck in the middle seat, wedged between Theo by the window and Max on the aisle.
And they looked as cold as stone... refusing to even look at each other.
Theo had his noise-canceling headphones on, eyes closed in what was probably meditation but looked a lot like avoidance. Max was staring at the seat-back screen, scrolling through movie options without actually selecting anything, and his jaw was tight.
The tension between them was suffocating me. And I just couldn't take it anymore.
Halfway through the flight, I undid my seatbelt and excused myself to use the restroom, desperate for even five minutes away from their arctic silence.
On my way back to my seat, a pretty flight attendant who looked blonde, perfectly made-up, the kind of beauty that made me suddenly aware of my rumpled travel clothes... cornered me near the galley.
"Tell me you're their sister," she said.
"I'm sorry, what?"
She gestured subtly toward where Theo and Max sat, visible from where we stood. "Those two gorgeous men you're sitting with. Please tell me you're their sister and not dating one of them... Or God forbid, both of them."
I let out a chuckle, surprised by her directness. "Oh... don't be fooled by that. They might look like some kind of fantasy, but trust me, they're really so stubborn. Dating one would be complicated enough... being stuck between both of them is..."
I trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence.
The flight attendant looked disappointed. "So you are with them. Romantically, I mean."
"It's complicated," I said, which seems to be my default answer for everything these days.
"Isn't it always?" She smiled sympathetically before being called away by another passenger.
I made my way back to my seat, and only then did I notice how every female in our section of the plane was looking at me with obvious envy. Young women, older women, even a teenage girl across the aisle... all of them glancing between the brothers and me with expressions that clearly said they would give up anything to be in my position.
They all want to be sandwiched between two attractive men.
The grass is always greener on the other side, I thought bitterly before settling back into my seat and closing my eyes. They couldn't see the way these two brothers were systematically tearing each other apart over me. Couldn't feel the pressure of the choice I had to make.
I drifted to sleep to the thought that at least my expo had been successful.
At least something in my life was going right. My first startup was a success. Real investors had approached me. Tech journalists asked for interviews. The distribution partners wanted meetings.
Surely my father would have to acknowledge me now, wouldn't he? After everything I'd accomplished... surely he would finally see that I was worthy. That I deserved a seat at his table, a position on the board in the family business.
Wouldn't he?
Back at the beach house, I found myself constantly checking my phone.
Refreshing my email. Checking my messages. Looking for any communication from my father.
But there was nothing. It was like a complete radio silence.
I couldn't contemplate what was going on in his mind. Why wasn't he responding? The expo had been covered in major publications. My app has been featured in tech blogs. Surely he'd seen it. Surely he knew what I did.
So why the silence?
The next two days were filled with crushing loneliness.
Theo was always out meeting with clients, handling the fallout from Max's assault charge all while managing his various business ventures. He'd leave early in the morning and come back late at night, offering me tired smiles and gentle touches but nothing more.
And Max... Max seemed to be at clubs, always drinking.
He'd stumble in at odd hours, smelling of whiskey and drugs.
I'd hear him moving around the house in the middle of the night, in a restless and angry way. He avoided eye contact with me during the rare moments we were in the same room... and his energy felt dark and volatile in a way that scared me.
The brothers barely spoke to each other. Meals were silent... when we managed to all be present at the same time, which was rare.
I felt like I was watching them both self-destruct, and I was powerless to stop it.
That evening, I decided I'd had enough.
Max had left around six, presumably heading to another bar to drown whatever demons were chasing him.
Theo was locked in his office on yet another video call. And I was sitting alone in the living room, staring at my phone with still no messages from my father, feeling more isolated than I'd felt even in those dark months with Chase.
This had to stop.
Max was spiraling down into an abyss of self-destructive behavior, and I couldn't just sit and watch anymore.
I grabbed my jacket and keys and headed out to the car which Theo had given me to use for emergencies when no one was around.
I didn't know which bar Max would be at, but I had a pretty good idea of the types of places he frequented. It was mostly dark and upscale lounges where the music was loud enough to drown out thoughts... and the alcohol was top-shelf.
I tried three places before I found him.
He was sitting at the end of a bar in a place called Obsidian... all black leather and dim lighting and the kind of exclusive atmosphere that required either a membership or enough money that they didn't dare turn you away.
I sat beside Max, and he didn't even care to look at me.
"Go away, Veronica," he said, slightly slurred.
"No."
"I'm not good company right now."
"I don't care."
He finally turned to look at me, and what I saw in his blue eyes made my chest ache.