Chapter 96 The capture
Veronica's POV:
"Theo, wait!" I ran toward him, my heels clicking frantically against the marble floor.
He turned, and the expression on his face was too neutral. Like he'd put up walls I couldn't see but could definitely feel.
"That was a nice save," he said, polite and distant. "Quick thinking. You probably just saved Max from a nightmare."
But he didn't quite meet my eyes. Wouldn't hold my gaze for more than a second before looking past me, at the wall, at anything else.
"Theo—" I started, but he was already moving, pulling something from his jacket pocket.
"You should hide out in a hotel room upstairs," he said, pressing a keycard into my hand. "Your father is going to be looking for you.
So is mine. This gives you time to think, to breathe. Room 2847."
"Are you sure you can handle this?" I asked, staring down at the keycard. "The fallout, I mean. Both our fathers are going to..."
"Yes, we will," Max's voice interrupted as he appeared beside his brother, slightly out of breath from pushing through the crowd to find us.
He looked at me with something like awe in his blue eyes. "Thank you. For doing that. I never thought... I never expected you'd actually go up there and..."
"It's fine," I said quickly, uncomfortable with his gratitude. "I couldn't let Laura trap you."
"Still," Max continued. "That took guts. Real guts. And I won't forget it."
He exchanged a look with Theo, something passing between them that I couldn't read.
"Actually," Max said, "Theo had already suggested the idea. That you could do it, I mean. Go up there instead of Laura."
I felt like the floor had dropped out from under me.
"He did?"
I turned to look at Theo, but he still wouldn't meet my eyes. Just stood there with his hands in his pockets, his jaw tight, looking at some point past my shoulder.
"Yeah," Max confirmed, seeming oblivious to the tension. "When we were trying to figure out how to stop the announcement, Theo said... Maybe maybe we could get you up there instead. Make it your engagement instead of Laura's. I thought it was crazy, but..."
"But you did it anyway," Theo finished quietly. "And it worked."
Something cold settled in my stomach.
Theo had suggested this. Had been ready to watch me announce an engagement to his brother. Had handed me the solution that would put me with Max instead of him.
He was giving up. Giving me to Max.
The realization hit like a strong blow in my lungs, stealing my breath.
"I should go," I said, strained. "Before someone finds me."
"Good idea," Theo said, still not looking at me. "We'll handle things down here."
I wanted to grab him, force him to look at me, demand to know why he was doing this. But Max was right there, and the corridor was starting to fill with people escaping the chaos of the ballroom, and this wasn't the time or place.
So I turned and walked toward the elevators, clutching the keycard, so tightly the edges cut into my palm.
I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the 28th floor, my mind racing.
Theo had suggested I announce an engagement to Max. Had been ready to just... give me up.
Hand me over to his brother like he was ready to sacrifice what we both shared...
Did he even love me? Or had I completely misread everything between us?
Why did it bother me so much? This feeling of being casually passed off, like I didn't matter enough to fight for?
Because in reality I loved Theo more than Max. That had to be the reason, didn't it?
I had realized this just when I was on stage with Max. That I was in love with Theo. He was the one who always brings the best out of me. Made me see my true potential.
And watching him give me away so easily, so readily... it hurt in ways I didn't have words for.
But maybe he didn't feel the same way. Maybe all those moments—the tantric sex we had, the expo support, the gentle touches and patient teaching... maybe that was just Theo being Theo. Kind and supportive and helpful, but not actually in love.
God, what a mess.
How was I supposed to fix this? Everything looked so impossibly tangled now. I'd announced a fake engagement to Max to save him from Laura, but in doing, so I'd apparently confirmed Theo's belief that I'd chosen his brother. And now Theo was pulling away, giving up, letting me go...
The elevator jerked to a stop.
Not on the 28th floor as I had pressed the button. But on the 15th.
The doors slid open, and my blood ran cold.
Three men in black suits stood waiting. They were professional. Intimidating. Clearly security of some kind.
They must be Senior Ashford's men.
"Wrong floor," I said quickly, jabbing at the close door button. "Sorry."
But they were already moving, stepping into the elevator before the doors could close. One of them hit the emergency stop button, and suddenly we were trapped in that small metal box.
"Miss Whitmore," the largest one said. "Please come with us."
"No," I said, pressing myself against the back wall. "I don't know who you are or what you want, but..."
"Mr. Ashford would like to speak with you."
"Then Mr. Ashford can make an appointment like a normal person," I shot back, trying to sound braver than I felt. My hand fumbled for my phone in my clutch. "I'm not going anywhere with you guys."
The man's hand shot out, faster than I would have thought possible for someone his size, and plucked my phone from my grasp.
"Hey!" I protested. "Give that back!"
"Let's not make this difficult," he said calmly.
"Let me go," I said, with panic and anger. "Forcible coercion is a criminal offense. This is kidnapping. Unlawful restraint. I will not spare you... I'll have you all arrested, prosecuted..."