Moving On

Chapter 19: Light a Match & Watch It Burn

Even though Veronica was cuddled up to Bobby, she couldn't sleep, things were back to normal for them but her mind seemed to not give a damn. She sighed and rolled onto her back.  𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒖𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒆𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑.

She kissed Bobby lightly on the cheek and went down to the kitchen. The Villa was so calm at night. Such a change from the drama-filled days they usually experienced. She opened the fridge to get the milk out but the lid was loose. It fell to the ground sending milk everywhere. "Damn it!" She ran to get a towel and wipe it up.

"Can't sleep?" Lucas grabbed a towel to help.

She rolled her eyes. She had been avoiding him since the public vote. "How'd you know?"

"Guess you're still mad at me? Look, Veronica.."

"No. You look!" She smacked the counter. "How could you do that to her? You and Lottie were great together. How can you be so blind!?"

"Keep your voice down!" He pushed her into the pantry.

"What are you doing!?"

He put a hand over her mouth and whispered. "I'm going to tell you the truth but I need you to be quiet for once in your damn life, please?"

She nodded to let him know she agreed and he removed his hand.

"You have two minutes." She glared at him.

"Ok. I have a huge fucking problem."

"Yeah, no shit..." he shot Veronica a look. She winced. "Sorry. Continue."

"It's my father. He doesn't want me with Lottie. John came here because of it. My family is all about appearances. I hate it. It's so damn toxic."

"Then just tell your father to fuck off. Who cares about any of that?"

"Normally I would." He looked like he might cry. "This is different. He said he'd fund my clinic if I left her." He put his hand up before Veronica could protest. "I told my brother I didn't care but Lottie told me to take the deal."

Veronica scoffed. "You expect me to believe that?"

"It's the truth. Somehow my father found out some personal things about Lottie's family. I'm sure this show helped with that discovery" he kicked a box on the floor. "Bobby was right..."

"Bobby? What does he have to do with this?"

"Just his theory about the producers causing issues."

"Oh right.." She sighed. Maybe he was on to something. "They offered Blake ten thousand to come in here. Some lady told me they were fixing things but I don't believe that at all."

"Are you serious?!" He looked away. "I love her, Veronica. I can't do this." He hugged her, she'd never seen Lucas this upset.

She felt sad for him. "Is there anything I can do? Bobby and I owe you both so much."

He shook his head. "I'm not sure. My mind's a mess right now. Just please don't tell anyone about the deal. We agreed we wouldn't." He smiled at her. "You can tell Bobby though."

"Thank you. Your secret is safe with me. Who all knows?"

Lucas wiped his face. "Besides us and Lottie, the only other person who knows is Hope."

"Hope? You mean she knew he was your brother the whole time?!" 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇𝒇!

"I'm not sure." He ran a hand through his hair. "Let's get out of here."

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Lottie didn't want to talk to anyone but that didn't stop Veronica from trying. This needed to be fixed.