𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐘

EIGHT | THE REBIRTH

**A/N: I present to you, the first completely brand new chapter of Prodigy. :)

Sonder University's fall vacation had finally arrived, and everyone was enjoying their time off from school.

Well, most everyone.

John DuPont found himself standing outside of Veronica Davenport's Victorian home, and he excitedly raised a fist to knock on her door. It was his dear friend's birthday today, so he was stopping by unannounced to drop a gift off for her.

One of Veronica's more...unique interests was her love for spiders, so John had paid for a commission from a local artist whose work Veronica had recently expressed a strong admiration for.

The artist had created a small yet intricate sculpture of her favorite spider that was constructed out of a variety of materials—primarily various types of metal, but they had also incorporated blown glass and tiny crystals. The spider was hanging down from a complex web piece, and John had included a heart felt note within the neatly-wrapped box.

The artist was rapidly gaining popularity, so John had requested the commission several months back. The work of art had far exceeded his own expectations, so he was beyond ecstatic to see her reaction to the one of a kind piece.

However, the exchange didn't go as he had hoped it would, as the half-clothed woman answered the door in the midst of laughter. As soon as her eyes landed on her professor friend, her laughter died down, "John. Hi—what are you doing here?"

The man's face instantly dropped, as it didn't take a genius to figure out that she had been in the middle of something else.

"Send them away so I can get back to ravishing you," a deep voice shouted playfully from inside.

Veronica's expression immediately shifted from shock to panic when she noticed John's pained reaction. He watched as she glanced behind her to shoo someone away from the door, and his disappointment quickly turned into annoyance once a familiar face popped up from behind her.

"Come on, what's the hold u—"

"Vincent," John said flatly, trying to cover up his displeasure.

"Well, this is awkward," he said with a slight chuckle, clearly amused by the poor timing of John's visit. Vincenzo's smug look only further irritated John as he stood there in humiliation.

Veronica pushed him further back inside so that he was out of sight, then stared at John with guilt before speaking, "I didn't expect to see you today."

John remained silent, trying his absolute hardest not to say anything that could ruin her day. He was pissed, but he respected her enough to leave it alone for now.

"John..."

"I just came to give you this," he said quietly as he held the present out to her. The woman's eyes shifted down towards the box, then she glimpsed back up at him as she took it from his hands. When she opened her mouth to speak, he cut her off.

"Happy birthday, Veronica."

And before she could say anything else, he hurried down the steps and left without another word.

She had been with him. And although he knew he had no right to be mad, he was upset with her for lying—she told him they weren't involved. He was frustrated that she had given him false hope the other day. He was jealous that it wasn't him she had opted to spend her birthday with.

And he was devastated because he finally knew it was time for him to stop waiting around for her to change her mind.

She didn't want him, and she was never going to want him. That was crystal clear to him now. So if Vincenzo Giordano was who she really wanted, then he had to let her be with him.