•
"You have somewhere to be tomorrow?"
"Yeah." Veronica almost flinched when she felt his warm breath on her cheek. They stood side by side in the elevator now, but she didn't expect he would stand so close to her or even touch her.
Tomek had to leave for Milan and walked out of the hotel roughly five minutes ago, leaving her alone with Théo in the hotel lobby. As she expected, Théo had already booked a room for them.
Was it a single-bed room? He didn't say. In fact, he didn't say much to her over dinner, and even after Tomek bid them goodbye. But now it seemed Théo wanted to start a conversation with her. Maybe he was still trying to figure out why she met up with him.
"Where? Where's the venue?" Théo sighed and crossed his arms below his chest.
Was he bored already? Veronica wanted to scowl. She hadn't seen him
•"Via.""What?" She sighed out loud, her hand already on the doorknob and impatiently figuring out the lock mechanism. It wasn't the usual type of doorknob.Did she have to use the stupid key card? She was so ready to walk out on him; he didn't even run after her."Stay here. Get back in bed.""Why should I? You don't even want me here." Veronica twisted the doorknob again, but the lock still wouldn't budge.Was it stuck? Jeez... Her luck just kept running out it wasn't even funny anymore."What?""Open this door. I'm not stayin' here.""Can we please just go back to bed?""Unlock the door, so I can go.""No." Théo grunted in frustration. He was sitting on the bed now, and he sounded like he wanted to just tape her mouth shut and lo
•"I'm moving in next week. Going straight home tomorrow after the show. Gotta take Kyle to his doctor's appointment."Théo stopped kissing her neck and froze on the bed. His stare immediately swung back to her face while his hands gripped her hips. "What?"At his reaction, she failed to suppress a sigh.His reply sounded like a complaint more than anything else.And here she thought a pleasant, appreciative smile and supportive words of encouragement would be his initial reaction..."Just have to check on him every now and then," she reasoned in a hushed tone. "Make sure he's on schedule, and coming in for tests and check-ups." Veronica tried to stare at him, but her nerves were acting up again.Théo sat in front of her as they rested on the crumpled covers. His darkened eyes pored into her soul, and now her cheeks fe
•"Where are you?""At a hotel. Just met up with Tomek." Théo put his phone on speaker mode after he grabbed the duffel bag out of the trunk. He knew Anastasia didn't believe his alibi entirely, but he might just be able to convince her he was doing nothing fishy behind her back."Where you guys headed?" Ana asked in a quieter tone, her words almost mumbled. She was sniveling.It made him suspect she'd been crying or doing cocaine again. Or it could just be allergies? "What's up? You in bed now?" Théo frowned as he sat in the dark, alone in the backseat of her car. He took the handguns out of the bag to reinspect the ammo and weapons.The guns both looked fairly new. Although Geri wouldn't sell him faulty products, he had to be completely sure they worked fine and that he had enough bullets. Just in case."Yeah. Are you on your
•"Goodnight. Love you...""Love you and the little bean..."The words ruthlessly echoed in his head as he stood still against the door, speechless, and dumbfounded. Théo pulled a face. His brain once again recalled the last part of the conversation he just overheard.Little bean?What the heck was the guy talking about?Was it Kyle's term of endearment for her?Puzzled, stressed, and sleep-deprived, Théo watched his ex get into bed without even sparing him a single glance, or a small smile of acknowledgement.He didn't know whether he should be pissed, jealous or both.It was definitely Kyle she was talking to on the phone, because he recognized Kyle's voice on loudspeaker before Veronica hung up and ended the phone call, at the same time Théo got
•The second she saw him take out the gun and put it in the nightstand drawer, the shock and fear just froze her on the bed. Veronica almost felt her heart jump to her throat.But she wasn't really afraid of him or the gun. What she feared was the real reason he thought he needed a weapon. Why even get a gun? Did he think he needed it for his safety? And hers?When did he even start carrying a handgun? Why on Earth would he need one?If her mother was here, her mom would definitely tell her to run away from Théo. Forget about him and keep out of his life for good. But Veronica didn't want to. She knew her feelings for him biased her judgment on their situation now, but she just couldn't force herself to walk out the door and leave him. Not tonight.She needed answers first. "What's that for?" she asked while Théo sat quietly beside her
8 days left• Rome, Italy •He didn't want to leave his ex alone at the hotel, but he had to check up on Anastasia. Something was going on. He had tried calling her phone a dozen times but she wasn't picking up or replying to his texts.The dashboard clock now read 11:52PM.Théo shoved his gun into the glove compartment and drove out of the hotel's parking lot. He had to return Anastasia's car and verify whether her parents had already taken her to the rehab facility. If so, he wouldn't have any valid reason to go back to the estate. It would be a problem he wasn't quite prepared to troubleshoot. While driving across the highway, Théo checked his phone again and read a new text message from Gillaume.New messageG"Anything u deem necessary. Bosses waiting for your outputs. H seems busy working on a beachfront property sale with the
8 days left• The Valtieri Mansion •After greeting him with forced smiles, the Valtieri couple walked into the mansion with their bodyguards right behind them.Théo gave the two a small but polite bow in acknowledgement. He wasn't sure if he should say "good evening" since it was well past midnight. The guards backed off once Mr. and Mrs. Valtieri reached the living room, and then the staff walked out and shut the front door.Théo listened in while Hugo Valtieri continued speaking to someone on the phone about a business deal, with his wife standing beside him and refraining from scowling again."Théo, give us a minute," Hugo said to him with a raised finger, and then the don got busy again talking to someone on the phone."Of course, Sir." Théo took a couple steps backward while Mrs. Valtieri stood beside her husband in the spacious living room lit by expe
•Théo peeked at the tall, glittering stage props as he backed away from the stack of audio equipment. He slouched right by the sound engineer's corner, watching while his smiling and elegantly dressed ex-girlfriend re-arranged her keyboard's wires.Her hair had less wavy curls today. Multi-hued strobe lights made them appear azure and sometimes pinkish.Sunset had just passed, and the crowd just grew thicker now that the band was almost ready to perform.The curly-haired guitarist was already settling into his seat on the right side; the other band members were positioned on the far left of the stage.Théo stood along the sidelines and glanced past a sea of diversely aged, mostly casually dressed people excitedly waiting for the next performance. The fans in the VIP section looked pretty still in their seats, and, odds-on, just too psyched to see their favorite artists play beaut