• 3 years earlier • The whole drive back to her apartment had been quiet and awkward, as expected. The entire time, Théo kept his eyes on the road, hadn't said a word about meeting Blake and his glittery new fiancée—a thing she was secretly thankful for. Théo hadn't opened up a conversation about what happened the entire day. He had mostly kept to himself. Pretty much what she needed right now. It seemed naturally easy for him to know and understand her thoughts and feelings. Amid this whole getting-over-the-cheating-ex phase, Théo had been the go-to guy. The best company. The perfect distraction. If he hadn't shown up, she wouldn't make it through the week. Put it simply, him being here had efficiently kept self-destructive thoughts at bay. Multiple ideas of self-harm included. It had been that bad. The dark living room helped hide the emotional turmoil brewing inside her. Veronica stuck her head in her hands, plainly exhausted, just like her tolerance for lonesomeness and
• It had been a while. Studio work and the band's other promotional duties had kept her too busy to call home. And now she couldn't think of anything but a much-needed heart-to-heart with her mom. At this hour, Dr. Michel was either deep in sleep or waist-deep in another emergency surgery at the clinic, but Veronica hoped her mom was free to talk. She needed reinforcement. Badly and immediately. The dull rings went on while she waited for her mother to pick up. It was late. Maybe her mom had already gone to bed. Veronica wished for the opposite, though.She was about to put her phone away when the monotonous ringing suddenly stopped. Her mother's groggy voice came over the line the next second. "Via?" "Mommy, you busy?" "No, hon. Just fell asleep early." "Sorry. Woke you up." Veronica wiped her eyes dry and
•"What? How is she?"The question made Kyle recheck the time on his phone. Must be around eleven in Paris.Pretty early. Jamie was a late sleeper. They could chat until he got the answers he wanted. Besides, Jamie didn't sound displeased that he'd interrupted her weeknight, giving her a call without early notice.She sounded surprised, though. "I had no idea," Jamie sighed over the line."Still at it. Won't even talk to me or Dan.""Er...I haven't called her since Tues— Friday. I messaged her this morning. She hasn't called or texted me back," Jamie replied, her voice raspy, probably tired. "She okay? Can't reach her cell.""Probably turned off. She's sleeping," Kyle replied. He gripped his phone and let out a sigh. The past couple of days, he'd been trying to have a serious conversation with Veronica, but she just
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•Théo clasped the edge of the bed and glared at the girl acting like she couldn't give two shits about his question. When he kept waiting for her to fess up, her snubbing and disinterested frown just showed her guilt. "What?""So we're back to lies and pretending." He used a harsher tone, not caring if he might offend her in some way, or if he would sound like a judgmental jerk. "What d'you mean?"A loud grunt preceded his argument. "You've gotta stop—" He looked away. "It's getting out of hand."Her disbelief pinned her scowl on her pretty face. "What? We were having fun just last night."He faked a chuckle at her words. He almost believed her when she said she was only going through his stuff because she thought he was seeing someone else. But when he caught her using in the bathroom again, he instantly realized the real reason she snooped on his phone and went through his luggage.She was good at pretending but she wasn't a better liar than him—that he was sure of now. At the mom
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