Vega POV.Getting the smell of whatever they had hurled at me off my skin took me about an hour, and I was stewing by the time I stepped out of the shower. I hated her so much. Ugh.I plopped onto my bed letting out a frustrated sigh. College wasn't supposed to be so hard. The door to my room opened and Andrianna stepped inside. "You look like shit"."I know!" I got out tiredly, then dragged myself into a sitting position. "You're always here, should I worry that your extravagant mansion is being occupied by aliens"."That would be close" she agreed with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Ray told me you got into a fight with Arielle"."Well I couldn't help myself. She was annoying"."You got that right. I'm sorry you're going through all this. It's all my fault"."It's not your fault. I agreed to participate in the bet. It wasn't like you put a gun to my head and threatened me to join".Andrianna nodded. "Right. So why do you look like that"."Because I went on to fall in l
Arielle felt like dying as she read the news, of course, the stupid paparazzi were already spreading rumors that Zach was getting serious with a certain girl in school, "is this the start of a budding romance" was what they titled it as. Arielle flung the paper across the wall."Fucking monsters! They should just be plain about the girl they're referring to. Being vague is such a cheap move. I wonder who the amateur who printed this was because they shouldn't be reporters, they should be picking dirt's by the street" she fumed then walked to the drink cabinet, her eyes raking over the various assortment of drinks but none caught her fancy."I can't believe I'm going to lose to that stupid Vega after everything I did to win, after all the money I wasted. But how could Zach just forget about me, didn't we have something going on, didn't Noah say he talked about me until his ear fell off" she groaned, her eyes flicking close. "This is the most horrible thing to ever happen to me. How can
Vega POV."Where's Zach" I got out as soon as I spotted Noah and the cheeky grin he gave me made me pause and take in my surroundings but nothing was off or out of place."Hey calm down. I might have exaggerated Zach getting hurt a bit. I just needed you to come out here".I swore. "That was not freaking funny. I thought Zach was hurt" I threw at him because I'd gotten way too affected and frantic once I heard the news.Andrianna cleared her throat. "Calm down Vega, I'm sure Noah didn't mean to make you worry"."Yeah, well he did. Why did you call me out here anyway".Noah smirked, and I couldn't help but notice how similar to Zach he was. They were living together, and of course, some of his habits might have rubbed off on Noah. "It's a surprise".Andrianna clapped, squealing excitedly like she was in on a secret I didn't know about. "Really? Is Zach also in on this surprise".Noah made a zip sign over his lips. "You'll have to find that out yourself. Come with me, Vega".I narrowed
Zach POV.I grinned as I played the day over and I couldn't just stop obsessing over Vega being mine. That's right She was mine and no one could take her away from me. If my public confession didn't drive that point in, the kiss pretty much sealed the deal. I stopped as I saw Mom and Dad waiting for me, their demeanor serious immediately they made eye contact with me."You're in the freaking news again Zach! Couldn't you just date the girl without the world finding out about it" Chloe snapped, flinging the paper in my face?I inhaled deeply, my gaze slipping to the paper at my feet before I glanced back at Chloe. "I wanted the world to know about us. I'm in love with her, she's mine" I said because there was no way I was going to feel bad about being with Vega. "You said it was ok to court her" I reminded, my eyes cutting to dads.He cleared his throat, the muscles on his neck straining against the skin. "I did, but I didn't ask you to make a public confession. Why do you do this all
Vega POV.Becoming a millionaire overnight felt strange. I stared at my account balance, counting and recounting the zeros to see if I was making up everything but it was the money staring right at me and it was very real. So why wasn't I happy at all when this kind of money could solve all my problems, including that of my mother? "Earth to Vega, oh my gosh, you're spacing out again" Jake complained, then stared at me in concern. "Are you ok. You can just tell Zach everything tomorrow, I'm sure he's going to forgive you"."How do you know that?""Because I just know and we should be celebrating yeah. You're a fucking millionaire, you can do whatever the fuck you want" he said enthusiastically but I just couldn't share the moment with him. "Zach's gonna be so pissed I'm sure of it," I said, then dragged my hands through my hair until the sharp pains on my scalp made me stop."Just break up with him, then you're good to go".The door flung open and Andrianna came in looking pale as d
*****Arielle stared at the video she had had Jenny record, laughter bubbling up from her chest until it spilled out of her lips as she watched. It felt really satisfying because she hadn't expected the twist at the end. Vega could keep the money so long Zach hated her and might make it his life goal to make her life a living hell."Should I leak this on the internet or not?" she asked herself, then giggled as she imagined the uproar it would cause. "I definitely should".Jenny walked inside her room with a glass of wine. "Here's your drink Arielle".Arielle collected it from her with a sweet smile. "Yes, a perfect drink for a perfect day, or shall I say night." She said dreamily before sipping from the wine glass. "goddamn, that tastes awful, what the hell is wrong with this wine".Jenny stared at her, her heart rate increasing. "I don't know".Arielle let the drink drop, then gasped as the glass shattered around her. "Such a waste. Too bad but I'm in a good mood so clean that up and
Jenny stared at Arielle as she watched the video and then tossed her phone at the wall."Kelvin is such a scatterbrain, I can't believe he posted this crap edit online. I don't even want to think about how Zach is feeling right now, but I guess he does deserve this for the shit he did to me"."Well, how about a drink to calm down".Arielle nodded, waving her away dismissively.Jenny walked to the kitchen, poured the wine into a glass then brought out the recent drug Nicole had given to her, she hesitated for a bit before she poured the whole bottle inside. Inhaling deeply, she climbed the steps one at a time until she got back to Arielle's room."Getting a drink took you that long" she snapped, then snatched the glass from her and drown it all at a go before she tossed the glass at Jenny, who caught it in time before it hit her in the face. "If you were only fast at other things" she tsked, then cursed as her phone rang. "Can I just spend one day with no stress in my life" she compl
5 YEARS LATER.Vega POV. "I dare you to hit the casino tonight. We need to waste some money" Andrianna said, her hair bouncing as she jumped excitedly.I glanced up from the paperwork in front of her, then shook my head. "I'm busy and I have to get this done before tomorrow so I won't be taking that dare".Andrianna rolled her eyes. "Chicken" she muttered under her breath and I looked up at her in exasperation. "You really need to stop with the peer pressure, and your stupid dares. Just go out on your own for once and have fun ok"."Going out alone is no fun hence why I'm always hounding you and who will take me home if I get drunk and can't find my way back home huh?".I sighed. "I have to get this done Andrianna. Your rich ass doesn't have to work, but I do".Andrianna huffed. "You're getting more boring as the years go by. I won't be surprised if you're a grandma in the next few years, and not in the real sense, cause that would be weird" she rambled and I gave her a pointed look
Zach POV. I groaned as the black mask placed over my face was ripped off, the bright light in the room making me wince, while Andrianna cursed beside me, as she struggled around in her bonds. I took in the situation, tested the strength of the binding and when it gave a little, I knew a little work on the knot would get it to loosen in time, that was if I didn't get shot before. Andrianna and I must have had the same thought as Arielle spilled everything she knew to us because we both rushed off to look for Vega, thinking that Ray was going to go for her. We had been searching everywhere when someone called to say they had her and I had gotten so furious and scared that they were going to hurt her that I didn't think everything through as I followed their instructions to a T. I glanced around the room, searching for Vega, my heart pumping erratically in my chest. I couldn't bear it if I saw Vega slumped over somewhere, hurt or dead. I inhaled deeply when I noticed that it was only
Vega POV."I'm just glad you look so happy Vega, I was so worried about you back then but I didn't want to say anything, I didn't want to risk hurting your feelings more than they already were." Mom said and I smiled."I know, and I'm fine now. We just got back together and I know it's going to work out this time"."I'm sure it will. I'm just glad you both worked out your differences, and that he came back for you. My baby is one lucky girl, that guy is freaking gorgeous but I have to tell you that your father was way more handsome than him"I laughed. "I'm not even going to fight you on that".She burst into a laugh. "You better not, 'cause you'd be fighting a losing battle. I can be a very good lawyer when I have to be, especially for sacred causes".She was freaking killing me. "I got it ma. I wouldn't dare go against you in court, cause you being a lawyer, the case is already a done deal." I said, choking back a laugh as she chuckled. "I've got to go back to the party, I need to
Andrianna POV."What do you think they're talking about, I think they're taking too long," Vega asked, looking worried as we waited for Markus and Zach to finish talking, wherever they had gone to talk, which was absurd. They could have just moved a bit away and chatted, but Markus was dramatic and here we were. Jake crossed his arms, then smirked as if he knew something we didn't."Ok, spill it out, you're looking too smug to not know what they're talking about"."I don't. It's just that I know why Markus is acting that way" he said leaning closer."Pray to tell us, why is he suddenly acting like he's Vega's father"Jake smirked, his voice dropping lower. "I and Markus have been roleplaying, you know where I'm the brat and he's the big daddy that punishes me for being bratty" he whispered with a wink. "But I've got to say, he's taking the role of Daddy way too seriously".I had not been expecting that, and judging from the horrified look on Vega's face, she wasn't either."Jake! Too
Zach's POV.I kept my gaze on Vega, too afraid to blink in case everything that had happened was just a dream and I was slumped off somewhere, surrounded by people trying to resuscitate me. It was surreal, but I wanted the moment to last forever. She'd bared her soul to me, given me her body without holding back and I felt unworthy because I didn't deserve such honesty, not after everything I'd done to her. It was the first time that someone hadn't let me go, even though I deserved it, even tho I pushed her away, even tho I'd hurt her with my words and actions. It was the first time that someone had fought to keep me, and it made my heart swell so much that I thought it would burst out of my chest.The feeling was mind-blowing because all the hate and the ache I'd felt for the past few years seemed to be a thing of the past and as I stared at her, I wanted to lock up the moment forever, with just me and her and the precious gift she'd given me. Her love made me feel as if I was soa
Ray stepped into the hall, his eyes scanning through the crowd of people having fun as they mingled and danced the night away, but he wasn't interested in them, he was only there for Andrianna. He would talk to her and try to get her onboard the marriage because, without her and the land deeds, there was no way that his family could ever rise in the ranking. His phone rang in his pants pocket and he cursed, muttering under his breath as shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He answered the call with a snap. "What do you want""No need to be so annoyed, I'm just trying to make sure everything is moving according to plan. I waited for you to call and update me about what progress you were making but you didn't, so I decided to check up on you"."I don't need you watching my fucking back Jenny. Just do as you are told. I already said I had this under my thumb, so I don't have to call you every damn second to give you a report. I told you that I could handle everythin
Vega POV.The standoff was nerve-wracking, so I subtly pulled out of Zach's arm with a nervous smile, my face burning. "Can we talk for a minute?" I asked Zach and he nodded even though his gaze was pinned on Ryan who was trying to match his stare and not tremble. "Excuse us then," I said and took his hand. It was almost on reflex but I didn't want to let go once I did, so I pretended that my heart wasn't hammering against my ribcage as I pulled him through the guest that was milling around. The camera flashed, and I knew this would be made into a ridiculous headline tomorrow.It was also surprising that Zach didn't try to tug his hand free from my hold. I looked around, trying to get a free space where we could talk but everywhere I looked, I saw people already occupying most of the spots. He suddenly grabbed my hand that was holding his and then he was tugging me toward the elevator. We stepped into it and as soon as we did, he punched in the number to the floor for his office."We
Vega POVJake came up to me holding two glasses of wine, with an eyebrow raised as he noticed me staring at Zach as he made his speech."Keep your mouth shut about it" I hissed as I took the drink from him.Jake grinned. "I didn't say anything""But you were about to, and I'm sure it was going to make me mad"."I basically live to annoy you don't I"."No, you live to save me from all my problems". I sighed, then sipped the wine."You look amazing by the way, but the way you keep sighing is not going to get you a man tonight, or maybe you don't need a man since you've already set your eyes on that brooding male on stage," he said, his chin pointing towards Zach Dante."It's not going to work. He's here for his revenge". I wished he wasn't. Jake paused, turning to face me. "What do you mean revenge, for what exactly"."The whole thing that happened in college"."He's still not over that. I thought he said it was all a game for him. Look, you deserve better than him ok. You should just
Arielle sat in her room, talking to the cops through her Ipad as they updated her about the case of Jenny and what they had turned up so far. It was the first time they were telling her something positive In five years and she could help her face-splitting grin. "That's freaking epic, I gotta say I wasn't expecting such good news from you, I'm glad you didn't let all the money I paid you to go to waste. I hope in a few weeks we'll finally have her behind bars"."You don't have to worry Miss Arielle, we're going to make sure you're satisfied with the result of this case. Jenny might have changed her face and her last name, but she's in the country and we'll have her in no time"."I'm glad to hear that. As I said, I'm just happy to know all those millions I spent didn't go to waste. Well thank you for the update"."It's no problem, I'll be calling at the same time next week"."Of course," she said and ended the call, a smile of satisfaction on her lips. Jenny was going to get what she
Zach POV.Today was the inauguration, and as I walked around, waiting for my family to get ready, the house I had grown up in felt almost foreign to me. I'd always been couped up in my room half the time for fear of running into my dad or mom, so some of the rooms in the mansion felt like a maze to me.I took a turn down to father's office, it was a more familiar territory since I'd been called there a lot after I did something wrong. It was also the same place I had told him to let me be with Vega, that I loved her and that I was not going to leave her. Well, we all knew how that turned out. I got to his door, going to push it open but pausing when I heard his raised voice."Don't ever call me Ray, we've talked about this five years ago and my answer is still the same as it was before… don't be ridiculous, why will I do such a thing, I'm an honest businessman… Well if you know all that then you should stop pushing for this. I co-own that property with Franco Vandenberg, you're never