Chapter 2

That night, Dean was in a great mood, accepting every drink his business partners offered without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Fred and I sat in the corner, like forgotten clowns at a circus. When Fred tried to offer him a drink, Dean didn't even acknowledge it.

The people around us exchanged knowing looks and began mocking us openly.

"Seems like the Byrds really don't know their place. Mr. Potter has already thrown them plenty of projects, and now they want to steal more from us."

"With an appetite that big, they'd better watch out… Greed never ends well."

Fred's face paled, but he quickly forced a smile. "All those projects have been cut. We're just hoping you can throw us a bone, Mr. Potter."

Dean, visibly irritated, gestured toward me. "You want new projects? Let her do the drinking."

Fred grew flustered, glancing at me nervously before speaking up. "She can't drink. I'll drink with you instead."

Dean didn't budge, his gaze fixed on me, savoring the opportunity to make things difficult. He always did enjoy seeing me struggle.

Fred tried to defuse the situation, stepping in front of me. "You two were married once. Don't make this harder on her. I'll take the drinks."

Fred downed glass after glass of potent liquor, the kind that would burn all the way down. His face turned red, and eventually, he couldn't take it anymore, retching violently.

Dean, disgusted, quickly stepped back, wiping his hands with a napkin.

I rushed to help Fred, but he pushed me toward Dean. "Apologize to Mr. Potter. Beg him to help the Byrds."

I grabbed the bottle of liquor from the table and chugged it. I knew Dean would only be satisfied seeing me humiliated like this.

As the alcohol churned in my stomach, the words I meant to say—words pleading for help—died on my lips. Instead, I said, "We will find a way to pay off our family's debts, Mr. Potter. If you don't want to give us new projects, that's fine."

Fred snapped back to attention, his anger flaring as he slapped me hard across the face. "Do you even realize what you're saying? Without Potter Enterprise, the Byrds are finished! How are you going to repay those debts?

"Veronica, do you know how our parents died?"

A sharp ringing filled my ears, like a needle piercing my brain. I staggered, barely staying upright as Dean's voice cut through the air, dripping with disdain. "Don't put on a show in front of me. It makes me sick."

He stepped past me without a second glance. I looked up just in time to see him wrapping his arm around Elaine Willis as they left together, not even bothering to look back.

I clenched my fists, fighting the wave of nausea rising in my throat. Blood trickled from my nose, but I barely noticed it until Fred's shocked voice rang out.

"Veronica, what's happening to you?"

I wasn't ready to use my illness as an excuse for sympathy, so I brushed it off with a forced smile. "I drank too fast, and my body couldn't take it."

Fred's concern flickered briefly before his expression hardened again. "The Byrds are going down because of you. Our parents died because of you. Veronica, how can you live with yourself?"

I knew Fred didn't really mean it, that he was just furious. Once, he had been kind to me, but now the hatred in his eyes was real.

It seemed like I was the only one to be blamed for what happened five years ago.

I suddenly felt so tired, wiping my face carelessly as I walked out into the cold night alone. The wind cut through me like a knife, and the streets were eerily empty.

Blood smeared across my face as I tried to wipe it away with my sleeve. Dean's parting words echoed in my mind. "It makes me sick."

My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the pavement, drained of energy.

I knew what he was referring to—the event five years ago.

I didn't blame them for hating me. They had every right to.

Back then, I had just graduated from law school, landing a prestigious internship at one of the top firms in the city. My career was bright, but it came at the cost of rarely visiting home.

Worried about me, my parents planned to sell our house and move to the city where I worked.

Sylverwood's real estate market was incredibly expensive, and in their rush to be closer to me, they took on a construction project and even became guarantors for it. But they were careless. The project manager ran off with the money, leaving them with a mountain of debt.

From that point on, Fred and I were constantly harassed by debt collectors.

My parents, unable to cope, were driven into a corner. One day, they jumped from the roof of a building, unable to see any other way out.

On that day, I was out of town, handling a legal dispute for Dean's company before it went public.

Dean had been polite and gracious during the meeting, always smiling warmly whenever he praised my work. When our eyes met, my heart skipped a beat. There was something captivating about him.

One too many drinks later, I woke up to find everything spiraling out of control.

My parents had leaped to their deaths. Debt collectors were banging on our door. Fred's desperate call came in. "Veronica, come home. Mom and Dad are gone."

That same day, Dean and I were ambushed by reporters. The media was quick to paint him as a man with a scandalous personal life. To protect his company's upcoming stock launching, Dean lied, claiming we'd been in a long-term relationship.

I was going to settle everything at home and then clear things up with Dean. But when I saw my parents' bodies in that cold, sterile morgue, something inside me snapped.

Burdened by overwhelming debt, I couldn't summon the strength to track down the person responsible for my parents' ruin. So, I changed my mind. I told Dean I wanted to marry him, hoping to use his influence to achieve my goals.

I still remember his face at that press conference—shocked, torn apart by disbelief. He looked like someone had ripped him in half.

Afterward, I followed him to his house and asked to borrow money. His fury was palpable as he threw a credit card at me, the force of it striking my head.

"Stay away from me. You make me sick."

That was the real Dean, so different from the polished, well-mannered man I thought I knew.

That night, Elaine came to see him, sobbing quietly in his arms. I didn't have the energy to think about it. I transferred the money to Fred so he could start paying off our debts, but he cursed me out again, calling me shameless.

In the end, everything was my fault.