Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
R upert
I got to the resort on Sunday night and slept all the way through until the early hours of Monday morning. I was exhausted, jet lagged, and not in the best of moods. No one knew I’d taken the first available flight to Thailand. I didn’t tell my mother what I was planning. Besides, I didn’t have to explain myself to anyone. I knew if I didn’t go, I would go slowly crazy.
Everyone had moved on. Spencer won Laura back, and now she was expecting his baby. James was ready to go back to Europe. Andrew was shooting another movie somewhere in South America, while I continued to be too busy with work.
I couldn’t stop fucking thinking about Veronica. It had been over six weeks since I’d seen her outside the club, and every fibre of my being wanted her back. I wasn’t coping without her, so I’d decided to leave everything behind. I’d chosen Thailand.
When I glanced at the time, I realised it was just after three in the afternoon, so I took a shower and got dressed. It was humid outside, but I’d selected this resort because it was small and quiet, which meant I wouldn’t have to deal with any snobby tourists from all over the world.
I had a hut within walking distance of the beach. There was a bar run by two brothers and a long stretch of paradise beaches with young backpackers from various parts of the world. I wanted to be surrounded by ordinary people who didn’t know or care who I was back in London.
Half an hour later, I walked down to the bar and ordered myself a bottle of beer. I felt rested after sleeping for almost two days, but I woke up in a shitty mood. The flight was long and I had an economy seat, so I hadn’t really gotten a chance to sleep on the plane. I’d travelled here like any normal guy who was looking to take some time out of his busy schedule.
I deactivated my old number and got a pay-as-you-go SIM card at the airport with a phone that could only take calls and send text messages. I refused to go online. I didn’t know, maybe I was going through some sort of crisis, but I was aware of what would have happened if I’d announced I was going away. My mother would have freaked out, and then she would have begged James or Spencer to talk me out of it. I didn’t need any fuss or special treatment. I loved my mother, but she was too overbearing sometimes.
I drank my beer and glanced around. A group of young lads with backpacks walked in. They must have just arrived.
“Hey, mate, can you take our picture?” one of them asked me. He sounded like he was from Australia.
“Sure. Line up, boys,” I said as four of them stood closer together. I managed to snap several good photos of them. These guys were much younger than me.
“Thanks, mate,” he answered then he sat next to me while his mates ordered some beer, too. “Are you on vacation?”
“Sort of. I just had to get away from London. The weather was bad, so I took the first available flight here. How about you? What are you guys doing here?”
“We’re from New Zealand and this is our first stop. Our friend Damon broke up with his girlfriend a few weeks back, so we’re trying to cheer him up. He hasn’t been doing well lately,” the guy explained, shaking my hand. “I’m Jack, by the way.”
“Rupert,” I introduced myself. “I recently broke up with someone, too, so I know the feeling.”
I didn’t even know why I’d said that—maybe I wanted to be relatable. My heart was still rotting, and I needed to do something with myself to forget about Veronica because so far, nothing had worked.
He eyed me with interest.
“Yeah, then you know how it is,” he said, clapping me on the back. “We’re going to stay in one of the huts for a couple of days here, so we can chill.”
“Great, so I’ll probably see you guys around,” I said.
He nodded.
A few minutes later, all of them joined me and we had a few beers together. I ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the evening. When we were done, they walked with me to my hut then went to check into theirs. I decided to go for a dip in the ocean then had a quick shower. After that, I finally felt more like my old self. Maybe I could mend the broken part of myself by the time I was ready to return to my old life… Yep, maybe?
The lads from New Zealand invited me to hang out with them in the morning as they were planning to go scuba diving in another part of the island. I ended up saying yes because I had no other plans, and they seemed like a good bunch of guys who treated me like I was one of them.
Later that evening, I ended up walking at least a mile from my resort to a restaurant that came highly recommended. It was November, but the weather was great. It wasn’t overbearingly hot—just humid, which I could deal with. When I finally got to the restaurant, I knew something felt off.
The whole place was packed, but this wasn’t what felt odd. It was the fact that everyone was suddenly staring at me once I sat and ordered a drink. The establishment was located in a busy part of the island, and a few people I’d chatted with earlier had claimed they had the best Pad Thai they’d ever tasted, so obviously I wanted to try it.
For a moment I thought that maybe I was being paranoid, but people were really staring, and everyone seemed to have their phones out, too, which was unusual. I had no bloody idea what was going on, but I was starving and the food here was excellent, so I decided to stay.
After I ordered from a short waiter, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through it. Since I had a new number, I decided to install a few social media apps on it. Nothing had changed. I still liked not being on any of them, but in a way, I craved to know what was going back to London since I wasn’t in contact with anyone.
Deep down, I knew I was lying to myself. I’d installed TikTok and Instagram on this new phone because I hoped to spy on Veronica’s new profile. I had it memorised, and yes, it was pathetic, but I was happy she was doing well, getting thousands and thousands of new followers every day. She’d been very active on all her socials since we’d broken up and she’d ended up working for the Cashmere brand.
I scrolled through TikTok first, wondering why millions of people in the world found it so addictive. I watched all sorts of videos, going from adorable toddlers and their cute families to the wildest shit I had ever seen. This app was wild, and I could see the appeal.
Then a video of me suddenly popped up and I paused on it, tensing up. It was the video Veronica had posted a few months back—the one of the two of us meeting for the first time in Greece. I stared at myself, looking positively smitten in it, seeing her for the first time while she danced… then the camera rolled back to her as she started talking. The surroundings shifted. Veronica was now standing in the middle of a busy street, talking to the camera.
“ “Hey, guys, you remember that video? Long story short, I found my Rupert and after some initial problems. We started dating, then we fell in love … but now I need your help again. He left London after we had a disagreement, and I don’t know how to find him. I promise you, Rupert, I never lied to you except when I told you I didn’t love you. Despite what I said, everything we had was real. Our love was real, and all these crazy coincidences, too, so please come back to me. I love you and can’t live without you. Guys, please help me find him. I know you can do it, TikTok.”
I ran my hand over my jaw as my heart accelerated, then I went to her profile. The video I’d just watched was from three days ago, from Saturday morning, and there had been no update since then. Moments later, a notification popped up that Veronica was now live. I clicked on the screen instantly as she came into view. She was walking on a beach.
“All right, guys, I’m here and I think I’m very close. Oh God, I’m so nervous. I never thought I would do something like this. There are literally thousands of you watching me right now, and I hope he’ll forgive me. I truly do.”
Sweat broke over my forehead as I rubbed my chin, watching her and suddenly recognising where she was.
“Excuse me, but I think this girl is talking about you,” someone said.
I turned to my right. A woman smiled at me. She was dining with a man as she pointed at Veronica’s live stream.
“She’s walking towards this restaurant.”
I didn’t know what to say or how to react, but I got up quickly. I didn’t remember how I left the restaurant, but people wished me good luck as I was leaving. I started walking back towards the resort, still watching Veronica live on TikTok. This felt surreal, but I could see her walking towards me while I was having a mini breakdown. I didn’t know what to do. She’d betrayed me and yet she was here, telling the world that it was all lies.
“I don’t understand you guys. I’m not even near the restaurant,” she said as she stopped, probably to read comments on her live.
Blood pounded in my ears as I jogged towards her, wanting to suddenly have her in my arms again.
“He cannot be in front of me, I can’t see—”
Veronica stopped midway through her sentence when she saw me standing close now. Some other people on the beach stared at us.
“How many people are watching us right now?” I asked her as I came closer, my whole body vibrating with energy.
Veronica looked so stunning in a long white dress with spaghetti straps as she stared at me with her eyes wide and mouth open.
It took her a few seconds to snap out of the shock because then she glanced at the phone, and her eyes went wider.
“Millions,” she whispered as I was finally close to her, so close that I could lean in and kiss her.
“I’m sorry, but I think it will be easier if I take the phone,” a random woman said, appearing right in front of us. She smiled as Veronica handed her the device.
I glanced at her.“Keep filming, I want everyone to see this,” I said.
She almost squealed with excitement as she backed away, pointing Veronica’s phone at us.
“Rupert … I don’t know … I can’t believe that you’re here,” Veronica said, sounding like she was lost for words.
She was so fucking beautiful, and I’d missed her so damn much.
“Someone must have spotted me on the island, and it shows how powerful social media can really be,” I said, inches away from touching her, taking her into my arms, and telling her that she belonged to me—always and forever. “I still can’t quite comprehend that you flew all the way here.”
She gave me a small smile.
“People have really come through. A few hours after that video went viral, I had a few messages from people who saw you landing in Thailand,” she explained, taking a shaky breath. “I have to tell you now… I lied to you and I’m sorry. What we had … how we met and everything that happened, it was all real."
She sounded like she was speaking from her heart, but how could I be sure? Could I forgive her, just like that? I glanced at the woman who was filming us and Veronica followed my gaze.
She smiled.
"I'm sorry, but I think the rest of this conversation needs to go private. I will update you guys later with the outcome," she said. The woman handed her the phone. Veronica switched off the live stream and put her device back in her bag. "Come on, there is a lot that I need to tell you. Walk with me, please?"
I nodded, still in shock, seeing her here. I then started walking along the shore with the woman I was so crazy about.
"I missed you, sunshine, but you lied to me," I said after a while. We were still bringing a lot of attention of ourselves—many people were staring and pointing at us.
Veronica bit on her bottom lip.
"Yes I did, but only to protect you. Vincent was my ex-boyfriend and then one day, when I thought I was going to see a client, he showed up instead. He tricked me. He started blackmailing me to get the CCTV recordings. I refused to help him, so he threatened to hurt you. I was so desperate then, I acted like I was going along with his plan." She started explaining and I clenched my fists, getting more furious by the minute. I should have killed that bastard when I had a chance.
"Baby, I wish you would have told me about this when it happened," I growled, dragging my hands through my hair. I couldn't believe she was willing to keep this whole thing quiet… well, I did get why, but I still hated that she’d kept things from me.
"I was so scared that he might try to hurt you, so I didn't. Then, when we were in Greece, your mother called me. She said she needed to see me," Veronica carried on talking.
I shouldn’t have been shocked at this point, but I was.
"My mother? Why?" I asked.
"Rupert, please, don't be angry, but your mum sent you an email explaining everything because she was worried about you. Wwe met right before I was kidnapped," Veronica confessed. "Considering Vincent’s blackmail as we discussed, we both agreed that it would be best if I ended things with you. Right after that, Vincent sent me a text pretending to be you from a new number, acting like you’d lost your phone. I fell for it, got into Vincent's car, and then I ended up in the warehouse."
"Fuck … why does my mother needs to interfere so much? I really need to have a long conversation with her," I said, taking Veronica's hand. "So you made that shit up about staging this whole thing when you were trying to distract that fucker?"
"Yes, pretty much. I was still scared that he might hurt you even from prison, so I decided to stay away. Then Spencer went on national TV and told the world that he was in love with Laura—which meant I was afraid that he might hurt not only you, but your family, too," she said.
"Damn it, Veronica, I should have known that you were up to something. I should have known," I said, holding her close.
We stopped walking now. The waves were gently beating against the shore.
"I made sure everything held up. I knew you didn't trust me in the beginning, so I kept spilling more lies," she said, stepping closer.
"I’ve been so miserable without you.” I felt so much regret that I hadn’t questioned anything she’d said, that I hadn’t investigated it. I’d wasted so much time wallowing in self-misery.
"I'm sorry, Rupert, but you must know that I did all of this for you because I love you. I never stopped loving you, and that’s a fact."
I grabbed the back of her head and brought her lips to mine. Everything that had plagued me lately was now in the past, behind us, because I finally had her with me again, so I could hold and love her. She tasted like rain and honeycomb. I devoured her lips, kissing her for a long time. I couldn't get enough, for the fear of losing her lingered—faint but still there.
"Baby," I moaned, stopping the kiss for a moment to bury my face in the crook of her neck and inhaling her scent to make sureshe was real. Here, in the flesh. “I love you too, but you have to promise me that you will never lie to me again."
"I promise to never lie to you again," she said.
"Good, because the consequences will be dire," I ground out, holding her close. "You have no idea what I went through when we were apart. It was torture, existing without you. You’re my life, Veronica—my past, present, and future.”