Chapter 176
“Okay, sure. I’ll go and look for her,” Matthew nodded and replied. Then, he walked up to the road and surveyed the surrounding area before she spotted Veronica running in a distance.
He sauntered toward her. The girl in sports attire wore her hair in a ponytail, causing it to sway in the air as she ran non-stop. She seemed exuberant, exuding the vibe of a young lady, which made the man break into a smile that came from his heart.
She ran and ran, and soon arrived before him. “Why are you here?” Veronica impatiently muttered without even glancing at him.
“Mrs. Murphy had me ask you to go home for breakfast.”
“Alright.” she coldly uttered before she walked around him and left.
However, after barely taking a few steps, Veronica noticed that Matthew didn’t catch up with her, so paused in her tracks. Turning her head, she looked at him and asked, “What are you waiting for? Let’s go back to eat. We can head over to Bloomstead then.”
Matthew tilted his body to gaze at the ripples on the water that were formed by gentle breeze. “The scenery is as pretty as a picture; there’s no need for us to rush back.”
“No need to rush back?”
There‘s no such need for you, but there is for me! Veronica grabbed the towel hanging around her neck and wiped the sweat on her fair face, panting as she said, “You are getting married in less than 10 days. You don’t see the need to be in a hurry, but there are those who do.”
The man raised his dark brows. “That has nothing to do with me.”
Upon hearing that, Veronica grumbled to herself, Damn you! If you don‘t have anything to do with it, who does? “No, I’m now in charge of your wedding planning and I’m in the midst of a serious preparation, so we can’t afford to delay things.”
“I’ll contact Thomas to have him take full respon—”
“No!” Before Matthew managed to finish his sentence, Veronica stepped forward in a fluster and interrupted, “Since the task has been given to me, I have to make sure that
it is completed. How can I hand it over to Thomas halfway through?”
A person’s true intention would be revealed if one failed to maintain their composure. Veronica had been against Matthew’s marriage with Tiffany ever since the very beginning. Thus, her current unusual proactiveness caused Matthew to smell a rat.
He turned to her, darting her a profound glance as he appraised her, as though he was trying to penetrate her thoughts through her eyes.
Veronica’s heart leapt into her mouth and she was so nervous that she clenched the towel in her hands. She immediately explained, “I’ve told you that I can help you plan your wedding, but you have to manage your fiancée. If your fiancée steps beyond the line, I’ll take action on her. I wish that you won’t involve my parents in this. This is our agreement, so I… I have to fulfill it.” Her mind started to race in search for an explanation.
Matthew stared at her with a sharp gaze, as though he was secretly analyzing how true her words were.
At that moment, Daniella happened to walk up to the road and she called out to them. “Why are you two standing over there? Come back and have breakfast.”
“Okay! Coming, Mom.” Veronica responded to Daniella before saying to Matthew, “Let’s go back to eat. My parents must have been waiting for some time.”
And so, the two of them returned home to have breakfast.
They sat at the dining table and chatted over the meal.
Tony seemed to have recalled something when he raised his head and asked Veronica, “Speaking of which, Veronica, I heard from your mother that Xavier had an appendectomy. How is he doing now?”
“What?” Veronica was stunned by the question at first, but she then let out an awkward smile. “Oh–he’s fine. He made a speedy recovery.”
She had randomly mentioned Xavier’s condition previously and yet, they kept that in mind. Fortunately, I didn‘t tell them about my injury; they would be worried sick if I did, she exclaimed inwardly.
Although her arm had recovered from the past injury, a scar remained and she couldn’t exert too much strength with that arm. Therefore, she had to wear long
sleeves when she went back home, and she paid extra attention to everything she did to hide her injury from them.
“Matthew, when are you two going to return to Bloomstead? I’ll tag along as well. Xavier is dating Veronica now, so it’s only appropriate that we go and pay him a visit after his surgery,” Daniella said to Matthew as she ate.
Matthew scooped up some food and fed it into his mouth. Chewing it slowly, he gazed at Veronica. Xavier had an appendectomy? Why wasn‘t I informed about it?
Yesterday at noon, when Matthew had gone to his partner’s company, he saw Xavier alive and kicking; the latter looked nothing like a weak patient who just had an appendectomy.
Upon noticing Matthew’s penetrating gaze, Veronica cast him a fierce glare that contained resentment and anger. Then, she smiled at her parents. “Mom, there’s no need to do that. Xavier has been busy lately, so you won’t be able to see him even if you go and visit him.”
As she spoke, she kicked Matthew’s leg under the table, demanding for his cooperation.
It was only then that it dawned on him why she had lied-she probably had no choice but to make up a lie when he had urged her to return to Bloomstead the day before.
Nevertheless, it was also the same incident that allowed him to learn that Veronica was actually in a relationship with Xavier!
“I agree with you, Mrs. Murphy. Since they are currently dating, it’s inappropriate if you don’t go at this time,” Matthew casually chimed in.
As soon as he had said that, Veronica jerked her head in his direction, shooting him a glare so vicious that it could burn a hole in him.
“Matthew Kings, what the hell is wrong with you?!” Using her cutlery to shield her mouth, Veronica thundered at him-silently, though. In fact, the words were mouthed at him, but the intelligent Matthew was able to read her lips.
Instead of being enraged, he flashed a smile at her and said to Daniella, “We will be heading back to Bloomstead shortly after this. You can come along with us.”
“That’s goo~”
“Mom, that’s not good!” Veronica, who had finally run out of ideas, slapped the table in rage. She put down her cutlery and glared at Matthew again before she let out a helpless sigh.
Her reaction startled her parents. “Roni, what exactly happened? Is Xavier very ill?” Daniella’s expression fell and she could feel a tightness in her chest.
“You little brat, just tell us-why are you sighing? You are making your mom and I worried,” Tony muttered in displeasure.
As things had come to this point, Veronica couldn’t hide the truth from her parents any longer.
With her lips pursed, she looked at her adoptive parents guiltily. “Truth is… I’m not dating Xavier. I don’t like him at all. We just put up a show to deceive the two of you.”
As a matter of fact, it was merely a show that they had put up. With Xavier being a playboy, even if he had some feelings for her, it was surely born out of novelty.
Back then, Veronica had had no choice but to lie that she was in a relationship with Xavier, and that included the time when she had declared to Matthew that she fancied Xavier. After all, she had been wary of the Larson Family, and it was also because of the fact that she was staying in Matthew’s apartment at that time. Therefore, she had to use Xavier as an excuse to stop Matthew from having any feelings for her.
At present, Matthew was going to get married soon and Veronica had confessed to him about her relationship with Tiffany. Therefore, she believed that Tiffany wouldn’t take any actions on her because of this.
In addition, after the two of them got married, Matthew wouldn’t allow Tiffany to do anything to Veronica either.
Hence, the latter had the courage to confess the truth right in front of Matthew.
Then, she added, “I know that you guys think that Xavier has a powerful background and he will protect and support me in the future. However, he is not a good choice for a life partner. Everyone in Bloomstead knows that Xavier is a playboy who has countless women by his side. In fact, I don’t like him at all, so the two of us… we can only be friends.”
