May It Collapse
CHAPTER 1 May It Collapse
Classic music was playing…, not by Beethoven or Mozart, but another famous composer…, or perhaps not so famous because Veronica could not recall the name.
She had seriously been trying –to recall the piece’s origins for the past ten minute, as if she figured it out, it would mollify the fact the she has been stood up on her date.
It was 9:15 for God’s sake!
She was sitting in This Instant restaurant in the crowded side of Novustown where she was supposed to meet her date at 7:40. And it was 9:15-, no…, 9:16 now!
How could anything hold you up that long? Nothing could. Not even a natural disaster could stop you from meeting your two months online lover finally face-to-face, especially if it was her; Veronica Bray.
Not to brag or anything, but how could he get better than a 25 years old millionaire such as herself. She knew she was not bad looking.., or lacked any fundamentals of making a good date.
She had met Michael Scott on Instagram. And after turning down tens of romantic advances that were definitely worthier than Michael, a 26 years old model, she decided to finally give herself a chance in what they called love.
He was sweet. He made her busy mornings at work meaningful and her long lonely nights bearable. And today.., today she was ready to meet him at This Instant, the fanciest restaurant in town, her treat by the nature of her fortune. No big deal.
But here she was, in a tight short dress that was too red to be worn without an actual man across of her, her short black hair straightened and let loose for the first time in like.., forever, since it was always styled formally. Here she was with shiny heels that were higher than the building she worked at with 101 floors.., and Michael was not here.
And as if all of that was not enough, the gigantic plasma screen at the centre of the lounge started displaying her interview on the Now & Next channel. Veronica turned her head in a robotic manner to watch.
‘Please call me Veronica,’said Veronica as she greeted the show host.
Thank God she swapped chairs with the redhead show host, thought Veronica. That side of her face looked better.., but her suit pants looked wrinkled. Dammit! Why the hell did she have two personal assistants then?!
‘I will try,’ the host replied, ‘it is not always that I meet a young millionaire like yourself, especially that we are used to calling you Miss Bray in the news and social media. You have only used your nickname Vee, in your latest project.’
‘True, it was my brother’s idea.’
‘Tell us about it please..,’ the redhead said, nodding. Then her face turned red and she added, ‘uh.., I mean.., about the project not your brother.., but you can tell us about him too…’
Oh God. Veronica fought the urge to face-palm. But she had to excuse the lady; Veronica’s brother was no stranger to the media world. He was ranked as no.1 hottest guy in 2019 in Beans magazine and as no.3 for girls’ choice in Shuffle magazine, aka the two best-sellers magazines in the entire county.
‘Better to talk about the project,’ said Veronica light-heartedly to ease the awkwardness, ‘I’ll leave the nickname story for Douglas to tell. The project is called Youv, short for our motto; You Do Not Need Motivation You Vee to Go Get It. It is held by my company, Dives. We want to find talented youth, guide them and sponsor their international training. And I just wanted to remind everyone; the programme is completely free and anyone between the age of 18 and 28 can apply for it, if you have something to offer.’
Veronica tore her eyes from the screen when people started recognizing her. She sank in her seat. Why did she have to wear red!! Thank God This Instant’s customers were all from the upper-class who had too much ego to stand up and greet her. If that had happened she would’ve had to play dead.
This date was a bad idea. She knew it was. She should have listened to her instincts and watched a movie at her home theatre, wearing un-embarrassing pyjamas!
She checked the time again and it was almost 9:30. That was it! Michael had not replied at a single call or message since they last confirmed the date. He seemed to be offline too for the whole evening. A show-off model offline? As if that enough did not raise suspicions…
She logged into her secret Instagram account. The main one with two million followers wasn’t exactly ideal for stalking assholes or anyone for that matter.
Her lack of trust was totally justified.., because Michael had posted a picture with him and his friends at a party downtown, twenty minutes ago. His arms were wrapped around Marry Paw, another influencer who was probably eighteen years old if not younger.
SON OF A BIT-
No, no.., take a deep breath.., TAKE A DEEP BREATH!
She slammed down the glass of water she was holding. She could totally afford the damage but she could not afford to lose her dignity.
She pulled her white coat and handbag and stormed off like an angry penguin on heels.
Thank God she had paid for the night in advance. The exit had to be dramatic and quick. This Instant her ass…, may it all collapse in an instant…
Why hadn’t she followed the code? Her code said.., well of course do not fall for a douchey but also you are married to your work.
She had millions in her bank account, she had a company called Dives that was doing very, she had a villa in the most expensive area in Novestown. Why in the hell would she need some twat to waste her efforts on buying cars and new shoes just to show off in front of his friends?! That’s what men did anyway, she did not lack experience in that department.
‘Are you okay ma’am?’ asked a man who noticed her fumbling with her phone with tearful eyes.
She turned to him; an over six feet good-looking guy with brown hair.
Just like Michael.
‘Get away from me, you idiot!’ she snapped. ‘Do you think you are going to save this fragile girl, drive her home and start a romantic story? I do not need high-school romance, not now, not ever! Plus I have a driver!’
She managed to hit the call button in between her tears as she passed by him.
‘Billy, yes.., I am done!’ she said.
And soon enough Billy, her chauffeur, arrived with the limo and flung the door open for her.
Once she settled on the leather seat, she took out her pocket mirror to check her make-up. But she found herself glancing through it to find the handsome stranger.
He had walked off the pavement somewhere to the right. Thank God he had not responded to her hormone explosion. She knew she sounded dumb.
This must be Julia’s curse.
Her cousin, Julia, was the beginning of it all, the first factor that pushed Veronica to become someone bigger than herself. And yet..; it was a curse. Damned little Julia never got out of her head even after she became the Veronica Bray.
After their mother died, Veronica and Douglas spent two years at their uncle’s house until their dad sorted things out. He could not afford their old apartment and he was out of job for as long as Veronica could remember.
One night she, her brother and their cousins, Julie, Daniel and Laila circled on the floor to play Golden Fetch. The game was invented by the eldest of the group Julia who was 12 at that time. In the game, there were a number of blue cards, one golden card and one black card. The pile of cards was placed facing down and distributed randomly. You either get the golden one and be the king, a blue one and be the king’s follower or the black one and be banished.
Veronica had gotten the black card for the fourth time in a row. She was banished…
‘You are cursed,’ said Julia. ‘You will never have money or true love. I knew that would happen because you have black hair just like the black card.’
The girl’s standard of beauty was obviously her blonde Barbie that was always placed on her lap.
‘But Douglas has black hair too and he got a blue card,’ said little Daniel.
‘Shut it Dan!’ said Julia. ‘I am adding a new rule; three black cards and you are out. That means you are out for good, Veronica.’
Yeah, thought Veronica, she was out of Golden Fetch game and in for the undying determination of becoming a rule maker. And she made it. She almost broke the curse, except for that true love’s part. She was the loneliest person she had ever known.
She was surrounded by work colleagues in day and maids at night.
Her brother, 23 years old Douglas Bray, led his own separate life. He owned a spa with a couple of his friends and the business was doing well.., excellent, actually. He even employed managers to make decisions on his behalf and dedicated his life to himself. No responsibilities, no family ties.
Veronica barely saw him- that if she excluded the video calls he made from another country each night.
Her beloved father had remarried and moved to his wife’s hometown where her kids were attending school. His new life was complicated but comfortable thanks to the money Veronica was sending him every month.
And that was all the family interaction she had; video calls and thank you texts.
She had really hoped Douglas would change his lifestyle after his business had grown internationally. She even thought of him when she chose her new villa, begged him several times to move in with her. But the offer was too binding for a free soul like Douglas’s. He instead promised her to visit as much as possible. She agreed to his offer but it hasn’t been followed up so far.
She was the loneliest person she had ever known.
She knew that was not true.., but a pang of pain exploded in her chest and it was impossible to discuss a truce with her inner self right now. She started sobbing.
‘Miss Bray,’ said the 50 years old driver.
Veronica had almost forgotten she was in her limo, with company.
‘Yes?’ she managed.
Billy extended his hand to the back with a handkerchief.
‘Thank you Billy,’ she said and she received his consolation in the form of white fabric.
She wiped her tears and appreciated the lack of further conversation for the rest of the ride.
