relationship is a professional one, even if lines have been blurred on your end. David thinks of you as a means to get more approval.”
“No. That’s not true.” My words are rushed, tripping over themselves. “He… sleeps in my bed, Andrews. I think the lines are more than just blurred. They’re broken.”
I’m waiting for Andrews to back down. To change his opinion.
He doesn’t.
“The President has told me that the two of you share a bed,” Andrews says, entirely unsurprised. “You might both be enjoying the… the unique situation you’re both in, but believe me. A ruse is still a ruse. You’re both living a lie.”
“It’s not a lie.”
“Oh, but it is,” Andrews replies. “The two of you aren’t really engaged, Veronica. The ‘history’ you have… the ‘future’ you both want to share… it’s all made up. Most of it by me and my PR team. It’s all designed to give David better press.”
I feel like my world is falling apart around me. Have I been this stupid? Really? I thought… things had changed. I thought that David and I had found something real.
But Andrews knows everything. David has clearly kept him informed with all the juicy details like our relationship is nothing but a business report. Has any of this been true? I… can’t have been played like a fool this whole time, can I?
“Then why would he lie to me?” I whisper, my voice hoarse. “Why would he make me think… any of this is real?”
Andrews doesn’t bat an eyelid. “It’s always been part of the plan, I’m afraid. If you’re having real feelings for David, then the public will pick up on that. The last thing we wanted was for someone to realize this has all been fake.”
No. No, no, no, no, no.
I’m an idiot.
There’s something wet on my face. Tears, I realize eventually. I’m curled up on the couch, sobbing my heart out.
“When David came to Cali,” I sniff, on the edge of being hysterical, “he told me that all of this meant something.”
“He wasn’t lying, technically,” Andrews says. “It means good ratings for him.”
I can’t hold it in any longer. I’m sucking in air in short, shallow gasps like every breath is my last. It feels like I’m drowning. Like water has filled me from the inside out and it’s threatening to choke me until I’m dead.
If I make any more noise, Jackson is going to assume I’m being assassinated and burst in here all guns blazing.
“I’m sorry, Veronica,” Andrews tells me.
I guess even he is feeling a little bad for me. I probably look terrible, my cheeks stained with a flood of tears as I sniff to stop my nose running.
“Why… why are you even telling me this, then?” I ask him.
Andrews is David’s man. If this is all true, I don’t understand why he’d just spill this kind of secret to me. Especially when it’s pretty much obvious that I’m not going to take it well.
“I…” Andrews looks hesitant.
“What?” I want my voice to come out snappy. To come at him with all the aggression he deserves. But instead I just sound weak and watery, like I’m one more shock away from deflating like a balloon.
“I just… I feel for you, Veronica,” he says, giving me a sad look. “If I were in your position, I’d want to know.”
Once more, his hands are on me. This time Andrews is squeezing the side of my leg, his thumb running along the tights I’m wearing. His touch feels… off, I think. It’s not meant to be comforting. It’s something else.
But I’m not thinking about that right now. All I’m thinking about is my world crashing down around me.
Shame burns in my chest, hot and unrelenting. After all… hadn’t David made it very clear at the beginning how this was going to go? ‘I don’t do girlfriends’. All along, I’ve been fighting a losing battle.
And you know what’s worse? I hadn’t even realized I was losing.
“Veronica,” Andrews says, interrupting my thoughts, “if there’s anything I can do for you…”
I blink at him through my tears. “Get me away from here. Now.”
All I want to do is go home. I want to hug my dad, jump underneath the covers of my bed, and never watch the news again. The sight of David’s face right now makes me feel sick.
“I’m sure you’re very upset,” he says, nodding. But he doesn’t get up to act on my request. Instead, he leans forwards. “It’s only natural for you to feel… the