Page 75 of Viral Affair

“I have to fucking agree with our mother. She warned me about her after she told me she’d hired a private detective to look into her background,” I said and then laughed.

James narrowed his eyes slightly, but didn’t smile or even acknowledge my pathetic admission. Christ, no wonder the princess had fucked him over if he was always so unresponsive. I shook my head and glanced out the window, wishing that I could simply erase Veronica from my mind so I could never feel the way I felt now—empty and detached. It was hell, but it could never go away because I loved her so damn much, it hurt.

One month later

“Thank you all for coming. Unfortunately, we won’t be discussing the budget today but my private life,” my brother spoke, live on national news.

I stood in my parents’ house, watching his speech with the other members of my family.

“You all probably know Laura. She’s my daughter’s nanny, but unfortunately for her, this is her last day because I’m firing her, effective immediately.”

Mum gasped, and then she brought her hands to her mouth. Dad cleared his throat. I shook my head, ready to head home. I knew that the bastard was going to mess this up somehow.

“I’m a single father, and Maja’s mother was never in the picture and probably never will be. A few months ago, this woman…” he paused and smiled at Laura, who looked like she was just about to pass out, “showed up to my house. I mistook her for someone else, so we didn’t have the best start, so much that she absolutely hated my guts and told me that to my face, knowing that I could fire her anytime.”

“Spencer’s officially lost his mind,” James muttered.

“Anyway, I wanted to give her a chance because I was desperate for a nanny. My daughter had driven all her previous nannies away, and it was my fault. Then Laura stepped in, and things changed. Needless to say, I realised that I was falling for her. My position of power has not impressed her whatsoever, and frankly, I’m surprised she hasn’t run away because I’ve not treated her as well as I should have. I’ve upset and hurt her, so that’s why I’m standing in front of all of you today—trying to apologise. My heart belongs to her. I love this woman and I’m not ashamed to admit it. She’s the love of my life, and I never wish to be apart from her ever again.”

“And that’s how you win the love of your life, boys. Watch and learn,” Mum said, sounding like she was just about to cry while Dad started clapping.

He looked excited. I glanced at James who appeared completely frozen with his bottle of beer that still hovered right above his lips.

“Motherfucker,” I muttered as Spencer ended the press conference and the press went wild.

Two weeks ago, James had dropped a bomb at Spencer, claiming that Samantha was Laura’s biological sister. When I’d heard that, I’d nearly fallen off my chair, but now everything started to make perfect sense. I’d seen the resemblance before but had never connected the dots.

After that, Laura had supposedly betrayed Spencer. He’d told me she was working with Sam. He’d also said she was the one who’d leaked their photo from their time in Sicily to the press—apparently, he had proof. Spencer had been devastated. They’d ended up splitting up, and Maja had gone a little crazy. She’d bonded with Laura and wouldn’t talk to Spencer for weeks. However, later on, it turned out that Samantha was the one who’d arranged it all, and Spencer had to grovel so Laura would forgive him.

My brother claimed he’d tried everything, but she wasn’t ready to forgive him, obviously. Now I kind of understood why he’d called the press conference and handcuffed her to him. He’d done it because he couldn’t live without her.

“See, darling, true love does exist, and I think you might be next, Rupert. There’s a woman out there who’s waiting for you, darling,” my mother added.

I nearly threw up in my mouth.Finishing my beer, I excused myself. Several minutes later, I locked myself in the bathroom, trying to take several breaths, but the oxygen wasn’t flowing. I loosened up my tie, pressing my hands over the sink, sensing another panic attack coming.

Veronica and I were over, and we weren’t getting back together. I’d stayed away from the club, even though she didn’t work there anymore, but apparently she’d become quite active on her social media.

All of this didn’t change the fact that I couldn’t stop fucking thinking about her. She was in my head all the time, in my dreams, in my daily routine. Veronica was present everywhere I fucking went. She was still my whole life, and I would never be able to forget what we had because my love was slowly becoming a fucking cancer, making my heart rot in my chest.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Veronica

My jaw was on the floor as I watched Spencer Banks declaring his undying love for Laura live on national television. She hadn’t wanted to forgive him, but there they were now. Soon, Laura vanished from the screen with Spencer, and a reporter started speaking, looking extremely excited. It was official: Spencer Banks, the Prime Minister of this country, had lost his mind for his nanny.

I sat down and pulled out my phone, hoping I could still get through to her, but then a photo memory popped up on the screen, and I felt like someone had just ripped my heart out and smashed it with a hammer. I stared at the picture of me and Rupert from our summer when we’d posed on the deck of The Dreamer.

It had been about a month since I’d made a decision to let him go, since I’d confessed to him that I’d only used him for his money. That was one of the hardest things that I’d ever had to do, but it was for the best. Rupert deserved to be with someone more worthy of him, another woman who wouldn’t put his reputation at risk, someone who didn’t have any self-esteem issues. My social media had been exploding lately. A lot of my videos had gone viral since I’d started working with Katharina.

She was delighted with this collaboration, saying sales of her products had increased significantly, and I was looking forward to more of my ideas to be implemented. I was proud of myself, while also feeling miserable. I’d been trying hard to lift my vibration, to feel good about myself and my self-worth, but I’d been missing Rupert so much. Laura knew what had happened. She didn’t get why I’d let Rupert go, and I was too self-conscious to let her dig deep.

We were both depressed—at least Laura had been until a while ago—before that shocking speech by the PM. Until then, we’d been both in love with men we couldn’t have. Until he confessed his love, she hadn’t been prepared to forgive Spencer for he had acted like a total wanker, and I supported her one hundred percent. He’d accused her of working with his ex, leaking a photo to the press, and then he’d fired her. When she’d come home a few weeks back in tears and explained what happened, I was ready to drive to Downing Street myself and smash his face, but instead, I’d held her while she sobbed.

Rupert was a self-made billionaire , and I had only just started climbing my career ladder, so we were from two different worlds. I let him believe I’d used him even if I was dying inside. We couldn't be together. I was afraid that something might happen to him even after Vincent was locked up, so I carried on with these lies. I had reiterated to the bastard that Rupert left me because he heard me betray him, so he wouldn’t think I orchestrated this. This would make total sense.

Laura had tried to talk me out of doing this, begging me to let her tell him the truth, but my voice of reason told me that I had done the right thing. I’d finally convinced myself, I was never going to be good enough for a man like Rupert.I had too much baggage.

I texted Laura: Bitch. You’d better call me once you’re done shagging him. This must have been the most romantic moment in British television that anyone ever witnessed. Squeee.

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