Chapter 27 Veronica’s Morning Sickness
Her response impressed Xavier very much.
Holding the takeaway box in his hand, he watched Veronica intently with a deep look in his eyes. In that moment, he could feel her dismay as well as the strength in her heart, and there was even a split second when he saw himself in her because they were simply too alike.
“Alright, Roni. Let’s go in.” As Xavier already didn’t like Tiffany from before, this matter now only deepened his dislike for her as he felt that she was a hypocrite.
He reached out, took Veronica’s hand, and pulled her toward himself before placing his arm around her shoulders.
This gesture struck Tiffany and Matthew by surprise, and Tiffany gasped. “What?” Placing her hand to her lips in astonishment, she uttered, “Voronica, w-when did you get to know Young Master Xavier? H-He’s…”
Everyone understood what she was trying to say from the hesitant way she was speaking; she wanted to call Xavier a Casanova, the infamous useless rich child of Bloomstead, and a dandy. But it was her engagement party today, so she didn’t say the words in the end.
“Tiffany, since Miss Murphy is your friend, you should advise her to stay away from unreliable people.”
Matthew’s reputation was the reason Tiffany didn’t say those insults, since she was afraid to cause trouble and make the situation awkward. However, who would have thought that it was Matthew who had said those words himself!
Even though he was speaking to Tiffany, his eyes were fixed on Veronica, and he didn’t look away for even a second.
“Matthew, maybe they’re just friends,” Tiffany said, trying to smooth things over.
“Right, she’s a friend—my girlfriend!”
As a man, Xavier had acutely sensed the hostility Matthew had for himself, especially from his eyes, which were fixed on Veronica.
When he recalled what happened that day at Twilight Club, an idea flashed across his mind, but he felt that it was very ridiculous.
“I just forgot to introduce her to everyone.”
In order to protect her, he was even willing to ‘admit’ that she was his girlfriend. She was ‘ugly’, yet he was still protecting her despite everyone’s sarcasm.
Even if Veronica had a heart made of stone, she would still be touched, so she held Xavier’s hand. “Xavier Crawford is my boyfriend.”
“Y-Your boyfriend?”
Although Tiffany knew that Xavier was a famous Casanova, he was still the young master of the Crawford Family, who was one of the four greatest families in Bloomstead. He actually fell for Veronica Murphy, who has such an ugly face? What kind of sorcery did this b*tch resort to? she thought angrily. Nevertheless, on the surface, she uttered in concern, “Veronica, I know that your life is difficult because you have to work and do delivery jobs for your parent’s medical fees. Even though it’s difficult, you shouldn’t take the shortcut in such a silly way.”
Cleverly, she had used the word ‘shortcut’, which anyone with some brains could figure out what she actually meant by that.
“Does she have what it takes to take the shortcut?” Matthew snorted in sarcasm. “There are plenty of beautiful girls around Young Master Xavier; you should take a look at yourself in the mirror.”
“Exactly, this woman is so dumb.”
“She’s so ugly that I can’t stand the look of her, and she actually thinks that Young Master Xavier would like her for real.”
“Maybe Young Master Xavier has seen too many beautiful girls and wanted to look for something different,” someone else said and burst out in laughter.
“That makes sense!”
…
Again, another round of criticisms broke out from the crowd, and suddenly, someone chided loudly, “Xavier Crawford, why are you fooling around here? You rascal, all you do is embarrass me every day!”
Before the person even arrived, his voice could already be heard, then everyone opened up a path for a man with white hair to get through. He was dressed in a suit, and even though his hair was gray, he appeared vigorous. Every step he took was firm, and his serious face had an expression of compelling majesty.
“Isn’t that Mr. Crawford?”
“Xavier is the youngest and the most disappointing child of the Crawfords’. Mr. Crawford might go hopping mad if he finds out about this matter.”
“Of course he will. Even I would be angry, not to mention Mr. Crawford.”
…
Overhearing the whispering from the crowd, Veronica found out that the person marching over was Xavier’s father, and she took in a breath of cold air unwittingly.
Earlier, when Xavier was alone, she thought that he was the only representative from the Crawfords—after all, this was only an engagement party—but who would have guessed that Mr. Crawford would show up personally as well!
So, how would the situation end now?
“Dad.” Staring at the man in front of him, Xavier uttered the word calmly, but his arm remained on Veronica’s shoulders.
Furious, Hendric Crawford glared at Veronica and furrowed his graying brows. “It’s Matthew and Miss Larson’s engagement banquet today. What the hell are you trying to do?” Then, he pointed a finger at Veronica. “Do you think you haven’t made a fool out of yourself enough and are trying to cause more embarrassment by exhibiting an ugly thing here?”
Twitching her lips, Veronica knew that she had caused a big mess for Xavier, and she felt a little guilty over it. On the other hand, an almost unnoticeable gleeful look appeared in Tiffany’s eyes as she watched from the side while Matthew observed the situation in silence.
“Dad, you sound like you’re judging a book by its cover.” Grabbing Veronica’s hand, Xavier added, “Although Veronica has ordinary looks, she doesn’t steal or rob; instead, she works hard to make every penny so she can pay for her parents, who are hospitalized. What’s embarrassing about that? Everyone was born with the face that their parents gave them. So, are the ugly ones supposed to just end their lives because of that?”
“You!” Hendric wasn’t expecting that Xavier would talk back to him because of such an ugly girl. “You sound so profound, but you’re just enjoying your life outside with my money. This woman’s parents were hospitalized, but instead of taking care of them, she’s out here having fun with you. Don’t you know what she’s planning?”
“Yeah, Young Master Xavier. She must be after your money.”
“But he’s not lacking in money.”
“Who knows?”
“She’s able to attract Young Master Xavier with that ugly face. It goes to show she’s really talented.”
“He has such a unique taste…”
…
The onlookers burst into laughter, feeling that the trip today was totally worth it after watching the ‘show’.
“I don’t care what she’s planning as long as I’m happy.” Until the end, Xavier chose to protect Veronica.
Right after he said that, an irritated look appeared on Matthew’s face. Next to him, Tiffany didn’t say anything as she observed silently, wishing that Hendric would help her to get rid of Veronica.
Despite the tense situation, Matthew didn’t seem like he wanted to stand out and help Veronica. Looks like that sl*t means nothing to him now, Tiffany thought.
To her, everything was going in her favorable direction.
“You’re creating more trouble than achieving anything. If your mother hadn’t passed away early in life and I found you pitiful, I would have chased you out of the house a long time ago.”
When Hendric mentioned Xavier’s mother, Veronica could feel his hand tightening around hers strongly.
As though he had been touched in a sore spot, he was using so much force to suppress the fury burning within him.
“Should I thank you, then?”
“You—” Just as Hendric wanted to say something more, he noticed the sullen look on Matthew’s face, and he decided to drop the matter. “I’ll continue this at home.” With a snort, he then entered the banquet hall.
Since the commotion was over, everyone followed suit into the hall as well. In the hall, Xavier dragged Veronica to a corner and hid in the crowd.
So began the engagement party. First, the host gave a speech, followed by Elizabeth, Floch, and Rachel. In addition to that, Tiffany also told a good story of how she and Matthew met through an accident, instilling everyone with envy.
After that, it was time to eat. Ever since Veronica learned that she was pregnant, she started to have morning sickness. Looking at the oily lunch on the table, she felt nauseated and covered her mouth with her hand. “Xavier, take a seat here while I go to the washroom.”
She stood up and went to the washroom, but there were a lot of people on the second floor and it was very crowded, so she decided to go to the third floor instead.
“Blargh! Blargh!”
In the empty washroom on the third floor, she retched for a while before throwing up.
Taking a minute to rest, she then went over to the common basin, cupped some water in her palm, and gargled.
When she turned to walk out and passed by a lounge, the door swung open suddenly, and before she could even react, someone pulled her in and pressed her against the wall.
