Chapter 35: Chapter 35

5 YEARS LATER.

Vega POV.

"I dare you to hit the casino tonight. We need to waste some money" Andrianna said, her hair bouncing as she jumped excitedly.

I glanced up from the paperwork in front of her, then shook my head. "I'm busy and I have to get this done before tomorrow so I won't be taking that dare".

Andrianna rolled her eyes. "Chicken" she muttered under her breath and I looked up at her in exasperation.

"You really need to stop with the peer pressure, and your stupid dares. Just go out on your own for once and have fun ok".

"Going out alone is no fun hence why I'm always hounding you and who will take me home if I get drunk and can't find my way back home huh?".

I sighed. "I have to get this done Andrianna. Your rich ass doesn't have to work, but I do".

Andrianna huffed. "You're getting more boring as the years go by. I won't be surprised if you're a grandma in the next few years, and not in the real sense, cause that would be weird" she rambled and I gave her a pointed look. "Fine, I'll leave you alone to die in your office but it's been five years, I think it's time to move on".

Here we go again with the reminders. I rubbed at my forehead, my eyes flicking close tiredly. "Can you please leave so I can finish this? Please" I added when Andrianna made no move to go.

"Fine, ignore that topic like it doesn't exist then but just know it's gonna make you choke one of these days, plus I think you need to start seeing..." She was saying when I slammed my hand on the table to stop her because I already knew the exact direction she was heading.

"No, no more dates. I've already been embarrassed more times than I can count, I don't need more new experiences to add to the list ok".

Andrianna nodded, looking a bit guilty and we both knew why. It was because she was always setting me up, with guys that ended up making me feel worse than I did before I met them. "Yup, you're right about that, so imma just get out of your hair, and go straight home cause I don't want to get shot while on my way to the casino".

"Do what you think is good for you" I said, then went back to work. Andrianna stalled, then sighed dramatically before walking out of my office and shutting the door.

I exhaled then slammed the files in front of me closed as my gaze flitted to the phone beside my elbow on the desk. There had been no beep all day so I was sure my last date had also ghosted me just like the ones before him.

"This is just the worst week ever" I muttered to myself as I stared around the luxurious office that was only filled with things that stressed me to no end. I dragged my hand through my shoulder-length hair as I stood up to walk to the ceiling-to-floor window that overlooked the city. I scoffed as I stared at The city which looked almost magical as different colored lightning flooded the street.

"If my life could just be so magical wouldn't everything be fun" I muttered to myself, then glanced back at my phone which remained silent. "I guess that's it for that then".

Without meaning to, thoughts of Zach Dante invaded my head from nowhere. Well, it was all Andrianna's fault because she was always reminding me of him. I wondered where he was, why there had only been radio silence from him for five years. Did he hate me so much that he'd disappeared just to get away from me, or was he... Was he dead?

No one had expected him to stop coming to school after the scandal which involved him brutally dumping me, the person who edited the video must not have gotten the memo that I was supposed to be the villain in the video and not Zach. We later found out that Arielle leaked the video, but no one could confront her about it because she got admitted for a drug overdose just the next day and she almost died too if it wasn't for the competent doctors her father hired.

Zach's words had hurt and every day after he left, it was all I could think about, and because of that I forced myself to look for a replacement, just to show him that I could get any guy I wanted but it didn't quite work out, of course, the guys acted interested at first but then they became cold, insulting even and at a point, I almost believed that I was truly hideous and that he was right about no one ever wanting me, which seem to still be the norms even now, but I had invested my millions and now my business was freaking thriving, and even tho we were currently encountering some fall back, I knew I could fix it. I always fixed things, except for Zach.

The company was the only thing I had and over the years, after replying the night that I and Zach broke up, I felt I knew why he had been so cruel as he tore me down, it was because I truly hurt him. But that didn't mean I forgave his words or the way he had looked at me like I was thrash. There was also the bruising kiss. Our last kiss.

Fuck! I said, feeling something wet trailing my cheek. I wiped at the tears furiously.

"Enough of this already Vega. We can never be together and that's that. Stop fucking obsessing over it when it's been years already" I told myself for the hundredth time. But maybe I was the one holding myself back because if I was being honest, I was secretly relieved every time a guy ghosted me because then I wouldn't bother with trying to develop feelings or think about commitment but it had to stop now

If no guy was interested in me for reasons I couldn't quite comprehend, I guess a one-night stand was all I needed to get rid of whatever it was that still made me choke up every time I thought about Zach and what could have been.

Feeling determined, I picked up my phone, took a deep breath, and called Andrianna who picked on the first ring.

"I changed my mind. Let's hit the casino".