Never Judge

Veronica took a deep breath and drank from the bottle Katerina had just placed on the table in front of her. She needed a drink for the story she was about to tell.

"Remember when I found out that I was going to be engaged to Miguel?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah, you ran away in the rain that night and got hospitalized." Nicole said as she recalled events of that night. She was considered too young to attend meetings like that so her parents had left her behind at home while they took Miguel to meet his fiance and her family. It was supposed to be a formal introduction of the couple to one another. 

"Everyone said that it was my older brother that found me in the park. They said he found me unconscious and carried me to the hospital, but I knew it wasn't Ram." Veronica confessed. When she was told this story by her parents, she was confused and she doubted her memory. But as the days and months went by, her memory of that night only became more vivid as she recalled the details.

"So, who was it?" Katerina asked. "Don't tell me it was some random guy that you think is your soulmate." Katerina teased. 

"No, it wasn't." Veronica replied, maintaining her serious tone. "It was Miguel." When she mentioned his name she felt a stabbing pain in her heart. She decided to take a gulp once again from the drink on the table.

"Why would everyone lie to you?" Nicole asked.

"I think they assumed things about me again." Veronica said with a sigh. The members of the Abad family liked to think that they knew Veronica well enough to predict what she was going to do, but they couldn't be more wrong. "They probably thought that I would have been more mad if I knew who had rescued me."

"So he rescued you, and you fell in love with him?" Nicole asked.

"I fell for him because when I ran away from the meeting he chased after me, he didn't care about the rain and he didn't care about getting sick. When I saw him approaching me in the park I wanted to hug him and accept him, but I guess the stress got to me and I fainted before I could." Veronica said with a sad look. "Even when I was unconscious, I felt safe in his arms. I knew Miguel would protect me. I was shocked when he left and just stopped contacting me. That's when I thought, maybe if I let myself get close to other guys he might get jealous and come. I never imagined that my attempt to get him jealous would end up with me having feelings for Jason."

"So you really liked Jason?" Katernia asked. She wasn't sure at the time if Veronica really liked the guy or if she was simply attached to him since they were really good friends. 

"I liked him, but my feelings for him weren't as strong or intense as how they were for Miguel." Veronica confessed. "When Jason hurt me and I finally agreed to leave and change my name, I wanted so desperately to run to Miguel in America."

"That's right, my older brother was about to return from America so he could work in Saints, then he suddenly accepted a job in Paris instead. We never heard anything about it prior to Miguel deciding to work there, the job wasn't even a good fit for him, it was way below his abilities." Nicole recalled.

"Do you guys know why I chose the name Veronica?" She asked Katerina and Nicole.

Although they had a pretty good guess, the two girls shook their heads. They both wanted to hear it directly from Veronica.

"Growing up Miguel gave me that pet name, and hearing people call me Veronica, made me feel closer to him when he was halfway across the globe. It made me feel like it was him calling me." As Veronica said this Nicole and Katerina could see her blushing, they weren't sure if it was because of the memory or if Veronica was simply turning red from the alcohol she had consumed.

"When we were in Paris, I thought it was my chance to be with him, but I was a very awkward girl." Veronica said with a laugh as she remembered how she acted around Miguel when they first lived in the Paris mansion. "I couldn't approach Miguel while we were there. Miguel decided to learn how to cook, so he would cook for the two of us every morning. It didn't matter if he was busy or not, he would make it a point to cook every time."

"Wow, I never realized that my older brother could be so sweet." Nicole said with a laugh.

"I genuinely thought at that time that he might like me too." Veronica said as she took another sip from the alcoholic beverage in front of her.

"You mean he didn't?" Katerina asked. "That's impossible. Miguel has loved you since we were teenagers."

"Well, something happened." Veronica said in a sad tone. "Living with Miguel was amazing, he cooked for me, he would go shopping with me, and we would even take the occasional trip when I was bored. One day, I was at school when I realized I wanted to tell Miguel how I felt and how I was willing to give our relationship a chance. I was so excited to tell him, I couldn't wait till after class. So I decided to go to the hospital to meet him. I thought after confessing to him we could have dinner and go on a date." 

Katerina and Nicole looked intently at Veronica. This was a story she had never told the two of them and they were her closest friends in the world.

"When I got to the hospital, I asked a nurse where I could find Miguel. She blushed at the mention of his name and pointed me towards his clinic." As Veronica said this her voice began to crack. The memory still hurt even if it had happened a long time ago. "When I approached his office, I heard funny sounds from outside. I may be a virgin but I know what sex sounds like." As she recalled this, tears fell from Veronica's eyes once more.

"Oh, my dear." Nicole said as she hugged Veronica. "I hate my brother! He's an as***le!" Nicole cursed.

"Are you sure it was him inside?" Katerina asked. She found it odd that after so much devotion Miguel would just give into some primal urge and sleep with another woman. 

Veronica nodded and spoke. "After running out of the hospital, I realized it might not be him. So I went back to check, and the scene that greeted me hurt me even more." Veronica said. "I saw him hugging another woman, and the woman's hand was in a place it shouldn't have been in. After that I just ran. I ran home and cried and locked myself in my room. I saw him everyday until I finished my studies, I didn't have a choice, my family said I had to live in that house while I was in Paris. It was so painful seeing his handsome smile everyday and knowing that that smile didn't belong to me."

"That's why you froze your heart towards him." Katerina said slowly as she realized why Veronica had always seemed guarded when it came to Miguel.