Chapter 207
Veronica’s POV
Grand Del Hotel – Private Room
The council had invited Jonathan and his wife to a small dinner meeting.
I exhaled as it was a sight I was expecting p>
Imelda.
She was already seated on the chair with Jonathan’s wife’s label.
I had been noticing her over the past few days after the inheritance day, but at first I thought it was a coincidence.
But now p>
It wasn’t.
She made sure to show up everywhere and pose as his wife.
Be it at the council meetings,or social gatherings where old Harmon Designs clients showed up or where old socialites showed up who knew her from the times Harmon Designs hosted parties under Fredrick.
She always made sure to show up at places the River inheritance was being talked about.
And the reason was simple p>
Jonathan.
I watched her smile as she saw Jonathan walking over presuming he would sit beside her.
“Come over,” she said, smiling.
“See p>
“I already ordered your favorite classic caesar salad for starter p>
I laughed at her attempt at telling his habits to prove she’s his wife.
“Oh,” she said, removing a medicine bottle from her purse.
“I have your stomach medicine with me p>
Then she looked at the council members.
“He used to have to drink a lot with new clients p>
“You know how pestering they can be p>
“It’s caused an effect on his stomach p>
“I suppose today, you p>
“Jonathan never drinks p>
“Don’t taboo him over your baseless dreams p>
“Please, Mr. Rollings, take a seat,” a council member gestured towards the chair with his name.
Jonathan walked over, made me sit beside him and placed the wife name plate before me.
“Did you?” I suddenly asked him, concerned.
“NO,” he softly said to me.
“I never drank, but I did have a little food poisoning back then p>
“I didn’t want to worry you, so I never told you p>
I felt an old ache creep back into my heart as I realized back then Jonathan must have kept a lt of things from me that I didn’t know so I would not worry.
And p>
He knew everything about me, that would make him worry for me.
I realized how back then even if I wasn’t around, I was part of his life, yet for me p>
He wasn’t as I could not be around him.
I also realized she was trying to make me remember those days again hoping that would weaken me.
Throughout the diner she kept positioning herself beside him.
She would keep on placing her hand on his hand, and once she even placed her hand on his thigh, which he instantly removed.
“So, Mr Rollings,” one of the members asked.
“When you began designing back in college p>
“Were you inspired by your father, I mean “You’s” designs p>
“Of course he was,” Imelda spoke instead.
“Of course back then he didn’t know it was his father,” she said as if she knew everything.
“But he was definitely inspired by his work p>
“Mrs. Veronica,” he asked me.
“The first design you made was p>
“Oh it was p>
“It was on her artwork,” Imelda spoke for me as she knew Jonathan assisted me and I would tell about that.
She was doing all to make sure I didn’t show any connection between me and him.
“I heard you both, I mean Mr. Jonathan and you, Mrs. Veronica, made a collection together p>
“No,” Imelda interrupted.
“They didn’t do any such thing p>
“It was p>
“But my wife bought our wedding anniversary rings from the collection p>
I exhaled and was going to speak up, but stopped.
“We did release a couple collab under the Rollings and Harmon combined venture, and every collection under the collab has a warm loving story to it p>
“Veronica made the drafts, I handmade the designs she drafted p>
“Each piece is one of a kind p>
“Oh did you?” Imelda says, smiling.
“You know I’m a very jealous p>
I realized she didn’t need anyone to justify her relationship for her, she only needed them to question our relationship.
“Mr. Rollings,” the member said.
“I think you should be considerate of your wife p>
” If this goes on, she’ll succeed in planting doubt in their minds,” I said in my mind as I realized she might win.
She definitely was making me uncomfortable.
She was complimenting him the way she used to back then.
She referred to things from back then.
She laughed at things Jonathan mentioned from his past, things I was not part of.
In between she would intentionally look over at me to see my expression.
Which I didn’t give her.
“Imelda,” Jonathan leaned over towards her.
“Don’t you dare tease her p>
“Or I’ll make sure you regret everything you’re doing today p>
As he took hold of my hand and placed it on the table, her smile disappeared.
Then all of a sudden the atmosphere changed.
Everytime Imelda mentioned the past, Jonathan would mention something from the present about us.
And so somehow the dinner was over and we went back home, and I thought our life was back to normal.
But it was still far from normal.
Every now and then she would call him to be his companion to any council related event.
As always, Jonathan would decline.
But she would still show up.
Every time she would mention the past, he would mention our present.
And for the first time I realized he had been keeping me secure or else the way she is p>
She might have ended me years ago.
Again she managed to join us at a dinner meeting with some members.
Grand Del Hotel – private room
Again she tried to claim Jonathan as her husband.
But p>
Jonathan introduced me as his wife.
With that p>
I also saw her smile falter.
I suppose she realized now her actions weren’t affecting her choice.
As to him choosing her over me.
But this also made me think as to what she’s up to.
If she wanted Harmon Designs, she was working too hard for it.
She could use legal means claiming she was the one who ran Harmon Designs for a decade.
She could have targeted my connections.
She could have challenged my position as I never took the old seals away from her.
I only took their credibility away.
Instead she’s using the memories, and events from back then.
The reason I began questioning her real motive.
I kept thinking if she was after Harmon Designs or Jonathan?
She was behaving as if nothing had happened and from being fiances, they were a couple now.
Points he would disagree with her, she would pout.
“Jonathan,” she would say. “You never said no to me p>
“Is it cause of her,” she’d point to me.
“Do you remember how hard it was to get Sanders to tell us about the Blue Heart?” she suddenly asked.
“How we had to meet every client personally when we began Rollings Designs p>
“I began Rollings Designs on my own,” Jonathan retaliated.
“It was for Harmon Designs when you took over, for Fredrick’s sake, I went with you to those clients and secured your orders p>
“Jonathan?” she tried to sound hurt.
“How could you say that p>
“I was raised by Fredrick Harmon p>
“I was raised to be the heir of Harmon Designs p>
“Why would I need any help p>
“Say what you want,” he said.
“You and I know the truth p>
I froze as I saw the expression of the members as I realized she wanted Jonathan to look bad for speaking rudely to his wife.
I recalled the time she made Jonathan feel so guilty at a party he ended up scolding Janet.
But this time he had changed.
Now Jonathan doesn’t care what she thinks or says.
He introduced me with affection that was clear to everyone.
But the next moment, she walked over and pretended to trip over making me fall as well.
Jonathan caught her in time as she was before him while I was away from him, giving her the perfect image of him choosing her over me.
But the moment her back touched his arm, he pushed her and ran over to me.
“Nicky?” he said, worry was evident in his voice.
“Are you alright p>
I smiled.
“I’m fine,” I said as I understood she was trying to implicate our relationship.
“Mr. Rollings actually pushed his wife away?” one of the members asked.
I looked around as I saw everyone was watching me as if I was the other woman.
I did feel angry, but I had to remain calm if I wanted to know what she’s up to.
“Everyone,” Jonathan put his arm around my waist.
“I met Veronica in college, and got married to her, and had our first child, Janet, a year later p>
“As for Imelda, I have no reason to explain as I have already done so when I bought the Blue Heart p>
I saw her smile replaced with disappointment.
Now I was certain this wasn’t personal, she only wanted monetary gain from all this.
I saw Imelda was still waiting for him to come over and help her up.
But he took my hand and walked out of the dinner.
I thought that would be the last, but it wasn’t.
She only became bolder.
At another gathering, she didn’t even wait and came over and put her arm across his arm.
She just smiled as if she was waiting for her husband to come over.
Jonathan tried to shrug her off, but he couldn’t.
He looked at me, and I could see the hurt in his eyes as he felt guilty.
I waited to see what she would do next.
Her smile said it all for me.
She just wanted to show how much control she still had on him.
But I knew the truth to his silence.