Veronica wasn't exactly enjoying Betty's sorry state. She was satisfied that Arthur supported her politely, leaving Betty no room to argue. Unknowingly, the corner of her lips curled enigmatically.
Betty noticed her smirking with the corner of her eyes. She couldn't stand it anymore. She turned toward Arthur and complained to him, "Look, Arthur, she is bullying me."
Veronica wanted to puke. 'What the hell! How did I bully her? Does she think this is a drama?'
Arthur observed Betty for a while before opening his mouth, "Betty, we are good customers of yours. You aren't trying to be rude to us, are you?"
Betty's blue pupils shook as she was astonished by his support for his wife. "Customers… That's what you think our relationship is? You… you know me more than you know this woman, am I right? How can you take her side? I will… I will not tolerate this!"
Since she was speaking rather loudly, the customers around them looked over there and whispered among themselves.
Veronica noticed it and became more alert. She already lost her appetite. No matter how delicious the meal was, the taste would ruin if the mental state of the eater was unstable.
Arthur calmly stared at her and stated, "I don't remember making you my girlfriend. I never had any."
His words clearly meant – I never made a commitment to any women, nor did I ever have any relationship with you. Why the hell should I support you and not my wife who I commit to?
"…" His words left Betty speechless. She stared at him in disbelief for a couple of minutes. After that, her eyes were suddenly brimmed with tears. As she was heartbroken and betrayed by her past lover, she wiped her tears like a drama queen and said, "Arthur, how could you say that to me? I am closer to you than any redheads out there!"
Veronica was flabbergasted by her sudden tears. She nervously looked around. 'What is wrong with this girl? What if people see her crying and think we are abusing her or something? Arthur's reputation will be tarnished.'
Suddenly, she paused and thought about Arthur. 'Wait… Does he really care about his reputation? I'm sure his reputation is a goner long before she became an adult. What am I worried about?'
On the contrary of her panic-strike emotion, Arthur looked serene. He wasn't affected by Betty's tears or accusations. He only said in a collective manner, "I know how many moles my wife has in her body. I know nothing about yours."
"!!!" Veronica's face flushed instantly. She pushed Arthur's shoulder and harshly reprimanded him, "How could you say that in public? What will people think if they hear you?"
Arthur defended himself, "What can people say? I didn't say anything descriptive. If I don't say it, they will think I'm cheating on a woman. That will be misleading."
"…" Veronica opened her mouth but wasn't sure what logic to use.
The people around them did hear the commotion and blamed Arthur for two-timing and also cursed Veronica for stealing Betty's lover. Since they were regular customers, they knew Betty and sympathized with her.
However, the moment they heard Arthur's declaration, they were confused. They had no idea whom to trust.
Betty's face paled. She covered her mouth; not sure what else she could do to defend herself. "Why are you doing this? Is it because I didn't agree to sleep with you that you married a different girl? I told you it's only after marriage I will sleep with you."
Veronica couldn't stand her drama anymore. She was thoroughly pissed. She abruptly stood up and said, "If marriage is the only way to sleep with you, then why would he marry me to sleep? If you two really had a history together, he would have proposed to you and married you instead."
"We got to know each other for months. We were in the middle of a war, almost died multiple times, and got to love each other. Why would he marry you instead of me? What do you have to offer?"
At her question, Betty exploded, "What do you mean I have to offer? I have a more refined body than you could ever have. Your arms got injured marks. I'm sure your body is the same."
Veronica coldly retorted, "Yes, I have marks on my body, and these are the marks of honor. They have more value than your spotless skin which you will never understand."
She was a warrior. Every cut in her body was because she practiced hard, and she got injured to save innocent lives. How could she not be proud of that? If anyone tried to mock her for it, she would wholeheartedly fight. That's how she could protect her honor.
Betty was surely insulted by her words. She didn't know what Veronica's identity was. In her eyes, Veronica was someone who stole the man she had a crush on for a long time. She would never let the redhead girl win. Although she felt like she was looked down on, she didn't show it in her expression.
She sneered, "No matter what you say, how can Arthur be satisfied with your body? I will love him with my heart and body. What can you offer?"
Veronica laughed at her naiveness. "You think love is all about giving your body to someone else? It is about two hearts being connected, being respected, and being trusted. It is also about wishing the best for each other. I can do everything for his happiness and so can he."
"If it was only about the body, there were plenty of women Arthur could get his hands on and you wouldn't even get a chance. If you cared a tiny bit about his happiness, you would have given us your blessings, not trying to tear us apart."
After saying what she wanted to say, she grabbed Arthur's wrist and pulled her. "Let's go from here. I don't want to come here ever again."
Arthur was staring at his wife who boldly defended him. His heart sweetened like honey dripping from his heart. When his hand was pulled by her, only then did he come back to his senses. He paid for the meal and stood up. "Let's go. I'll take you to a better place."
Veronica walked past Betty and demanded, "I want seafood."
Arthur's heart was swimming in the honey ocean. He agreed to anything she wished for. "Anything for you. I'll take you to a fancy place."
Leaving the speechless Betty, the couple left the area.
"Ver?!"
The couple didn't get the chance to leave before Catherine spotted them in the crowd. Veronica turned around and saw her waving at her.
Catherine just came out of the pool. Water dripped from her body. Guys around her stared at her. She didn't know that other men were ogling at her. She was walking toward her friend.
Vincent's expression turned sour the moment he noticed Veronica.
'Not her again! How many times will she come between us? This is the first time I decided to come to this place for a date and almost died in a heart attack. I wanted Catherine to pay attention to me only. Sigh! Getting the heart of a woman is truly hard.'
His shoulders dropped thinking that Veronica was his third wheel in his relationship. He didn't have the time to think about the third wheel anymore when he noticed that other guys were staring at Catharine's body.
He was going to lose when Catherine grabbed Veronica's shoulders. "Ver, what on earth are you doing here without swimming in the pool?"
Veronica pretended that she had no idea about Catherine coming here. "We came here to have lunch. When did you come here? I didn't know that you would be here. We talked last night but you said nothing about today's plan."
"That's because I didn't know before I came here. Isn't Vincent sweet for bringing me here?" Catherine gloated. At that moment, Vincent stood behind her.
"…" Veronica only nodded with a peculiar expression. She gave him a nod, he replied with a nod.
"So, when did you come here?" Catherine asked Arthur.
Arthur replied, "We came here forty minutes ago."
Vincent became alarmed by his reply. He came forward and gave him a silent nod to greet and then cautiously inquired, "Then… Did you see?"
"See what?" Veronica blurted out, and only after that did she realize what he meant.
Vincent's face was pale. He didn't want to stutter in front of Catherine and so he took his time to spill two words, "Us… diving…"
Veronica: "No."
Arthur: "No."
They replied in unison.
"Not at all," Veronica added again thinking their quick answer might make them suspicious. 'Let's not make them doubt us. I have had no interest in embarrassing Vincent when his face already turned gloomy after seeing me.' She wasn't blind about her surroundings anymore.
However, something did come to her mind. 'Why doesn't he like me though?'