Beautiful

Chapter 33

Theo POV

I hear her elevator ding and she steps out into the foyer, gorgeous as ever. Immediately everyone starts clapping and cheering.

She comes up to me and gives me a hug. When she pulls away, she looks out at the crowd and asks, "what is going on?" 

"Well we all knew it was your first day in the studio so we wanted to celebrate your record deal," I tell her. She smiles and moves to hug everyone who showed up to support her. I managed to get her family, almost all of her friends, and even Caroline, Paul, Ian, and Nate to show.

Once she's made her rounds to everyone, I take her and the rest of the group into her dining room. She is seated at the head of the table with me on her right. Everyone else finds their name cards and files in.

She leans over to me and asks, "did you do all this?" I smile and nod and quickly peck her cheek. Then, the staff comes in carrying trays of various breads, pastas, and cheeses and we spend the next few hours talking and enjoying each others company. I notice Veronica spends a lot of time with Caroline and I'm glad that they are fast friends.

Ronnie gets a lot of questions about her day and what we should be expecting from her, but she can't say much yet. The whole thing is still very much under wraps at the moment.

All of a sudden, I hear the ding of the elevator. I have no idea who that could be because everyone who said they were coming is here. I lean over to her and say, "I'll be right back, baby." she nods and smiles at me. 

I get up and go into the foyer and see my mother standing there in dark pants and a jacket. Her hair, reminiscent of my own curls, falls loose in waves, framing the evil smile on her face. "Hello darling! I heard you were having a little party tonight!" she says.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I whisper.

"Isn't it obvious? I came to see you!" she replies, like this is a regular occurrence. Like she just drops in to see me all the time. Like she actually cares about what I do with my life.

"Go home, mother. Now. I obviously don't want to see you," I respond and wait for her to leave. I don't trust leaving her out here all on her own.

She's taking in her surroundings. "So, this is where Veronica lives," she says. "I'll admit, I'm surprised."

"Why?" I ask.

"I didn't expect her to have taste. This is actually quite nice," she replies, still looking around.

Her comment makes me want to throttle her, but I keep my cool. "Leave. Now. I won't ask again," I say.

 "Sooner or later, sweetheart, you'll come to accept me into your life," she says as she turns to leave. She presses the elevator button. "Oh and don't forget, I know where she lives."