In her court

Hearing Rebecca come to Veronica's defense, made Anthony rethink the situation once more. He began to see the other obvious clues he had missed and realized the hurt that had been present in Veronica's eyes. He sighed and scratched the back of his head before he said, "Very well. If you say that it is okay with you, then I will see what she has written in her message and what more she has to say." Rebecca smiled and nodded as she stroked the arm of the hand she was holding, and then said, "Good. You go ahead and do that, and I will use that time to bond with your friends a little."

As Rebecca turned to head back to the table Anthony called out to her, "As long as you keep it 'a little'. Don't bond too much with them!" Rebecca looked over her shoulder as she laughed and then shook her head at the silliness of the man she was planning to marry.

Anthony then proceeded to take out his phone and saw that there was indeed one unread message. He opened it and it was from Veronica. In the message she said, "I know you think badly of me know, and you might no longer consider me a friend. Which isn't too surprising since I forced myself in your friend group to begin with. But you are partly to blame as well. Who just springs a fiancé on someone like that and then gets angry when someone has a hard time accepting that?? You are lucky you have been kind enough to me for years and mean only once, otherwise I would never forgive you for speaking to me like that. I won't bother you after today, but if you still consider me a friend in any way, feel free to reach out to me. I would like to tell you to say hi to Rebecca from me, and that I am sad our evening got cut short, but I still don't like her so that would be a lie."

Anthony couldn't help but chuckle at that last sentence, as he could just imagine her saying that, and in a way he appreciated her honesty. Her unwillingness to change herself for anyone and her unapologetic attitude towards who she was. He let out a soft sigh as he smiled and realized that Rebecca was right. He would regret not reaching out to her and talking things out. Even if she had forced herself into their friend group. Even if she was a friend by association. Even if he hadn't chosen to become friends with her himself. After knowing someone for that many years, she still held the title of a friend. Regardless of what kind.

After he had read what she had written, he stepped outside for a second time. The reason for this was because instead of messaging Veronica back, Anthony had decided to call. A call which was answered only at the last ring. When she picked up, Veronica didn't say anything and just remained silent on the other side of the call, waiting for Anthony to say something in order to determine if she had picked up for another scolding or a friendly conversation. After a few unanswered hello's, Anthony just started speaking, "Veronica I know you are there. I can hear your breathing, but if you don't want to say anything, I'll just start by saying what I want to say. I read your message, and you are right."

Veronica was surprised to hear Anthony say this, but felt relieved as well. These first words from him made her feel hopeful that perhaps not all had been lost yet. With much anticipation she listened to what else Anthony would say, and it would seem that Anthony would not disappoint. He continued his agreement by taking a more humble stance, instead of placing all the wrong with Veronica. He said, "I. AM. partly to blame. Not for introducing Rebecca to you all, but for not noticing your feelings earlier. For not announcing who I would be bringing so you could prepare yourself. For not seeing the hurt in your eyes when I did reveal who Rebecca was."

He then added a splash of reality, to make sure that his partial blame-taking wasn't construed into something else. "She is my fiancé. That is a fact that will not change until she becomes my wife, but that doesn't have to mean that you and I can't be friends. Mostly because you are lucky that Rebecca is a forgiving person. I was adamant that you should apologize for what you said and did to her, but she made me see things in a different way and was willing to look past the situation even without it. So, even if you don't want to apologize, she won't hold that against you."

To wrap his words up, Anthony added the stricter words that needed to be said as well. He showed her his options, which in his eyes was strict but fair. It created boundaries, but it wouldn't eliminate her altogether. After this, the ball would be in her court.