"No way, Mom. Come home first and then we can go together! The hot spring resort is such a long drive, and it would be so boring to go by myself," Sabrina pleaded.
Veronica paused, considering the idea. Maybe spending some time away with Sabrina would be good for both of them. "Alright."
DataPulse had been pushing hard on their latest application development, and right after dinner, Dario rang her up to discuss some complex technical problems they had encountered.
Cullen and Sabrina were settled in the living room, their conversation flowing easily, while Veronica stepped out onto the terrace to handle the work call. The discussion stretched on for thirty minutes as they worked through various coding challenges.
When she finally returned inside, Sabrina glanced up with a curious expression. "Mom, you've been getting tons of phone calls recently. Every single night you're talking for ages. This is totally different from before."
The observation made Cullen's eyes shift toward Veronica with newfound interest. Carlos, who was clearing the dining table, seemed to notice the tension in the room as well.
It was true that Veronica had never been one for lengthy phone conversations. In all their years together, she rarely spent more than a few minutes on calls, and certainly not with such frequency.
Could there be another man involved? The thought crossed Cullen's mind, though he quickly dismissed it. Given how completely devoted she had always been to him, infidelity seemed impossible.
"It's work-related," Veronica replied curtly, avoiding eye contact. "I need to go upstairs and handle some things."
Veronica headed to her study and powered up her laptop, diving into the technical files that Dario had forwarded to her earlier.
Sabrina disappeared into her own room. Seeing that her mother was buried in work, she chose not to interrupt and found ways to occupy herself. After her evening bath, she quietly peeked into the study again.
Throughout the past several years, Veronica had never completely severed ties with her professional background.
During quiet moments, she would create small programs and applications as personal projects. When Sabrina was younger and happened to be nearby, Veronica would sometimes explain basic programming concepts to her.
Of course, back when Sabrina was barely three years old, she would typically drift off to sleep during these impromptu lessons.
Tonight, as she observed from the doorway, Veronica didn't send her away and simply continued her focused work.
While Sabrina couldn't grasp the technical details, something suddenly clicked in her mind. This looked remarkably similar to the type of work that Niall did at his company.
She watched the screen for several more minutes before finally heading off to bed.
Veronica didn't close her laptop until she had completed all the required tasks. When she finally checked the time, she was startled to see it was already past two in the morning.
She had spent the entire night in Sabrina's room and hadn't returned to the master bedroom she shared with Cullen. Surprisingly, he hadn't said anything or come looking for her. Perhaps he was perfectly content with the arrangement.
Perhaps maintaining distance from him was precisely what he preferred.
The following morning, Veronica didn't wake up early enough to prepare breakfast.
When Sabrina opened her eyes and discovered her mother still sleeping peacefully beside her, she realized Veronica had remained in her room throughout the night.
Not wanting to disturb her rest, Sabrina slipped out of bed silently and made her way downstairs.
She found Cullen in the dining room and yawned sleepily. "Good morning, Dad."
Cullen acknowledged her with a brief nod.
"Mom's still sleeping upstairs."
By the time Veronica finally woke up and made it downstairs for breakfast, Cullen was already finishing his meal.
Their interaction was minimal, consisting of nothing more than polite nods. The moment he completed his breakfast, he gathered his things and left for the office.
Veronica departed for work shortly afterward.
That evening, she made sure to leave the office precisely on time. When she arrived home, Sabrina was already waiting in the car with their weekend bags packed. However, Cullen was nowhere to be seen.
They sat in the driveway for more than twenty minutes before Sabrina began showing signs of impatience. "Dad is taking forever."
Veronica remained composed, calmly reading her book while they waited.
The sound of the house phone ringing interrupted their wait.
Within moments, Carlos appeared at the front door with an apologetic expression. "Mr. Dennis called to say he's been held up with an urgent business matter and won't be able to leave right now. He requested that you and Miss Sabrina proceed to the hot spring resort without him. He'll catch up with you later tonight."
Veronica felt no surprise at this development. "Understood."
Cullen had promised to meet them at the resort later that evening. But as the night wore on, he never appeared.