It would be an understatement that Hiram Lodge, billionaire, founder and majority shareholder of Lodge Industries, was angry. He was spitting mad and Veronica knew why. The house was quiet, almost as though it was holding its breath, waiting for the axe to fall.

Veronica shifted uncomfortably as she waited outside her dad's study. She had been out when a phone call summoned her back. Judging by the deadly silence, it was obviously bad news. Her maid had given her an almost fearful look, spilling the beans that 'Mr. Lodge ees very, very angry. He shout and make many calls.'

"Daddy, you called?" The 'Daddy's Girl' routine never failed her.

"Sit," He pointed briefly to a chair next to her mother.

Gingerly taking her seat, she studied the stiff profile of her father. The angry vein that popped out, normally whenever Archie was around or he was overwhelmed with work, was bulging. Her mother stared straight ahead, her face oddly blank.

Her dad turned to the inbuilt bookcase that spanned the right wall of his study. He picked up a photo and glanced at it before placing it back. "Do you remember when I told you we were moving to Riverdale?"

Veronica relaxed. Were they being forced to move for her dad to settle nearer to the main office of Lodge Industries? "You had work commitments."

Hiram Lodge shook his head. "I felt that the New York environment was not conducive to raise a child. Your mother and I believed that moving here was the best move because we didn't want you to become one of the disillusioned, spoilt brats who lived off their trust funds."

Her father kept his gaze on her. "I suppose we weren't the most successful parents but I thought we did a fairly good job. We encouraged your friendship with good people like Betty, the Woods girl and even Archie Andrews."

Veronica's bewilderedness turned to annoyance. "What are you getting at, Daddy?"

She immediately regretted her rashness when her father glared at her before throwing a stack of photographs onto the desk. Some of the photographs had slid off the table and Veronica had reluctantly picked them up when she froze upon seeing its contents. A warm flush had spread across her face and neck. She had been careless and sloppy about her indiscretions.

"Where," She licked her lips, "how did you get this?"

That seemed to be the wrong question or reaction that her father was expecting as his annoyance became visible and he started pacing. "Is that your only concern? Did you think that I was blind? That I wouldn't notice that my darling daughter had disappeared for days only to return looking worse for wear? I may be busy with work but that doesn't mean I don't know what's going on." He practically yelled out the last sentence.

"Veronica, we love you but this is the last straw. Your father and I have been very reasonable about your lifestyle and your choices but you've broken our trust. Fraternizing with unsavoury characters, boozing and partying like a Hollywood 'It' girl." Her mother gave an un-ladylike snort at that thought before allowing her husband to add on to her comments.

"I've cancelled your credit cards. You will only have one and it has a limit," He raised his hand to stop Veronica's protest, "And you will inform either me or your mother of any dates or outings after 8pm and you have to be back by 10.30pm. If the location is outside of Riverdale, it has to go through both me and your mother first."

"It's not fair!" A very unpleasant four lettered word was being flung around in her head but Veronica bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself.

Her father eyed her warily. "I would say life has been very good to you Veronica but if you want to behave immaturely, I will treat you like a child. You're lucky as it is that your mom volunteered to supervise you or I would have forbidden the modelling shoot."

She nearly wept in relief. College had no use for her and likewise, she had no interest. Only a phone call from her mother and countless beg-and-cry sessions with her father had secured her a modelling shoot for some high end clothing brand. It was her only lifeline if she wanted to avoid hitting the books.

Her wild activities having been shut down, she was grabbing this opportunity with both hands. Laying it thick, she thanked her father for his forgiveness and promised her parents she would behave, crossing her fingers behind her back.

The first week had been fairly difficult. Her phone was inundated with calls from her 'friends' and her cell's battery life rarely lasted more than a couple of hours because of it. But by the fourth day, the calls had petered out and Veronica was surprised to find herself unaffected by the unexpected end of her wild party days.

With the amount of free time on her hands, she had repaired her broken friendships within the Riverdale sisterhood. She even patched up with Archie and arranged a date later that same week. Her father had merely nodded and warned her not to be late for curfew.

She had been thrilled when she received an invitation to Midge's baby shower party. Betty and Nancy had planned the party before inviting a select mix of both adults and fellow teenagers that Midge knew and hung out with.

She had been unsure about the gift and had gone with her mother. While her father had been a bit alarmed about the unexpected pregnancy of his daughter's schoolmate, her mother had this wistfulness about her as she led Veronica around the baby shops in Haven Fort, a more upmarket town a couple of cities away from Riverdale.

"I'd always dream of having a big family, you know," Hermione Lodge told her daughter as they browsed through a selection of baby rompers.

"I had planned it all. Settling down, four kids, big house and maybe a pet…" She trailed off, deep in thought.

Mentally Veronica thanked her lucky stars for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. She was curious though and indulged her mother. "So why didn't you and Daddy have more?"

Her mother glanced almost lovingly at the poster of a sleeping baby. "It didn't really matter until you were born. We tried for the longest time afterwards. But it was just not meant to be." She sighed.

"Maybe that was our mistake," Veronica wrinkled her nose as they settled on a swing set-rocker thing, "Spoiling you, indulging your every whim. Maybe if I had been a little stricter, who knows what would have happened?"

Veronica felt the lump in her throat constrict her breath. Yet another hint about her future. "I… I guess, I could consider college," She mumbled as she slapped her credit card on the counter.