"No," Liam stopped Veronica.
His mother was putting Veronica in a lose-lose situation.
If they left, the party would start talking about conflict within the family, and if Veronica got up there to speak about how wonderful these donations were, he knew a few people who would laugh at her not seeing that she was looked down on, and she would make his mother look good.
"Come closer with me," Liam said, holding Veronica's hand as he walked to the stage but wasn't taking her up there to join his family.
Liam let go of Veronica's hand when he reached the stage. "Don't move from here. I'll be back soon."
While he wanted to encourage Veronica to not back down when games were being played to embarrass her, she didn't need to pay these silly games any mind when he was by her side.
