You take the money

You pause for a moment... "One hundred thousand dollars?" you think to yourself. You could do a considerable amount with that kind of money. Not only that but she already offered to pay for your education. You could buy a brand new car and still have plenty of money left over. You could stop education entirely and go travelling for some time. What she is offering you is freedom. Who cares if Veronica **** me? Nothing can change the past and I will live with it forever. It's time for me to change my future. I may never get an opportunity like this again.

"One hundred thousand dollars.... and you'll pay for my education in its entirety?" you ask after thinking it over.

"Down to the last penny"

"Okay, I'll do it. I'll tell the prosecutor that I no longer want to press charges and that this was all a misunderstanding" you say, feeling your sense of self esteem slip away as you sell your pride for the possibility of a better life. Without saying a word she gets up from her table and places two briefcases in your booth before leaving. You look down to your left where they were places and your heart starts pounding. You grip the handle and the cases are heavy. You have to bring these to your dorm ASAP so you decide to cancel your date with Jasmine at the movie theater today. It's unfortunate but you have more important things to worry about.

You arrive on campus and haul the two heavy briefcases straight to your room and open them up. You cant believe your eyes. All you see are stacks upon stacks of 100 dollar bills. You've never seen this much money in your life. After gazing at it for some time you bring it to your closet and lock it away. You don't want to touch it until you have fulfilled your side of the bargain. You remember Veronica's mom telling you to drop the charges and apologize to Veronica. You still feel a little sick to your stomach about the second part but you already took the money, it's too late.

You reach for your phone to call the prosecutor, Rosa.
....Ring
....Ring

"You've reached the ADA's office this is Rosa speaking"

"Rosa hi it's Henry... listen I need to drop the charges."

"Excuse me? Why? Did she hurt you?" Rosa sounded slightly frustrated on the phone.

"No I just don't think I was **** or anything bad happened. I had sex with Veronica on my own free will.. And I came and I like it rough" you added those last two parts to make it seem more credible.

"Look Henry, I simply do not believe you. I know you were ****. I don't know how she got to you, but she will be going down for this."

"No, I want to drop the charges. This is my decision."

"Actually Henry, it's not. The state is pressing charges, not you. This is not up to you. If you refuse to be cooperative then it will only make things worse. We are still going through with this case. I truly am sorry for what happened to you. Let me know if you have a change of heart". Rosa then hangs up the phone.
....Beep

"FUCK" you say aloud. You thought you had the power to close the case. Your mind begins to race with the possibilities. You don't want them taking the money back, there has to be another way. "There's no way they have a case without any witnesses and the victim is claiming there was no crime right?" you think to yourself. You decide just to go to the courthouse on campus to see Veronica and apologize. At least that way you can do at least half of what you said you would.

You walk to the campus courthouse and pass through the large front gates. The lobby is a large open space and you have a pit in your stomach thinking you might be making all of the wrong decisions. You head up to the front desk and ask to see someone as a visitor. After filling out a visitors request form, you wait in the lobby for about 15 minutes before a guard comes out and instructs you to follow her.

You walk through several hallways until you eventually come to a white room with glass walls all around. There are many tables inside and a few prisoners awaiting guests. Then you see her, your attacker behind the glass. She waves and smiles. You can't believe you are doing this. "You have 15 minutes, press this button for emergencies" she says as she hands you a tiny buzzer. You enter into the room and sit down at the table with Veronica.

"Oh Henry, you look as cute as the first day I saw you"

"Veronica I... I came here to apologize to you. I didn't mean to tell anyone and I didn't know it would end up like this. Please accept my apology."

"Hmmm okay. I accept your apology. You obviously didn't know any better but now you do. I heard you won't be acting as a witness for the prosecution anymore. This is good news. We can finally be together again."

"How did you kno-? Never mind, It doesn't matter. I apologized already. I sincerely hope we don't cross paths in the future"

"Henry, If I hurt you then I am sorry" you could not believe those words crossed her lips. You are giving her your attention now. "But our paths will cross again. I think... I think I love you. I have been so used to getting everything I want all my life. And when I couldn't have you I **** it on you and I'm sorry. But now it makes sense. You being the one thing I can't have makes me want you even more, Henry". You don't know what to think about what she just said.

"I don't think so. If you really love me you'll ignore me after they hopefully drop the case" you say as you get up to leave.