> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Love’s combatants become casualties - URL: https://www.smdp.com/loves-combatants-become-casualties/ - Published: 2008-05-15T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T00:03:33.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import MY BEST FRIEND ARRIVED ON MY doorstep last Sunday afternoon on the verge of murder or suicide. He wasn’t sure which, and so he wanted me to help weigh his options. \*Steve De Ludid, 31, who I have known 20 years, spent the next several hours anguishing languidly on my patio lounge chair, divulging a pathetic tale in the shadow of trees. I sat by his side, consoling him over his steady stream of tears. Steve’s live-in girlfriend, Veronica Vengent, 26, left him for our mutual friend. Steve and Veronica were together seven years. Theirs was a tumultuous relationship from the beginning. They met on the street. She was a college student and L.A. native with a rocky home life and little means. He was a college graduate from Chicago whose parents were happily married. He worked full time supporting himself as a substitute teacher and played in a rock band. Veronica hoped her involvement with Steve would bring her the happiness she longed for but wasn’t sure she could attain without him because of self-doubts, depression and insecurities. Steve was unwilling to be the partner she sought. He supported her financially and to some extent, emotionally, making their dream of a life together appear to be a reality. She moved into his apartment and finished her degree while serving as his friend, lover and homemaker. Secretly, however, Steve sought satisfaction elsewhere with regular, nauseating and destructive affairs. Veronica discovered the truth and never left nor healed. The roots of their lives became more entangled and dysfunctional over the years. Steve became her dark knight, fulfilling her material needs while killing her soul with his extra-relationship conquests. Veronica had no reason to stay, save she had nowhere else to go, and so she remained and used him. They lost credibility with friends as their psychic exploitation of each other reinforced a brutal codependency. Veronica found a confidant in Chuck D. Scepter, a documentary maker and good friend of Steve’s who often visits L.A. between his international film projects.Chuck and Veronica began corresponding. Soon she knew more about his happenings and whereabouts than Steve. It seemed odd to many in our social circle. Steve blew off this friendship-at-large as a frivolous emotional attachment, fair pay-back for the abuse he had inflicted on Veronica. Steve honestly believed the relationship went no further. Around this time the volatile couple seems to have reached an unspoken agreement. Steve and Veronica began focusing on the good in their relationship — the genuine enjoyment they felt when together. From the outside, it seemed as if they were maturing and settling in the relationship.Thus, their sudden breakup came as a surprise. In April, Veronica was laid off from her job as a legal assistant. Steve, now a high school biology teacher, had just begun one of a regularly scheduled vacation. They decided to take advantage of their mutual time off and travel to Guatemala where Veronica’s mother lives. Meanwhile, Chuck was in town and stayed at their apartment.All three agreed to meet in New York at the end of the month. During a family party, Veronica and her mother had a bonding moment. Steve took a picture of them and asked what was said. “I asked for my mother’s blessing to break up with you,”Veronica said.“She gave it. We’re through.” Steve didn’t believe her. They continued to New York and rendezvoused with Chuck. Steve became the third wheel as the three traipsed around Central Park and attended late-night parties. Steve returned to work in LA on Veronica’s suggestion. She stayed. Steve came home from class last week. Veronica’s belongings were cleared out of his apartment. Chuck admitted Veronica moved to Taiwan with him. He’s working on another documentary. She will teach English. I wonder if Chuck has told Sophie — his own girlfriend — about Veronica yet.Maybe he has her shacked up in a swank apartment and intends to keep his new mistress a secret, however long it lasts. Having expressed his jealousy and grief, Steve realized neither murder nor suicide is a viable option for him. He left my house with a desire to seek counseling. He hopes to be open and honest in his next relationship as he picks up the pieces from the destruction his betrayal has wrought. Hopefully Veronica and Chuck will do the same someday. Karma’s a bitch. \*Names have been changed to protect the not-so innocent. RYAN HYATT is a former Daily Press staff writer and author of the nouveau western, “The Death of Rock ‘n’ Roll: A Biography of Darrell Breedlove.” He is seeking a publisher for his next novel, “Stay Younger Longer,” a political thriller that takes place in L.A. in 2046\. He *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 15, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/051508.pdf?ref=smdp.com)