Chapter 80
Outside the door, Matthew and Janiceâs voices could be heard, and although it wasnât clear, Victoria
could listen to the tone that they were kidding around, but Janice seemed slightly annoyed.
She stretched out her palms, glanced at the thin calluses on her palm, and laughed lightly, but the
laughter didnât reach her eyes.
At 5.30PM, Vincent came with a bunch of food that she liked. âI went to a few places and was queuing
up the whole afternoon to buy everything. Eat more of it.â
After he placed the food on the table, he handed her a set of cutlery and a food container before
placing a bottle of white wine on the table.
âWhy are you in the mood for a drink?â she asked casually. Her brother usually didnât like alcohol as he
found the taste horrible.
He suppressed the frustrations in his heart as he poured himself half a glass and finished it in a gulp. âI
just feel like having some.â
As he wasnât wearing his jacket and tie, his shirt opened up a little when he made a huge show of
drinking, revealing a fingernail mark from the lower right side of his neck to his collarbone.
âWhy do you have a scratch on your neck?â Victoria asked with a frown while setting aside the fork.
He was alarmed by her keen eyes, so he pulled his collar tightly and frantically wore a sheepish
expression. âWhy are you asking me when youâve already seen it? Weâre all adults. Canât you guess
how I got that scratch?â
âVince.â Victoria stared straight at him with her dark, calm eyes.
He scratched his neck awkwardly as he mumbled, âWhy do you seem like a changed person after two
years in jail?â
âDonât change the subject,â she warned.
It didnât take long for a frustrated Vincent to cave since he had long wanted to complain to someone.
Thus, he slammed the fork on the table angrily before telling her everything that happened today with
some embellishment.
In the end, he furrowed his brows tightly and took a sip of wine. âAnd I really f*cking thought that Dad
was going to seek justice for you. Oh, Iâm so mad at this!â
âBella is right,â Victoria said softly, sadness flashing across her eyes.
Vincent blurted, wholly puzzled, âHuh?â
âYou donât get why Dad changed his opinion so quickly, do you?â Victoria laughed self-deprecatingly.
âThatâs because Bella is right. Dad said so much about being oppressed the whole time, but more than
that, he wanted them to know that he didnât have it easy either.â
And thatâs why Bella used the amusement park project to pacify Dad⦠she thought, snorting coldly.
It never occurred to her that her father would one day make use of her suffering to line his pockets.
The look on Vincentâs face kept changing until he finally looked forlorn and picked up the bottle as he
drank straight from it; his tears mixed with the wine and flowed down his chin.
âDonât drink so much. Youâll feel sick.â Victoria snatched the bottle from him and placed it on the table.
Her heart felt like someone had splashed it with acidâriddled with holes, and it was so unbearable that
she found it hard to breathe.
âWhy, Tori?â Vincent balled his fists repeatedly as he choked on his words, âMom and Dad used to dote
on you so much before. So, why did they suddenly⦠become like this?â
Victoria drew out a few pieces of tissue and wiped away the tears and wine on his face. âYouâve been
out for too long. Go home now. Mom, Dad, and Teresa will be worried.â
âIâm not going back! When I left the house today, I already told the old man that Iâm not going back to
the Coleman Family anymore!â Since he rarely drank, it was only natural for him to be unable to hold
his liquor. Hence, his eyes were already starting to look glassy. âI donât want to return to that heartless
home again!â
She sighed softly and persuaded, âIf you donât return, what should Teresa and the kids do? Vince,
youâre already an adult. Think before you act.â
âMr. and Mrs. Spritz, they⦠Hic! They could believe Bella, that lying b*tch, but h-how could Mom and
Dad not believeâ¦â Before he could finish, he slumped over on the table and started snoring.
Victoria slipped out of the bed, endured the pain in her leg, and carried him to the side bed with a little
difficulty before covering the blanket on him.
As she had done a lot of physical work in jail and in Delta Club, she had relatively strong arms now.
She took a few more tissues as she wiped his tear-streaked face tenderly amidst his drunken
mumblings. Then, she staggered out of the ward and stood in a daze at a window in the corridor,
looking out into the distance.
The darkness of the night was like a giant lurking beast, and the shadows of the jagged trees were its
limbs, lurching at her with its teeth and claws.
âWhy are you standing outside when youâre injured? Donât you want your leg anymore?â
A slightly icy but incredibly familiar voice echoed behind her, and her body turned taut with tension. She
immediately felt like she was in an ice cellar and her limbs were frozen stiff.
She turned to Christian, lowered her head and greeted respectfully, âHello, Mr. Thatcher.â
Why is he here? she wondered.
He grunted in acknowledgment, and his gaze casually brushed past her injured right legnovelxo.com
fast update. His brows furrowed ever so slightly, but he didnât say anything else.
His gaze felt so real and concrete, just like the golf club from the past, striking her leg hit after hit.
A thin layer of sweat formed on her nose, and her long lashes trembled in fear. The questionââWhatâs
the matter?ââremained at the tip of her tongue for a long time, but she couldnât bring herself to force it
out of her throat.
She resented Lucas, Bella as well as Christian, but besides hate, she had more terror for Christian, and
it was a fright drilled deeply into her bones.
âIf you donât want your leg anymore, just tell me. You donât have to go through such a hassle.â Christian
retracted his gaze and snorted softly.
âItâs not like that.â Victoria licked her dry lips as droplets of sweat rolled down the side of her cheek.
âThe room is too stuffy. Iâm just here to open the window, but Iâm returning to rest now.â
Afterward, she twirled around, ambled to her ward, and opened the window. When she was about to
open the door to enter, she paused.
The man behind traced all of her steps and was now standing outside the ward too.
âMr. Thatcher⦠May I help you?â Due to her lowered head, her short, uneven hair covered the scar at
the end of her brow and only revealed her petite and pallid face.
Christian glanced down at her hair and was momentarily stunned by her abrupt question. âIâm a little
thirsty and want to have some water inside.â
âIâm really sorry. The dinner was too salty, and I finished that little bit of water.â Victoria gripped the hem
of her shirt, and her back was already drenched from fear.
A long time ago, the Coleman Family had already announced before Christian that they had cut off all
ties with her, but her brother was now lying in her ward. Although she didnât care about what would
happen to the Colemans, she didnât want to implicate Vincent.
He raised his brows in apparent disbelief, lifted her chin, and forced her to look at him. When she was
made to look into his deep, unreadable eyes, she couldnât help but tremble in fright.
âVictoria.â Christian held her chin and suddenly closed in on her. His stunning face enlarged before her
eyes, and they were in such close proximity that she could even see the tiny hairs on his face clearly.
All of a sudden, her heart pounded so hard that it was about to beat out of her chest. She didnât dare to
look at him, so she lowered her gaze and took a step back with her right foot as she wanted to put a
distance between them.
Unfortunately, he suddenly placed a hand on her and pulled her right back before him.
Their bodies touched, and their eyes met, but he was unable to hide the indifference in his eyes just as
she couldnât hide the panic in hers