His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 30

Walking a few paces behind them, Virginia watched the scene unfold. She didn't say a word, but a tidal wave of emotion crashed over her heart.

Whether it was the Suttons or the Caldwells, neither family had ever shown her an ounce of genuine affection. Because of that, she understood exactly how critical a loving family was to a child's development.

She had given Cindy absolutely everything she had to offer, but the one thing she could never provide was a father.

And Cindy was desperately craving one.

Little moments like this kept piling up, and every time Virginia thought about it, a heavy, suffocating lump formed in her throat. A complicated, overwhelming feeling was slowly taking root inside her.

...

The weekend arrived, bringing the mandatory Caldwell family dinner.

Virginia brought Cindy to the Caldwell Estate. By the time they walked through the front doors, the sprawling living room was already packed.

Madeline quickly walked over, scooping Cindy up with a sickeningly sweet smile. "Chloe and the boys got here ages ago. We've just been waiting on you two."

She didn't outwardly scold her, but the passive-aggressive jab about her being late was impossible to miss.

Virginia lowered her eyes for a split second before plastering on a perfectly polite, entirely distant smile. "Traffic was terrible."

In the center of the room, Chloe sat elegantly on the sofa, chatting away with George. Toby was huddled obediently against her side, while Archer sat quietly on the opposite armchair, his dark eyes glued to his phone.

It looked like the perfect, harmonious family portrait.

"Virginia and Cindy are finally here."

At Madeline's announcement, everyone turned to look. Even Archer dragged his predatory gaze up from his screen for a fleeting second.

Cindy nervously pulled her hand out of Madeline's grasp and immediately latched onto Virginia's fingers. She scanned the imposing faces in the room before offering a tiny, timid greeting.

Thankfully, the dinner itself was remarkably civil, with Madeline keeping a bright, artificial smile plastered on her face the entire time.

Halfway through the meal, Toby hopped out of his seat and ran over to play with Cindy. The nanny quickly dragged his high chair over to sit next to them.

He didn't look at Virginia. He didn't look at Cindy. His pitch-black, suffocating gaze was drilled into a random spot on the mahogany table, his face an impenetrable mask of absolute zero.

Seeing that Archer had completely shut down and was blatantly ignoring Virginia and her bastard child, Chloe let out a delicate, silvery laugh to break the ice. "Oh, Virginia, don't scold her! Kids just say whatever pops into their heads."

Madeline's eyes darted frantically around the table. She quickly chimed in with a forced laugh, aggressively steering the conversation toward safer waters.

After dinner, the nanny took Cindy and Toby out to the manicured gardens to play. Virginia was immediately cornered by Madeline and dragged into the private study, where George was already waiting behind his massive oak desk.

Madeline slammed the door shut and immediately went on the offensive.

"Virginia, who the hell is this Valentin guy Cindy was just talking about?"

Virginia crossed her arms, her brow furrowing, but she refused to say a word.

George cleared his throat loudly, his voice echoing with patriarchal authority. "You and Archer are entirely in the past. He's with Chloe now, and they have Toby. Seeing them build a happy life together brings us a lot of peace."

"You're the only loose end left. You rejected all the suitable matches we arranged for you before, but if you've actually managed to find someone decent on your own, you need to lock him down immediately."