His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 346

"Cindy, it's about time. Let's go wash our hands for dinner." She took the little girl's hand and, without giving Archer a second glance, walked straight toward the dining room.

Archer's Adam's apple bobbed. He took a long stride, blocking their path.

"Virginia, I..."

Virginia stopped, frowning, and took a half-step back to widen the distance between them.

The overt rejection caused his fingers to tighten instantly, but he still extended the paper bag toward her. "Sweet bean pastries from the Southside. They're still warm."

Virginia didn't take them.

"Mommy doesn't want to eat." Cindy suddenly let go of Virginia's hand and took a small step forward, shielding Virginia like a fiercely protective little hen.

The little girl tilted her head up, glaring at Archer with puffed-out cheeks. "Mr. Vanderbilt is bad! You made Mommy angry. Mommy and I are ignoring you!"

Archer froze in place.

Looking down at those bright eyes that looked so remarkably like Virginia's, his heart constricted painfully, yet he had absolutely no defense.

"Let's go, Cindy." Virginia stepped around him, leading the little girl into the washroom.

Dinner time.

The atmosphere in the dining room was suffocatingly heavy.

At the long dining table, Virginia sat next to Cindy, meticulously picking the bones out of the fish for the little girl. Miles sat across from them, aggressively shoveling food into his mouth, looking as if he wished he could bury his entire face in the bowl.

Archer sat at the head of the table. The food in front of him remained untouched. His gaze was anchored entirely on Virginia, deep, restrained, like a tightly drawn bow.

Treating him as completely invisible, Virginia picked up a piece of ribs and placed it in Miles's bowl. "Eat more, you've lost weight recently."

"Thanks, Virginia!" Miles felt overwhelmed by the sudden favor. Enduring the intensely oppressive glare radiating from the head of the table, he forced himself to stuff the meat into his mouth.

Ugh... this meal was pure torture.

There were faint, dark circles under his eyes, his jaw was clenched tight, and he radiated a depressive energy, an invisible gloom clinging to his every movement.

"You two fought?" Helena hit the nail on the head.

Archer's hand paused as he held his fork, but he didn't answer.

"I knew it." She sighed, shaking her head in exasperation. "Your temper is exactly like your father's when he was young. Suffering in silence just to save your stubborn pride."

"Virginia was just discharged from the hospital, and her health isn't fully recovered yet. Can't you accommodate her a little more?"

Archer lowered his eyes, picking up some vegetables and putting them in his mouth, entirely numb to the taste.

Did he not want to accommodate her? To spoil her?

But the moment he remembered how decisively she had rejected him, only to turn around and flash a radiant smile at Valentin's text message, jealousy drove him completely insane, burning away all his rationality...