His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 526

Virginia frowned, her tone entirely detached. "Whenever I look at you, I feel this inexplicable, overwhelming sadness."

"The only memories that flash through my mind are moments of you showing kindness to someone else."

She was simply stating how she felt, yet every single word twisted like a serrated knife right into Madeline's heart.

"No, Virginia, I was just a fool back then..." Madeline shook her head frantically, desperate to explain.

"Mrs. Caldwell." Virginia cut her off, her expression radiating absolute clarity and brutal rationality. "I can give you your answer right now. Even if I eventually remember everything, there is almost zero chance that I would ever forgive you on behalf of the person I used to be."

"Please leave."

Madeline gasped in horror. Her body swayed violently, and she stumbled back half a step as if every last drop of energy had been sucked right out of her.

Looking at the cold, alienated daughter standing before her, she finally realized the agonizing truth: some wounds, once inflicted, simply had absolutely no chance of ever being healed.

She looked as if she had aged a dozen years in an instant. Turning around in utter despair, she staggered her way out of the villa.

After Madeline left, Virginia collapsed against Archer's chest as if entirely drained, closing her eyes in sheer exhaustion.

"I'll take you upstairs to rest," Archer said, his voice endlessly gentle.

...

That afternoon, Helena Vanderbilt rushed over to the South Hill villa with Mrs. Higgins, hauling massive bags of premium nutritional supplements.

Wearing a bespoke deep-purple dress paired with a mink coat, she immediately grabbed Virginia's hand the moment she walked through the door, her eyes full of heartache.

"Oh, sweetheart, how did you get so thin?" Her eyes turned red before she whipped around to scold Archer. "How on earth have you been taking care of Virginia? You couldn't even keep an eye on a grown woman, and now look how much she's suffered!"

Helena's heart completely melted. She bent down and scooped the little girl up into her arms. "Grandma missed you too, my little princess. Have you been eating all your meals properly these past few days?"

Virginia looked over at Archer.

He had been guarding her 24/7 over the last few days. He even handled all his work through video conferences—not only was it horribly inefficient, but it was practically guaranteed to breed panic among the board of directors.

Thinking of this, she gently nudged him. "You should head back to the office. I have Aunt Helena and Cindy right here. Everything will be fine."

Archer grabbed her hand, his thumb gently caressing the back of it as he remained completely silent.

At that exact moment, Zachary walked over with the schedule in hand, reporting in a low voice.

"Boss, there's been a massive disruption with the Phase Two chip project at the Vanderbilt Southwest Division. The partners are demanding your personal signature on-site, or they're going to immediately initiate breach-of-contract protocols."