The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 1

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We did everything we could, but the bleeding was too severe and you've lost the baby."

The doctor stood by Victoria Sanger's bedside, his expression a mask of pity.

A day earlier, a stranger had brought Victoria to the hospital. After a grueling six-hour effort to save her baby, they had failed.

Victoria stared blankly at the ceiling, silent.

Just then, the television in the corner flickered to life with the latest entertainment news.

"Genevieve Vale, the rising star in architectural design, returned to the country a week ago and was greeted at the airport by her mysterious boyfriend. According to inside sources, she went for a hospital check-up just days later and is rumored to be expecting. Looks like wedding bells may be ringing soon!"

Victoria's gaze drifted to the screen, where a photograph had just appeared.

In the picture, amidst a bustling crowd, the gentle and lovely Genevieve stood in a white dress, a sweet smile on her face as she clutched a bouquet of flowers.

By her side was Elias Shawn, his handsome features sharp and striking, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit.

One in black, one in white; one soft, one severe. They looked like a masterpiece, a breathtaking portrait that was impossible to look away from.

Tears escaped and rolled down her cheek. On the very day she had lost their child, her husband was accompanying another woman to a prenatal appointment.

The sharp ring of her phone cut through the silence.

Victoria cleaned her tears and reached for the phone on her bedside table.

The name 'Elias' flashed on the screen, each pulse a fresh stab at her open wound.

"Where are you?"

The moment she answered, Elias's cold, impatient voice grated in her ear.

Victoria glanced around the sterile hospital room, the TV still murmuring in the background.

She remembered asking him the same question two days ago. He had shot back, "Victoria, what right do you have to ask me?" before hanging up. The irony was suffocating.

"Is there something you need?" she asked, closing her eyes to hold back the ache swelling in her chest.

"Victoria, don't tell me you've forgotten what day it is!"

His words made her pause. She looked at the wall clock, at the date displayed beneath the time.

The fifteenth. The day of the Shawn family's mandatory monthly dinner.

"Send me the address. I'll have someone pick you up," Elias went on, his tone unyielding.

The family dinner was in the evening.

Victoria drifted in and out of a restless sleep before finally checking out of the hospital in the afternoon.

Shawn Manor was a sprawling, hundred-year-old estate built into the mountainside, its architecture and manicured gardens reminiscent of a classical European villa.

Victoria stood outside the main gate, waiting for Elias.

The Shawns had strict traditions. Unless there was a serious reason, husband and wife were expected to show up to family dinners together.

A sleek, black Maybach purred up the drive and stopped in front of her.

"My lady," Hawk said, getting out of the passenger seat and opening the rear door. "Please, get in."

The back seat was spacious. Inside, Elias sat with his long legs crossed, a tablet resting in his capable hands. The screen's glow cast shifting light and shadow across his features, accentuating his sharp jawline and cold eyes.

Victoria looked at him and remembered the photograph, the tender, loving way Elias had looked at Genevieve.

It was a look he had never once given her.

A sharp pain lanced through her chest, but she quickly suppressed it and slid into the car.