The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 15

By the time the Maybach smoothly descended the winding mountain road and entered the downtown area, the sky was completely dark.

Victoria sat in the passenger seat, her head turned to the window.

The night rushed past her. The dark window, under the dim streetlights, faintly reflected Elias's hands on the steering wheel—long and well-defined.

He rarely wore his wedding ring.

Unlike her, there was no indentation on his ring finger, a space as clean as the heart that had only ever belonged to Genevieve.

Her gaze shifted to Elias's sharp profile. Victoria blinked away the stinging in her eyes and said, "Grandfather has already agreed to our divorce. That one-year agreement—"

A screech of tires cut her off.

The sudden stop sent a harsh sound scraping across the asphalt.

Caught off guard, Victoria lurched forward. The seatbelt tightened abruptly across her chest, the pain making her gasp.

But the next moment, as she steadied herself, her chin was seized in a forceful grip.

"Victoria, are you done with your act yet?" Elias stared at her coldly, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Victoria winced in pain, her breath catching in her throat.

"I'm not acting. Elias, I wasn't the one who told him about the—"

"Then who was it?!" he roared, his questions cutting her off. "In the two hours after that agreement was sent to your email, only you and Hawk had seen it. If it wasn't you, was it him?!"

Pain made Victoria's face pale. With her chin in his grip, even opening her mouth was difficult.

"What? Cat got your tongue now that I've called you out? Weren't you just insisting it wasn't you?" Elias's eyes narrowed, the disdain in them like a sharp knife twisting in Victoria's heart. "You propose the divorce yourself, pretending to step back just to force my grandfather into giving you more time! Victoria, you've played this game well."

Victoria's jaw ached like it was about to give way.

"I didn't!" She wrenched her chin from his grasp, her eyes red as she stared at him, her voice hoarse. "Elias, I never thought that."

Elias's face was grim, his presence terrifyingly oppressive.

"Still want to keep pretending, do you? Fine. Victoria, I'd like to see just how long you can keep this act up."

A sense of dread washed over Victoria. A powerful wave of unease swept through her.

In the next second, Elias slammed his foot on the accelerator. The Maybach's engine roared to life, and the car shot forward.

Victoria glanced at the speedometer, which was climbing to its peak. Her pupils contracted. "Elias, are you insane?!" she cried out.

She should have stood her ground two years ago and called off that engagement, no matter how much her father and grandfather insisted.

And she never should have talked her brother into taking her to his graduation twelve years back. If she hadn't gone, she would never have met Elias. And if she'd never met him, she would never have fallen into this deep, hopeless love.

Elias heard her apology. From the corner of his eye, he saw her body tense with fear. He jerked the steering wheel, and the truck sped past them.

The car gradually slowed, finally coming to a stop at the side of the road.

Victoria's back was soaked in a cold sweat, her body trembling uncontrollably.

"Get out."

With a click, the car door unlocked.

Her mind was a complete blank. Driven by a primal instinct to survive, she quickly pushed the door open and scrambled out. Behind her, Elias's voice was as cold as ice. "Victoria, I've been too lenient with you these past two years. A simple 'sorry' doesn't fix a mistake. You will pay the price."

The Maybach sped away.

"Ugh—"

Victoria's legs gave out. She clung to a lamppost for support, her eyes red as she dry-heaved.