The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 172

The heavy thud reverberated through the large memorial hall.

The heavy wooden urn fell to the floor and shattered, the ashes within scattering across the ground. The sight seared Victoria's eyes, and memories of Grady flooded her mind like a broken dam, completely overwhelming her.

'I can stop sending bodyguards, but you can't hide things from me if something happens.'

'Okay, I promise that no matter what, if you ask, I'll never hide anything! And you can't lie to me either, or… or in the next life, I'll be your older sister! Pinky swear, seal it!'

'You're not a little girl, still playing childish games like pinky swears, and you say you're not a kid. Fine, fine. No take-backs.'

Victoria forgot the pain in her body. She slowly knelt down, cupping the ashes in her hands, her voice hoarse as she repeated, "No take-backs!"

A tear fell, landing in the ashes.

In that instant, it felt as if all of Victoria's strength had vanished. She slumped to the floor. "Brother, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… It's all my fault. I'm so useless…"

She clenched her fists, trying to hold onto the ashes, but the tighter she squeezed, the faster they slipped through her fingers.

"Brother, I was wrong, I was wrong! I'm begging you, don't leave me! I was really wrong!"

"Please come back!"

Victoria looked at the ashes she couldn't grasp, helplessly trying to scoop them up again.

"Victoria…"

A trembling, heartbroken voice came from nearby.

At the sound, Victoria turned her head. Seeing who it was, she could no longer hold back her sobs. "Cerys… Cerys, help me. Help me save my brother. Come here, don't let him leave me…"

Cerys Thorne ran over and knelt on the floor, pulling Victoria into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I came back too late. I shouldn't have left you alone…"

"Cerys, what do I do…"

"What am I supposed to do? I can't hold on to my brother anymore. Why, why can't I hold on…"

Like a helpless child, Victoria clutched at Cerys's clothes with her ash-covered hands.

"Victoria, just cry. I'm here. Don't be afraid."

Cerys held her tightly.

"Brother…"

"Cerys, I don't have a brother anymore. I don't have a brother anymore! How could this happen? He promised me he would come back safely. We even pinky-swore. Cerys, why…"

For seven long days, Victoria had held it in. Now, she finally let out a heart-wrenching sob.

Mr. Flint and Saul couldn't help but shed tears as they carefully gathered the ashes from the floor, placing them back into the box and standing guard nearby.

***

Genevieve trembled in fear. "C-Cerys, what are you doing?!"

"What am I doing?"

Cerys sneered, dragging Genevieve outside and stopping at the top of the steps. "Genevieve, who the hell do you think you are? Do you really think no one knows about your filthy deeds? If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it in the first place!"

"That's right! Without evidence, the law can't touch you, and Victoria can't either. But I, Cerys, don't care about any of that!"

Genevieve glanced back at the dozen or so steps. A fall from here would land her in the hospital for at least half a month.

"Cerys, you can't—"

A sharp slap echoed as Cerys struck Genevieve across the face. "I can't? Let me tell you, there's a lot I can do! You want to be Mrs. Shawn so badly? Then you can be the first to experience what it feels like to be thrown down the stairs for Victoria!"

Elias's face darkened, and he moved to intervene, but someone stepped in his way.

"Lucian Thorne?"

"Don't worry, she won't die from the fall. But Cerys is my sister, and I promised my parents I'd protect her," Lucian said. "Besides, if you still want to keep Victoria, you'd better stay out of this."

Keep Victoria…

Those words made Elias hesitate.

The next second, Genevieve's shrill scream cut through the air as she tumbled down the steps.