The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 190

A crisp, woody scent enveloped her.

Pressed against Elias, Victoria could clearly feel the burning heat of his chest and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat through the thin layer of his shirt.

The sound of the shattering bowl snapped her out of her daze, and she immediately pulled away from his embrace.

The softness in his arms vanished. Elias's eyes darkened. He caught sight of the tips of her ears, red as if about to bleed, and the 'Starfall' earrings glittering with the light of pink diamonds. Though nothing had happened, the sight was inexplicably alluring.

He thought of her forwardness just now, and then imagined if someone else had been sitting here today...

Elias took a long stride, his well-defined hand closing around Victoria's neck, pinning her against the edge of the dining table. He lowered his head and crushed his lips against hers, biting down, rough and forceful.

"Ah..."

Victoria shrank back in pain.

Elias released her. His narrow eyes half-closed, his Adam's apple bobbed as he stared at the trace of blood on her pale lips. He sneered, "Weren't you so eager just now? So obedient? Why are you hiding?"

"Since you've chosen to debase yourself, why pretend to be noble now?"

Debase herself...

The words were like a knife twisting in Victoria's heart, leaving it bloody and raw.

She lifted her eyes to meet Elias's bottomless gaze, swallowing the metallic taste in her throat and blinking back the mist in her eyes. Bracing her hands on the table, she rose onto her toes and kissed him stiffly.

The blood from her lips smeared onto his. A strong taste of iron quickly spread between their mouths.

Victoria's kissing technique was clumsy, which, as it happened, was exactly what drove Elias to the brink of losing control.

Elias kept his eyes open, watching as Victoria squeezed hers shut, a single tear escaping from the corner. He pushed her away again, his voice seething through gritted teeth. "VICTORIA SANGER, DO YOU HAVE NO SHAME?"

Victoria's whole body tensed. Hearing the word 'shame' from Elias's lips was almost laughable.

"Isn't this what you wanted?"

Her voice was hoarse. "Elias, isn't this what you wanted to see? Me, debasing myself? Is that why you interfered with this partnership, showing up here to force my hand, knowing full well it was my brother's dying wish and that I'd do anything to see it through?"

"Weren't you the one who told me how a woman should please a man? Isn't this what you taught me?"

"Elias, I was only giving you what you wanted."

After she spoke, her gaze drifted downward from his face, finally resting on the bulge in his pants that could barely be contained. Her eyes were cold. "And this proves it. You just wanted to see me cheapen myself to satisfy your thirst for revenge."

Elias's face was grim. He threw a contract he'd prepared onto the table and spat out a single sentence.

"Victoria, you're really something else."

Bang!

Victoria hadn't drunk much, but the smell of alcohol on her was strong from when the decanter had shattered.

"I'm fine, you don't have to," she said, her voice raspy as she reached out to stop Cerys.

"But you had that stomach bleeding before. The doctor said you can't drink..."

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang suddenly.

"That's strange. Who could be here this late?" Cerys wondered, turning to get the door.

"Vic—" The property manager, who had been practicing a friendly smile, started to speak as soon as he heard the door open, only to stop when he saw an unfamiliar face.

Cerys was immediately on guard. "Who are you? What do you want with Victoria?"

Manager Waldron felt her suspicious gaze on him and his lips twitched. "Uh... I'm the property manager. Is Miss Sanger home?"

Victoria, having calmed down a bit, heard the voices and came over. "Manager Waldron?"

Seeing her, the manager broke into another eager smile. "Miss Sanger, you're home. Oh, this, I came to bring you a sobering remedy."

At his words, Cerys and Victoria spoke in unison, "A sobering remedy?"