The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 263

Night fell.

Victoria didn't emerge from her room.

Elias lay on the sofa, his long legs bent uncomfortably. Victoria's questions echoed in his mind, refusing to fade.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed.

He sat up and pulled out his phone. In his chat list, Victoria's profile picture caught his eye.

He tapped on it. The last message in their conversation was the single word "Oh" he had sent.

His finger slid up the screen.

They had hardly ever texted, and each conversation was over in just a few lines. It didn't take long to scroll to the very beginning of their chat history.

Elias scrolled from top to bottom and back again, rereading their sparse conversations over and over. It was as if doing so was the only way to calm the turmoil in his mind.

Soon, it was past midnight.

Cool moonlight streamed in. Elias looked toward the balcony and saw a crescent moon hanging high in the starry sky.

He got up, zoomed in to take a picture of the moon, and forwarded it to Victoria.

E: [Good night.]

After sending it, Elias switched to his personal account and sent a message to Jonah Chase.

[How do you get back on a woman's good side?]

-

The first rays of morning sunlight trickled in.

Victoria rolled over and opened her eyes, slowly coming to her senses.

She sat up to find Dawn still curled up on her lap, fast asleep.

She had fallen asleep angry, and now the back of her head throbbed with a dull, numb pain, as if she'd been hit.

She reached for her phone and saw two new messages on the screen, sent in the early hours of the morning.

She opened them. A plain white profile picture and a photo of the moon against the night sky appeared.

So much had happened in the past few days that Victoria had almost forgotten about her neighbor across the hall.

Seeing his "Good night" message, Victoria paused. She knew he had a demanding job, but she hadn't realized he worked so late.

She typed "Morning" in the chat box, but then deleted it. Her neighbor had probably been up all night working and was likely still asleep. She didn't want to wake him.

"You're awake?" a man's deep voice came from the dining area.

Victoria turned toward the sound. Elias, now in more casual clothes, was kneeling by Dawn's food bowl, refilling it. His long, elegant fingers stroked Dawn's fur as he worked.

Dawn's loud purr filled the quiet apartment.

Victoria's mind went blank. "You—"

"Now that you're up, go wash your face. Then come have breakfast." Elias stood up, giving her no time to think. He walked into the kitchen with a familiar air, washed his hands, and brought out breakfast.

-

Ten minutes later, they were sitting across from each other at the dining table.

A lavish spread of various breakfast foods covered the entire table.

"I had groceries delivered this morning, so there's enough food for a few days. As for the awards ceremony, Hawk is already handling it. He'll find Rose soon, so you don't need to worry about it," Elias said in a low, even tone.

"If you need to go out, it's best to have Sunny with you. I'll also assign two bodyguards. They'll be responsible for your safety until this whole thing blows over. Don't worry, they'll report only to you, not to me."

Victoria listened, staring at him in astonishment.

Elias placed an egg on her plate, his eyes meeting hers. "After we finish breakfast, I'll leave, just as you wanted."