The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 52

Cerys slammed her fist on the steering wheel. "That shameless bitch! Genevieve is the definition of shameless! Always pulling these petty tricks behind people's backs! To think you used to call her a friend!"

The situation between Victoria and Genevieve was a classic case of biting the hand that feeds you.

The Vales had two sons and had always wanted a daughter, but they could never conceive one. So they settled for the next best thing and adopted a girl from an orphanage. That girl was Genevieve.

At first, the Vales doted on her, treating her like a princess. But when Genevieve was fifteen, Mrs. Vale got pregnant—with a girl. With the birth of their biological daughter, Genevieve's status plummeted.

The Vales even considered sending her back to the orphanage. But high-society families cared too much about their reputation, so after much deliberation, they kept her. That didn't mean life was easy for Genevieve. On the contrary, she became an unwelcome presence, constantly getting the cold shoulder from the family.

People always cozy up to whoever has the upper hand. While the adults might have hidden their disdain, their immature children showed it openly.

Once word got out that Genevieve was out of favor with the Vales, she became the target of bullying for the other wealthy kids.

That was when Victoria met her.

Since no one else would play with Genevieve, Victoria became her friend, taking her everywhere. When someone bullied Genevieve, Victoria would stand up for her, shielding her from any harm.

As Victoria's childhood friend, Cerys had even been jealous of how well Victoria treated Genevieve.

She thought they would be friends forever. But then, five years ago, Genevieve had revealed her true colors, turning into a venomous snake that bit Victoria hard, tearing away half her life.

"You never should have pitied her and been so good to her! People like her deserve to be bullied! And that Elias, he must be blind to fall for a manipulative witch like Genevieve!"

The more Cerys thought about it, the angrier she got, her hands clenched into fists as if she wanted to punch Genevieve right then and there.

Victoria handed her a bottle of water. "Drink some water and calm down. Don't make yourself sick over it."

"Victoria, how can you be so calm? You used to—" Cerys stopped herself. "Never mind. Let's not talk about the past."

Victoria just smiled without saying anything.

"Victoria, you've really changed," Cerys said, studying her.

"Have I?"

Victoria thought about it. It seemed she had become much more detached when it came to Elias and Genevieve.

Perhaps the pain had been too great before.

It had numbed her. So much so that when Genevieve told her she was pregnant with Elias's child, she only felt a brief pang of sorrow for the unborn baby. Hearing that Elias loved Genevieve now barely registered.

"Fine, whatever. At least you're in! Come on, I'm taking you out for a celebratory dinner!" Cerys said, grabbing her seatbelt.

"Maybe another day."

Cerys looked at her, confused. Victoria explained, "I have to go to my family's place for dinner tonight. My brother and I are hosting a guest."

"You've got to be kidding me..." Cerys's face fell. "You're such a busy person, and now that I finally get you out, you won't even have dinner with me?"

Victoria patted her head. "Another time, I promise. My treat."

Cerys pouted but didn't press further. "Fine. I'll drive you back then."

"No need. The Design Institute isn't far from here. I need to pick up some files anyway." Victoria opened the car door. "You head home. We can look at more apartments in a few days when I'm free."

Without waiting for Cerys to reply, she got out and started walking toward the Institute.

She hadn't gone far when her phone rang.

She answered, and before she could speak, a deep, smiling voice came from the other end. "Did you get the confirmation text?"