Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love novel Chapter 45

Victoria was standing close by, watching them all chummy and cheerful, wishing she could just disappear. Subconsciously, she looked up at Maxwell, only to see his gaze constantly on Rosemary, which spread an endless sourness in her heart.

However, she quickly suppressed her emotions, smiling and inserting herself into the conversation, trying to get Pearl's attention, "Happy birthday. This is just a little gift for you, hope you don't mind."

Pearl gave Victoria a once-over and nodded politely, "Thank you, you're kind."

After taking it, she casually set it on a nearby table without any intention of opening it right away. "The dining area is over there. Help yourself to anything you like."

That was obviously meant to send her away, so she wouldn't be a nuisance here!

Victoria could tell, but pretended that she couldn't. After all, she'd put a lot of effort into picking out that gift and she wasn't about to let it go to waste.

If she didn't insist on Pearl opening it now, who knows where it would end up after the party!

"Why don't you open it and see? I'm not really up on this stuff, so if there's anything off about it, we could get it fixed in time."

With that said, and with so many eyes on them, Pearl couldn't afford to brush her off anymore without making a scene.

While mentally disliking Victoria's behavior internally, she maintained a polite smile and opened the gift box, which contained another wooden box inside. She took a barely noticeable breath, thinking if there was another box inside this wooden box, she would send Victoria away!

Inside the wooden box was a painting.

Pearl unrolled the scroll with a perfunctory motion. She wasn't into art, but when she saw what the painting was, her eyes flickered with interest, and even Norton raised an eyebrow, "Is this that antique painting from before?"

"Yes," Victoria replied politely.

Norton nodded with satisfaction, "You've worked hard. Let me know how much it cost and I'll have Maxwell transfer the money to you."

"It's not about the money. It's just that the restorer is hard to find. That person is elusive in the circle, only takes very a few commissions. Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken this long to restore."

"If the restorer's got the skills, it's normal for them to be a bit eccentric. You've really put in the effort this time."

Rosemary noticed that Pearl was still eyeing the scroll and realized from Norton's words that this painting must belong to the Templeton family, and Victoria had taken it upon herself to have it restored.

"Mom, do you like these things?"

"I don't, but Maxwell's grandfather was. He bought this painting at an auction back in the day. Later on, your dad and I had a fierce argument, and the painting was accidentally destroyed. Ms. Temple offered to find someone to restore it, so I left it in her hands," Pearl said, unfolding the scroll completely.

Norton interjected, "It was more than just a fierce argument. You nearly tore down the old man's study, and the bruises on my leg took half a month to heal."

"Wasn't it your fault?" Pearl retorted, her tone shifting suddenly, "Ms. Temple, how much did you pay for this restoration?"

Victoria was suddenly put on the spot and noticed Pearl's change in expression, feeling confused, she named a figure, "What's the matter?"

"Then you got ripped off. This person couldn't possibly be a master.”

Rosemary frowned, not because of what Pearl said, but there was a noticeable stain in the corner of the painting. It was small but quite obvious.

Victoria saw it too, and her first reaction was to look at Rosemary.

"Isn't Rose a big name in the circle? What's this? How can she deliver something restored like this?"

Rosemary, annoyed by the accusatory tone, thought it should be her asking the questions. The painting she had worked so hard to restore was damaged again!