The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 128

Elias looked at the determination in her eyes and was momentarily lost in thought.

Seeing that he still had no intention of agreeing, Victoria thought back to the disdain on his face whenever she used to talk to him about architectural design. She bit her lip and added, "If you don't trust my professional judgment, you can have another qualified designer look at it…"

Before yesterday, Elias might have had his doubts.

But even the senior chief engineer at his own company had been full of praise for her design drafts. He had no reason to doubt her now.

"I can, indeed, take you to see Tammie," he said, his voice low.

Victoria's eyes lit up.

She was so happy at the prospect of seeing another man, yet when she saw him, she couldn't wait to get away.

Elias's eyes darkened. The irritation he had suppressed came surging back. His tone was hard. "Give me a reason."

Victoria was taken aback, not understanding what he meant. "What?" she blurted out instinctively.

"Victoria, there's no such thing as a free lunch. You've said all this because you want my help, but for me, helping you brings no benefit."

Victoria stared at him. "…What do you want?"

"Come here, sit on my lap, and kiss me."

Elias's gaze seemed naturally cold as it swept over her, unabashedly sizing her up.

A light breeze blew in through the car window, gently lifting a few strands of her hair.

She had let her hair down, and as the wind blew, the pink diamonds on her earlobes glinted between the dark strands.

An image of him putting the earrings on her in the restroom flashed in his mind, the warmth of her earlobe still lingering on his fingertips.

Victoria could feel Elias's gaze on her growing deeper, like a wolf stalking its prey under the moonlight.

And she knew all too well that she was that prey, with nowhere to run.

"Victoria, I don't have the patience to wait for you to decide."

"If I do as you say, will you take me to see Tammie?"

Elias stared at her, saying nothing.

Victoria bit her lip. In the span of three short seconds, a myriad of images flashed through her mind: the victims' families crying in front of news cameras when the accident was exposed two years ago; Garnett being led into a police car and driven away; and Grady, humbling himself and struggling to keep The Sanger Group afloat for the past two years.

She didn't want to see the same tragedy happen to anyone else.

And she couldn't bring herself to know there was a problem and say nothing, betraying her principles as an architect.

Victoria took a deep breath, slowly moved over, and half-stood to settle herself sideways on Elias's lap, her hands resting on his shoulders.

Every movement was stiff.

In contrast to her unease, Elias watched with great interest as her eyelashes trembled with nervousness. The feeling of losing control he'd had earlier began to subside.

Victoria lowered her head, closed her eyes, and leaned in, little by little.

Finally, her lips met his.

They were cool, and she could smell the crisp, woody scent on him with every breath.

It was a feather-light touch.

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