The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 203

Dawn was breaking.

Victoria was woken by noises from outside. Her thoughts were still fuzzy, and for a moment, she couldn't remember where she was.

She only remembered having a dream.

She dreamt of her childhood, of Grady Sanger and Tobias Holt having a snowball fight with her. When she couldn't win, she ran behind Tobias, using him as a shield while pulling him along to throw snowballs back at Grady. Grady had laughed, a mix of helplessness and affection in his voice as he called her a little cheat.

Suddenly, a black men's trench coat slipped from her shoulders. The silver cufflink on the sleeve caught her eye, pulling Victoria from her thoughts.

It was Elias's coat.

Victoria paused, still trying to figure out when Elias had come in, when there was a knock on the bathroom door. Hawk's voice came from the other side.

"Miss Sanger, are you awake?"

Victoria immediately tried to stand up, completely forgetting she had been in the same position all night. She only got halfway up before her legs, stiff and numb, nearly gave out from under her.

She managed to grab the edge of the sink just in time, knocking over some toiletries in the process.

Hawk heard the clatter and called out with concern, "Miss Sanger..."

"I'm fine."

Victoria took a moment to steady herself, then draped the trench coat over her arm and opened the door.

The moment the door opened, the chaotic scene outside and the crimson bloodstains everywhere assaulted her vision. The sharp, metallic smell of blood invaded her nostrils without warning, and she felt a wave of nausea.

Just then, as if he had been prepared, Hawk handed her a face mask.

Victoria took it, staring at the mask for a moment, a little lost in thought.

In that instant, she suddenly understood why Elias hadn't let her come out last night, even after the danger had passed.

Because...

The carnage and blood outside were far beyond what she could handle.

Victoria put on the mask. Hawk spoke again, "Miss Sanger, the thugs and the motel owner have been handed over to the police. Here are your car keys that were on the nightstand."

"...Thank you."

Maybe it was her imagination, but when she took the keys, she could have sworn they were still faintly warm, as if they had been held in someone's hand all night and had just been set down.

"Mr. Shawn and Mr. Chase are still at the police station giving their statements. Miss Sanger, Mr. Shawn's car is downstairs. You can wait for them there."

Wait for Elias?

Victoria recalled the events of the previous night, the sting of his bite still a phantom sensation on her lips. Then she remembered she had other things to do. "Assistant Hawk," she said calmly, "please tell Elias thank you for me for last night."

"I... I have something else I need to take care of, so I won't wait for them."

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