The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 340

Inside the suite, the music was off and the colorful lights were dimmed. Only the recessed light strips along the base of the walls emitted a faint glow, barely illuminating the space.

As Victoria stepped inside, the strong, pungent smell of alcohol hit her. A quick glance revealed more than a dozen empty, haphazardly placed red wine bottles on the marble countertop.

CLINK!

Caught off Holtard, Victoria’s foot accidentally bumped into a wine bottle lying on the floor. The sharp sound was startlingly loud in the silent room.

Her breath hitched. She instinctively looked up and saw a man lying flat on the black leather sofa at the far end of the room, seemingly oblivious to her presence.

For once, Elias was wearing a white shirt, the hem neatly tucked into his dark trousers, outlining his lean, powerful waist. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing a sliver of his collarbone, which appeared and disappeared in the dim, shifting light.

His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Perhaps dizzy from the alcohol, he had his right arm thrown over his eyes. His other arm dangled casually off the side of the sofa, giving him an air of inexplicable loneliness.

Victoria picked up the bottle, placed it gently on the table, and walked toward the sofa.

As she got closer, she saw that the gauze wrapped around Elias’s right hand was stained with blood.

Her brow furrowed. The image of the doctor giving him sixteen stitches flashed through her mind, and her lips pressed into a thin line. Was this man determined to lose his hand?

“Elias. Elias, wake up.”

Victoria reached out and gently shook his shoulder. When he didn't react, she applied a little more pressure.

“Elias—”

Suddenly, the man’s arm moved, and he shot his hand out, grabbing hers.

Victoria’s heart skipped a beat, and she reflexively tried to pull her hand away.

It was a Wednesday, and Victoria was supposed to have class, so she couldn't attend. But as luck would have it, she had sprained her ankle in gym class the day before and scored three days of medical leave.

That night, Victoria hobbled on her crutches to Grady’s room and begged him to take her to the graduation ceremony.

Grady took one look at her ankle, which was swollen to the size of a grapefruit, and flatly refused.

“No way. If I take you tomorrow and you hurt your foot again, Dad will kill me.”

Seeing that her plea wasn’t working, Victoria obediently returned to her room. Grady was puzzled by her easy compliance. Victoria had always been as stubborn as a mule; once she set her mind to something, she would find a way to do it, no matter how difficult.

But he didn’t dwell on it, thinking that maybe Victoria was growing up and had finally changed.

As it turned out, the Victoria he knew hadn’t changed at all. He had just been too naive…