The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 361

Elias’s thoughts slowly came back into focus.

He raised a hand, pressing a bent index finger firmly against his temple. With his elbow propped on the arm of the sofa, he tried to alleviate the discomfort of his hangover.

His gaze drifted unfocusedly to the bag on the table, and Anne’s words flashed through his mind.

Elias considered for a moment, then sat up straight. Leaning forward slightly, he emptied the entire contents of the bag onto the floor.

In an instant, dozens of crumpled, variously sized pieces of scrap paper scattered across the ground.

Suddenly, a small, palm-sized black notebook caught his eye. Its black cover stood out starkly amidst the mess.

For some reason, it looked familiar.

Just then, a few vague, fleeting images surfaced from the depths of his memory.

Finally, he remembered!

On several occasions when he had returned to The Imperial Crest Estates unannounced, he had found Victoria sitting in the living room, holding this very notebook, doing something he couldn't quite see.

The moment she saw him, a clear flash of panic would cross her face, and she would frantically stuff the notebook under a cushion or behind her back, trying to hide it.

At the thought, Elias picked up the notebook.

The owner must have flipped through its pages often. The black leather cover bore several deep creases, showing faint signs of cracking.

He opened the first page. In the bottom right corner were two words written in a neat, slightly rounded script: “Victoria.”

He turned to the second page. At the very top of the thin, lined paper, a single sentence was written—

‘One Hundred Things for Victoria and Elias to Do Together After Getting Married.’

Below it, Victoria had listed the one hundred specific things. After completing each item, she would mark it with a check in red pen, occasionally adding a few thoughts.

“1. Have a home that belongs to just the two of us.”

“August 12, 2021. The renovations on The Imperial Crest Estates are finally finished today. Working during the day and overseeing the renovations at night has been exhausting! But luckily, it was all done before our 100-day anniversary. I can show it to Elias tomorrow!”

The next day, Victoria did indeed bring Elias to The Imperial Crest Estates.

—“Elias, look! Our home is all finished!”

To appease the patriarch, Elias went to Antarctica with Victoria. But he had no intention of actually spending a honeymoon with her. As soon as they landed, he left her there alone and boarded a different flight out.

When Old Mr. Shawn found out, he was furious. He made Elias kneel in the study and prepared to discipline him with the family cane.

Victoria rushed to the study. Just as the patriarch’s cane was about to come down, she threw herself in front of Elias without a second thought, making excuses for him.

After they left the study, Victoria looked with heartache at his back, which was bleeding heavily from the cane's blow. She wanted to apply medicine, but he shoved her away and said coldly:

—“Victoria, stop with that pitiful expression. It only makes me hate you more!”

Later, Elias happened to learn from Chuck the real reason the patriarch had been so angry—

On the fifth day in Antarctica, Victoria was caught in an avalanche and nearly died. The patriarch believed that if he hadn’t abandoned her there, leaving her isolated and helpless, it never would have happened.

And…

The day Victoria had rushed to the study to plead for him, she had just finished a psychological intervention for post-traumatic stress disorder.

4. “…”