The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 391

Victoria glanced at the well wishes, her breath catching. For a moment, she was in a daze, as if she could see through the screen to her past self, the one who had been so hopelessly in love, carefully crafting this message and setting it to send at a specific time, her heart full of anticipation.

So much had happened recently that Victoria had lost track of the days, completely forgetting about the scheduled birthday text.

She composed herself, saw the 'unread' status, and long-pressed the screen, preparing to retract the message.

But in the next instant, the 'unread' tag flickered to 'read,' and a notification popped up: Message retraction failed.

Victoria was at a loss for words.

Suddenly, the throbbing in her temples grew worse.

She looked over at Dawn, who was completely oblivious to what had just happened. The cat had calmed down and was curled up in the chair. Sensing Victoria's gaze, Dawn glanced at her and let out a yawn.

Just then, her phone rang.

Victoria’s fingertips trembled as she looked down. The name 'Elias' flashed on the screen, and her nerves instantly tensed.

After a long pause, she answered.

"Come out to the balcony."

Before she could say a word, a man's deep, magnetic voice came through the phone, tinged with a commanding tone.

Victoria froze for a second, her eyes drifting toward the nearby balcony door. She hesitated for a moment before stepping outside.

The late-night wind of early spring carried a biting chill, instantly scattering what little drowsiness she had left.

In the end, he had no choice but to drive to the shoe shop.

However, he didn't find her there. As he turned to leave, the old man called out to him.

"Mr. Shawn, there's something Mrs. Shawn asked me not to tell you, but I feel you should know."

"For the past two years, she's been coming here from time to time. At first, she would just pick out styles to have custom-made for you. Later, she started learning from me how to make them herself. Once she got the hang of it, she did everything from design and material selection to stitching and assembly, piece by piece. Then she’d have me send them to you under someone else's name."

"Learning to make custom shoes… it isn't terribly difficult, but it's by no means simple. It requires patience and perseverance. If you lack even a little of either, you can't make the shoe. I've lived a long life and met many people, but I've seen very few who have persevered from start to finish like Mrs. Shawn."

"It’s clear you hold a significant place in Mrs. Shawn's heart. I'm not saying all this to make a point. It's just that, at my age, it’s a pity to see Mrs. Shawn's heartfelt efforts go unnoticed and be buried like this."

After speaking, Mr. Laurent handed Elias a sketchbook. "This is Mrs. Shawn's. You can take it home and look through it. It’s filled with the designs for the shoes she’s made for you by hand over the past two years."