Caleb was exceptionally passionate today, and after they finished, Victoria lay on his chest, panting heavily. Caleb lit a cigarette, his leg still rubbing against her. “Sweetheart, did you miss me?” he asked.
Victoria wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing their bodies close again. She nodded and asked, “And you, did you miss me?”
“Of course, my performance just now should have shown that,” Caleb replied with a smile, pulling her into his arms again.
Victoria struggled briefly but was too exhausted to continue.
Caleb didn’t intend to push further; the prelude had been sufficient. He sat up, lit a cigarette, and began to broach the main topic.
He didn’t mention the Mitchell family’s crisis. Caleb knew Victoria well enough to see through her facade of deep affection. She actually loved the prestige of being associated with one of the Four Great Families.
“Victoria, it’s good you came back in time. If you hadn’t, I would have been even more worried.”
“Worried about missing me?” Victoria teased, tracing circles on his chest with her finger.
Caleb grabbed her hand, looking into her eyes with a more serious expression. Victoria’s smile faded as she asked, “Caleb, what’s wrong?”
“It’s the company, things are quite tricky,” Caleb replied, showing a troubled face.
“Several projects I’m handling have encountered problems, and the board has quite a bias against me. If I can’t turn things around, I might not be able to keep my position. Victoria, only you can help me this time.”
Victoria intended to marry Caleb and become the CEO’s wife of the Mitchell family group. She certainly didn’t want him to be ousted from his position.
“We shouldn’t say ‘help’ between us. I’m your girlfriend, and I’d die happily if I could help you,” Victoria said sweetly, nestled in Caleb’s arms.
Caleb held her tenderly, but he knew Victoria was smart. Mere displays of affection wouldn’t make her genuinely help him; he needed to give her some incentive.
“Victoria, once this is over, let’s get married.”
“Really?” Victoria’s eyes lit up with joy. Her dream of marrying into one of the Four Great Families was finally coming true.
She was so eager that the next day, she sought out Isabella.
…
When Isabella received Victoria’s call, she wasn’t surprised. Victoria was indeed very concerned about Caleb.
In truth, Isabella didn’t want to see Victoria. Every time she did, she felt an urge to strangle her. But she had to meet her, as the play had just begun and had to continue.
Isabella followed the location Victoria sent her to a cafe in the suburbs. It was a relatively secluded place, but that wasn’t surprising given that both of them were public figures.
Isabella parked her car in front of the cafe and put on her sunglasses before getting out. Victoria was already there, sitting in a small booth on the second floor.
Isabella followed the waiter to the booth and sat across from Victoria.
She ordered a cup of coffee, took a casual sip, and then asked, seemingly unintentionally, “Sister, you asked me here so urgently. What’s the matter?”
Victoria held a silver spoon, slowly stirring her coffee. She subtly scrutinized Isabella, who looked glamorous and radiant, indicating that she was living well.
Victoria couldn’t help but admire Isabella’s skill. How had she managed to make a high-and-mighty man like Andrew so devoted to her?
“To be able to invite Andrew’s wife, you, is truly an honor,” Victoria said with a fake smile, her tone tinged with a bit of bitterness.
Isabella sipped her coffee and replied with a smile, “I am quite busy, indeed. So, just say what you want to say so we don’t waste each other’s time.”
Hearing this, Victoria dropped the silver spoon she was holding and took out a stack of red envelopes from her handbag, pushing them towards Isabella. The envelopes weren’t sealed, and Isabella could see they were filled with money, at least a hundred bills.
Isabella looked at Victoria with slight suspicion, wondering what her intention was in giving her money.
Victoria pushed the envelopes closer to Isabella and smiled. “Isabella, if I remember correctly, your child should be almost three years old now. When you have time, bring him home to meet us. So much time has passed, and Dad should have cooled down by now. After all, he is his grandson. Take these red envelopes; it’s a little gift from me, as an elder, for the child.”
Isabella pursed her lips, her gaze turning cold as she looked at Victoria. Such deep scheming. It seemed Victoria had planned this from the day Isabella married Andrew, intending to use this leverage to control her, and through her, control Andrew and the Turner family foundation.
Seeing Isabella remain silent, Victoria’s smile deepened. “Isabella, there’s no need to deny it. You don’t need to deceive me by saying the child wasn’t born. Back then, since Emily could find the hospital, naturally we knew you gave birth to the child.
Isabella, to be honest, I have to admire your courage and ignorance. If it were me, I would never have given birth to a child with an unknown father, letting him become a burden…”
“What exactly do you want? Get to the point,” Isabella interrupted impatiently. She had no interest in listening to Victoria’s sentiments.
Victoria leisurely played with her coffee cup, adding a sugar cube now and then a creamer packet, appearing very relaxed and carefree.
“Isabella, you are indeed quite skillful. You hid the child very well, and after you left the hospital, I couldn’t find any trace of him. But whether I can find him or not isn’t important. What’s important is, with Andrew’s connections, do you think he wouldn’t find out about that bastard child?
Isabella, I can see you are riding high now, married to Andrew. But no matter how deeply he loves you, he would never tolerate you having a child with another man.”
Isabella’s face showed no fear or anxiety after hearing this. Instead, she smiled faintly. “As a woman, no one understands Andrew’s love for me better than I do. When a man falls in love with a woman, it’s easy for him to be blinded by love. If I were to be honest with him, he might very well accept my past. Why should I be threatened by you?”
Isabella laughed coldly. Except for Ava, neither Victoria nor anyone from the Harris family attended her wedding. Andrew had kept the wedding details very secretive, so Victoria didn’t know that Asher’s father was Andrew. It was ridiculous that while Andrew’s family knew the truth, her sister dared to use her child as a threat to control Andrew.
Victoria’s grip on her coffee cup tightened unconsciously. She knew Isabella wasn’t foolish and wouldn’t let her have her way just because of one piece of leverage.
“Isabella, you are smart, but let me give you a piece of advice. You still don’t understand men well enough. Don’t be so arrogant to think that just because he loves you, he can tolerate everything about you. Right now, you are a pure angel in Andrew’s eyes. But once he knows about your illegitimate child, he will immediately despise, detest, and even feel disgusted by you.
You are newlyweds. If you end up divorced, you will become the laughingstock of everyone.
Isabella, as your sister, I don’t want to see you disgraced and mocked by everyone. I don’t mean to threaten you, but I hope you can help the Mitchell family. Caleb and I will be married soon. Once we are, we’ll be family. Andrew helping his wife’s family would be a beautiful story.”
Isabella lowered her eyes slightly, hiding the emotions in them.