Chapter 9
“What did you just say?”
Yasmine arched an eyebrow, her fierce gaze making the housemaid shrink away instantly.
Victoria had been standing in place for ten whole minutes, her beautiful eyes fixed on the winding staircase ahead, her heart feeling utterly hollow.
At last, she found her voice, though it was little more than a hoarse whisper.
“Yasmine, let’s go.”
It was time. She didn’t belong here, nor anywhere that had McNeil in it.
They were finished-had been for a long time.
A sleek black town car sat abandoned in the driveway.
Victoria passed by it without so much as a glance.
Anything that belonged to McNeil, she wanted nothing to do with. If Violet wanted it, she could have it.
Yasmine flagged down a cab for her. Victoria sat alone in the back seat, gazing out the window as the city slipped by.
Winter would soon give way to spring. Soon, the hills would turn green again, wildflowers would bloom, and the mountains would be shrouded in gentle morning mist. Lovers would find secluded corners of the world to whisper their secrets, far from the noise and chaos.
Such a beautiful vision. Wasn’t that all she’d ever wanted-peace and quiet, a life shared with someone she loved, away from the crowd?
But in McNeil’s gilded mansion, there was simply no place for her.
The sudden ring of her phone pulled Victoria back to reality. Dr. Kelvin’s name lit up the screen.
She pressed the phone to her ear.
“Hey, Victoria, I need to let you know-McNeil’s grandfather, Thorpe Langford, has decided to give up his place for the surgery to someone else. His condition isn’t improving, and at his age, every day he waits is dangerous. I thought you should hear it from me first.”
Shock rippled through Victoria. The old man was giving up his chance for surgery?
What did that even mean?
She spent several seconds in stunned silence, then suddenly, a name flashed through her mind.
Violet.
Surely the old man wasn’t handing over his chance… to Violet?
Her heart twisted painfully. Dr. Kelvin’s voice cut through her fog. “Victoria, are you still there?”
“I’m here. I’ll go to the hospital now and see what’s going on.”
The taxi changed course immediately, weaving through traffic as Victoria’s thoughts churned and tangled like a storm.
The hospital corridors smelled as always-sterile and endlessly the same.
The old man had just woken up, and for once, he seemed to be in good spirits.
“Dr. Kelvin told me you’re giving up your place for the surgery,” Victoria said bluntly, catching him off guard.
He knew he couldn’t hide it from her.
“Victoria, the Langford family owes Violet.”
Just as she’d expected, but even so, the words hit her like a punch.
She sank into the chair by his bedside, her face unreadable.
“You can’t afford to wait. Dr. Kelvin fought to get you an extra week. If he saves Violet, he won’t have time to save you.”
The old man sighed, but his eyes were resolute as he met Victoria’s gaze. Then, almost abruptly, he changed the subject.
“I know you’ve suffered with McNeil. Don’t worry I’ll make sure he makes it up to you.”
Make it up to her? Victoria almost laughed at the thought.
Six years of youth, six years of faithfulness-even when McNeil was at his lowest, she’d stayed by his side without hesitation. How exactly was the Langford family supposed to make amends for that?
And then, she asked the one question she shouldn’t have.
“Is Violet really that important to McNeil?”
Important enough that even his grandfather would risk his life for her. If Violet was the one the entire Langford family could never let go of, then why had they ever bothered to welcome Victoria in at all?