Chapter 121
Victoria rubbed her temples wearily and replied, "I don't want to go."
Sebastian sighed, "For the sake of your future emotional distress compensation, just go. It's just a meal. Try to handle it."
"You're right." Victoria perked up instantly, hung up the phone, and told the driver the address.
She messaged Diana: [Sweetie, how much do those things I gave you sell for?]
She let Diana sell everything she had obtained from James and Camille and turn it into cash for investment.
She needed to boost her assets and enrich her spiritual life.
Diana replied: [305 million dollars.]
Victoria replied: [Give one million for charity and help me invest the rest!]
Diana replied: [Aren't you worried I might lose it all?]
Victoria replied: [No, if you do, you'll just have to pay with your own money.]
Diana sent back a rolling–eyes emoji.
The restaurant had an elegant atmosphere. The waiter led Victoria into a private room where her family was already scated.
James turned to her and said, "Call Henry and ask him to join us."
Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you call him?"
James' expression was stern. "Just call him."
Of course, he had tried, but Grace had answered, politely declining the invitation and saying Henry already had other plans.
James was visibly displeased, thinking Henry was being disrespectful.
If Victoria couldn't get him to come, James would seize the chance to berate her for being useless.
Victoria figured that if Henry was present, her family wouldn't cause her trouble, so she called him.
"Hello?" came Henry's deep, cold voice.
"Where are you now? Do you want to join me and my family for dinner?" Victoria asked.
"I'm busy," he replied.
"Okay," she said, about to hang up.
"Victoria," he said just before she could end the call. "Don't you have anything else to ask?"
Like what he was busy with?
"Nope," Victoria replied simply. "Just do your thing. Bye." She didn't care about what he was doing.
After she hung up, James frowned and commented, "You're such a terrible wife; you can't even win over your husband. You're really useless."
Victoria quickly looked at Camille. "He's talking about you, Mom. You can't even win over your own husband, letting him fool around with other women and keep a mistress all these years. You really need to reflect on yourself."
James slammed his hand on the table in anger. "Victoria, shut up!"
Victoria immediately clamped her mouth shut. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
James' face darkened with rage, and he seemed ready to overturn the table. He pointed at her, scolding, "You brat, do you really think I can't do anything about you? You think you can disrespect me just because Henry is backing you?"
Just as he was about to stand up and slap Victoria, the door swung open, and Henry walked in, asking, "What's all the commotion about?"
The atmosphere instantly shifted to tension.
James quickly masked his furious demeanor as he sat down. "We were just discussing her work. By the way, don't you have something important to attend? This is just a family gathering. You can head out whenever."
Victoria rolled her eyes. "Hypocrite!"
Henry settled next to Victoria naturally, casting a cold glance at James. "If I leave, and you're going to scold my wife again?"
Wearing a stern expression, James replied, "Henry, she's my daughter. She's rude to me, so rude to me, so what's wrong with me scolding her?"
"No, you can't," Henry countered coolly. "She's my wife. A Harrison. No one gets to scold her."
James seethed with anger.
Victoria looked at Henry, surprised by his protectiveness. His profile was sharp, and his expression as icy as ever, but there was an underlying arrogance in his demeanor. He had every right to be arrogant.
The room was thick with tension instantly.
Camille smoothed things over quickly. "They were just joking around. Henry, why don't you go ahead and order the food?" She handed the menu to him.
Henry looked at Victoria, who was studying him in confusion. "What do you want to eat?" he asked.
Victoria averted her gaze, took the menu, and ordered a bunch of her favorite dishes, saying, "That's all."
The waiter took the menu and was about to leave when Camille said, "We haven't ordered yet!"
Henry replied, "She's ordered for you." He turned to the waiter. "That'll be all."
Camille felt embarrassed.
Victoria had ordered dishes she loved, but the others didn't like any of them!
However, after Henry had just stood up to James, she felt too intimidated to voice her objections for fear of being implicated.
Sebastian watched the scene unfold silently, deep in thought.
When the food was served, Victoria ignored everyone else and dug in happily.
Henry's phone rang. He glanced at it and said, "Enjoy your meal. I have something to take care of."
He turned to Victoria and affectionately ruffled her hair. "Let me know when you're done, and I'll send someone to take you home."
Victoria instinctively avoided his touch, still not accustomed to such intimacy. It made her uneasy.
Henry noticed her dodge; his eyes grew colder, but he didn't let it show.
Once he was gone, James scoffed and glared at Victoria with deep discontent. "You're my daughter. Why is there such a distance between us since your marriage? We are the best people in your life. You can't be ungrateful."
Victoria took a sip of her juice and replied, "Dad, just get to the point."
James continued, "The land in the south of the city is up for tender. You need to talk to Henry and persuade him to cooperate with the Hardwick Group instead of going through the bidding process."
Victoria shook her head. "I can't help you."
James frowned. "What did you say?"
"I can't help you." Victoria wiped her mouth. "I'm planning to divorce him. I can't be involved in any business dealings."
"Don't even think about it!" James shot back coldly. "You and Henry are married, and you have a son. You'll be together for life. Stop dreaming about divorce. Do you think it's that easy?"
Victoria replied, "As long as you don't intervene, it will be easy. Besides, I don't even remember the past. Both he and Jude feel like strangers to me. Do you know how terrified I was when I woke up to find I had a husband and a son?"
Camille frowned. "Are you still pretending to have amnesia in front of us?"