Chapter 191
"Am I late?" Just then, a warm and smiling voice came from the door.
Victoria turned in surprise and saw Pete walking in, holding a gift box in his hand, his smile radiating warmth.
"No, no, you're just in time!" She quickly took a few steps forward. "When did you arrive?"
Pete replied, "Just got off the plane. This is for you." He handed a gift box over.
"Thank you!" Victoria took it, carefully placing it on the cabinet.
Pete chuckled, "I see the flower baskets piling up at the door. Anyone who doesn't know will think this is a flower shop rather than a photography studio."
She couldn't help but laugh. "I did consider opening a flower shop next door. Otherwise, what would I do with all these flower baskets?"
Tina stepped forward with a cup of coffee. "Sir, this is your coffee."
Pete took the cup, smiling, "Thank you. My last name is Helberg."
Tina adjusted his black–framed glasses and smiled brightly, "You can call me Tina. I'm Vika's assistant."
Pete, nodded. "Nice to meet you, Tina."
It was almost time for lunch. Victoria glanced at the guest list and saw that most of the influential people in Lanceser had arrived. The rest had either gone abroad or sent gifts through others. She said, "Let's go, we're heading to the hotel!"
Tina spoke up, "I'll stay here. It's the first day of the opening, after all."
But Victoria shook her head. "No, we're going together. We've been busy for half the day already, so let's eat together and return later."
She tugged Tina along and closed the door behind her.
The car drove away, and about ten minutes later, another car came to a stop.
James and Camille stood, looking at the cheerful scene inside and outside the studio. Their faces twisted with anger.
They didn't even need to look at anything else. Just the number of flower baskets was enough to tell them that a lot of people had come.
The names of the people who sent the flowers were written on the baskets. Camille went out of the car to check one by one, and all the guests were on her invitation list.
"Damn it! This is just too infuriating! This damned girl had deliberately stolen these guests, clearly trying to make my life miserable!" Camille's eyes narrowed with malice as she glared at the studio and thought. Then, she called over the bodyguard, saying, "Smash everything!"
The bodyguards from the Hardwick family moved forward, about to smash everything inside and outside the studio into pieces.
But just as they were about to take action, a sharp voice reprimanded them. "What are you doing?"
Everyone turned to see Jacob walking toward them with a dozen or so bodyguards behind him. The black–suited bodyguards lined up, standing in front of the studio door.
He stood in the front, briefly scanning the Hardwicks. His gaze landed on Camille's face as he said, "Mrs. Hardwick, are you here to offer your congratulations?"
"It seems you're a bit late. The opening time has already passed. Mrs. Harrison has already gone to the hotel with the guests for lunch. If you hurry, you might still be able to join them."
Camille's face darkened with fury. "Let me ask you. Did Victoria deliberately choose today for the opening? Is she trying to go against me on purpose?"
Jacob smiled politely, "Today happens to be a lucky day, perfect for an opening. Mrs. Harrison's studio just happened to be opening today, so it was chosen for that reason, not to go against you."
He paused, then continued, "Moreover, Mrs. Harrison didn't even know that today was the day you were holding the family reunion banquet."
"You!"
Camille was furious, but the other party was Jacob, Henry's assistant. He was here, and it was probably because Henry had ordered it to prevent anyone from causing trouble. Camille was so enraged she nearly exploded, but there was nowhere for her to vent her anger.
She gritted her teeth and held it in, letting out a cold hum before turning and getting into the car.
She roared, "Bitch! I can see she's doing this on purpose! It's infuriating!"
Sarah sat silently in the car, staring at the artistically decorated studio and the piles of flower baskets at the door. The studio inside must be filled with countless gifts as well.
Her nails dug deep into her palm in jealousy.
"Bitch! Why don't you just die?" she cursed inwardly.
Today was supposed to be her day to shine, but Victoria had ruined everything.
Her face was grim, and she suddenly grabbed Camille's hand, saying, "Mom, I have a way to get Henry to see me."
The latter immediately turned to her her eyes filled with curiosity. "What method?"
Meanwhile, in the hotel banquet hall, the banquet had already begun, and guests were clinking glasses, enjoying themselves, creating a lively atmosphere.
Victoria gave a speech for the toast and then sat down next to Evie.
Evie, with a smile on her face, said, "I heard today is the Hardwick family's reunion banquet, but guess what? Not a single person from all the wealthy families in Lanceser showed up. Haha, it's so funny! The Hardwick really made a huge fool of themselves this time."
Victoria , feeling exhausted, started eating. "I honestly don't know."
Evie asked, "Victoria, do you really not care?"
"I don't care." Victoria's expression was calm. "When I found out I wasn't their daughter, I was actually relieved."
She mocked inwardly, "What kind of parents treat their daughter like that? From childhood to adulthood, all I ever received was indifference and scolding. When I was young, they only cared about my grades. Once I grew up, their focus shifted to whether I could win my husband's heart. Hah!"
Pete put some food on Victoria's plate, saying, "Eat more."
A meaningful smile immediately appeared on Evie's face while Sebastian, who was sitting beside them, cast a more probing glance, asking, "You are..."
"I'm Pete Helberg." He looked at Sebastian and introduced himself with a faint smile. "I met Victoria when she went to Camoreham."
Sebastian nodded. "I vaguely remember Vicky mentioning you."
"Really?" Pete looked at Victoria in surprise. "You've mentioned me to your family?"
"Wow..." Evie leaned in and whispered in Victoria's ear, a mischievous grin spreading across her face as she poked her friend's arm. "What's going on here? Got yourself a secret
lover?"
Victoria coughed violently as she drank her soup, choking on it after hearing Evie's teasing remark.
Evie couldn't hold back her laughter. She patted Victoria's back and said, "Why are you so worked up? That's a possibility, you know."
Sebastian, looking puzzled, asked, "What's going on? What did you two talk about? Why is her reaction so intense?"
Victoria quickly waved her hand as if trying to stop the conversation. It was something she definitely wasn't going to tell anyone.
After finally calming down, she looked at Evie helplessly and said, "Shut up, please."
The latter innocently blinked her big eyes, then mimed zipping her lips with a playful gesture.
Victoria sighed helplessly. Her marriage was a tangled mess. How could she think about anything else?
Besides, she and Pete were just friends.