Chapter 181
When the plane landed in Lanceser, it was already late evening. Victoria stood up and left, still ignoring Henry. But as soon as she exited the airport, she saw Jude.
"Mom!"
Jude was in a short–sleeved white shirt, long black pant, white shoes, which made him look sharp and handsome. He had a cold expression on his face, but upon seeing Victoria, he immediately wore a big smile.
Victoria's footsteps paused as she saw Jude, her heart feeling as if it were being squeezed by a large hand, a sour and bitter sensation spreading within her. She unconsciously smiled back at him. She had imagined this for millions of times.
She wanted Jude to look at her with adoration in his eyes, beaming with joy whenever he saw her. She wanted him to be affectionate and reliant upon her. It should have been like this.
The smile on her face grew a little wider, and then she walked over to Jude, crouched down, hugged him tightly, and planted a kiss on his tiny face.
"Sweetheart."
Jude was shocked!
"My mom just called me sweetheart! I don't have to envy other kids being called sweethearts again! I'm now my mom's baby!" He thought to himself.
He hugged Victoria's neck and nodded vigorously, "Hmm!"
The airport was bustling with people, and someone couldn't help but take out their phone to snap a photo of them like this.
"Wow! That kid is so cute! I want to take him away!"
"His mother is pretty, too!"
"Look, is that the child's father? Oh, my God, look at him, very handsome! The boy looks a lot like his father. The genes in that family are so strong!"
People kept speaking like that.
Young girls passing by saw this scene and couldn't help but discuss it.
Henry had already walked over. When he saw that scene from a distance, a smile unconsciously appeared on his face, and he felt very pleased.
Victoria hugged Jude and then let go, saying, "You wanted to see Emma, didn't you? I called them, and we'll have dinner together later."
Jude nodded, "Yeah, great!"
Then, he took Victoria's hand and followed her toward a car.
Henry's smile froze. "Hey!"
He frowned at the mother and child in front of him. "Aren't you going home?"
Jude turned around, waved his little hand at him, and said, "Dad, I'm staying with my mom today. You can go back first."
Henry was speechless.
"Heh. Did they just abandon me? Victoria is really a piece of work. Not only does she want to run herself, but she also wants to abduct my son!" He thought.
The feeling of joy in his heart was instantly shattered, and he got into the car with a gloomy face.
Jacob hesitated to speak, "Mr. Harrison, the Hardwick are hosting a recognition banquet three days from now and have sent you an invitation."
Henry's gaze was cold, "They also want that bidding project, right?"
"Yes."
"Ruin it for them."
After Henry finished speaking, he still felt unhappy and gave a few more instructions, all targeting the Hardwick Group.
Jacob took notes of everything and couldn't help but think, "The Hardwick family is so unbelievable. Aren't they afraid that Mr. Harrison will take them down once and for all?".
Victoria arranged to meet Evie and Emma, and when she arrived at the restaurant, they were already there.
She hugged Emma tightly and exclaimed, "Sweetheart, I missed you so much."
Emma giggled non–stop.
Evie couldn't help but say, "If you love little girls so much, you can just find a man or a suitable sperm to have a daughter of your own when you have a divorce."
Victoria shook her head, "That's different. I only like Emma."
Emma chuckled and kissed her on the cheek. "I like you, too, Ms.Victoria."
Her action immediately amused Victoria.
"Ahem!"
Evie glanced at Jude, who was sitting aside with a cold and reserved expression, and lightly coughed to remind Victoria to tone it down a bit.
"Oh, right, he said he needed to talk to Emma about something. Let's just stay out of it." Victoria remembered something and said to Evie.
Evie raised an eyebrow. "Did you guys become friends?"
Emma let out a light snort, "Hmph, I don't want to be friends with him. He's just annoying!"
Jude pursed his lips and said nothing.
But Evie scolded, "Emma, don't be like that. He's Victoria's son."
Emma pouted and said, "I'll just be quiet."
Victoria smiled and patted her, then took them to another empty table, saying, "Come find us once you're done talking."
"Um." Jude nodded.
Victoria turned around and returned to Evie, meeting her gaze that was half–smiling and half–serious.
"What's that look?"
Evie clicked her tongue and said, "If he weren't Henry's son, I might consider letting him be my future daughter's husband."
Victoria rolled her eyes. "You've got to be kidding. How old are they? Isn't it a bit too early to think about that?"
Evie said, "Don't you think it's fun to settle those two completely different people to marry each other at a young age?"
"No, let's stay out of their business. They have their own fates and paths.
" Victoria wasn't rooting for arranged marriages, binding two children who didn't even understand what love was together, and making decisions about their lives too early.
What if when they knew about love and fell for someone else in the future?
So, it's best to let everything take its own course.
Evie understood her meaning and nodded, "Alright, you're the boss."
After a pause, she said, "I've heard about what happened to the Hardwick. What's your plan?"
Victoria replied calmly, "I don't care if they acknowledge me as their daughter. I only care whether my grandmother acknowledges me. Luckily, she does. So, I am fearless."
Evie smiled and nodded, "I like what you look like now. You're doing things your way. This is the real you."
Victoria took the menu to order food.
Not far away...
Crossing her arms and lifting her chin slightly, Emma asked, "What do you want to talk about?"
Jude replied, "I want to apologize for what happened before."
"Huh?" Emma blinked her big eyes, looking confused, "What exactly?"
Jude was stunned. He didn't expect that she had forgotten.
He pursed his lips and said seriously, "For everything that happened since I met you, for my bad attitude towards you, for the hurtful things I said to you, I want to apologize".
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have treated you that way. Can you forgive me?"
Emma grabbed their little braid and said awkwardly, "I would have forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it! However, I accept your apology! You're not annoying now."
Jude's expression softened a bit. "And also, thank you for making me realize my mistakes."
If he hadn't seen the way Emma interacted with her mother, he might never have realized where he did wrong.
Emma waved her little hand and said, "Alright, alright, don't be so serious. I hate people when they get serious the most. Well... I'm willing to consider you a friend now."