Chapter 704 The Thoughts of the Harringtons
The four of them were just staring at the phone, dead silent.
Arabella shot a look at Brett and Eloise, then at Maximus, hoping for some backup.
"Victoria, Strawberry's doing fine. How about you?"
Maximus, the calm one, finally spoke up.
"Dad, I'm... I'm okay."
Victoria's voice was shaky.
"Good."
Maximus was never one for chit-chat, and he ran out of things to say real quick.
"Dad, please, can you ask Alexander to give Strawberry back to me?"
Victoria's voice cracked.
In the big ol' living room, Maximus stared at the phone. Arabella grabbed his wrist, not wanting him to mess things up.
Brett and Eloise looked pretty tense too.
Seeing everyone freak out about Strawberry, Maximus thought for a sec and said, "Victoria, can you come back first?"
Victoria went quiet.
"Victoria, come back. I miss you so much. I have so much to tell you. Strawberry is yours and Alexander's kid; no one can take her away. I promise."
Eloise, hearing Maximus, got all excited, clutching her chest and speaking slowly.
"Grandma."
Victoria's voice was even more choked up.
She remembered what happened that day and tried to speak softly, "Grandma, are you okay?"
"Victoria, come back quick."
Eloise started crying, hearing her question.
"Mom, don't cry."
Arabella reminded her.
"Why are you crying?"
Maximus hugged Eloise and gently reminded her.
"I miss you, Victoria, come back quick. I wanna see you right now. I can't wait another minute."
"Will Grandma ask Alexander to give Strawberry back to me?"
Victoria's voice was shaky too.
The living room of the Harrington Mansion went dead silent again.
Eloise stopped crying, not knowing how to answer Victoria.
After all, Strawberry was an heir of the Harrington family.
"Victoria, come back, and we'll figure it all out."
"Mrs. Harrington, you can't come back now."
A strange female voice suddenly cut in.
Victoria didn't say anything, but Arabella asked, "Eve, right? Why can't Victoria come back? Spill it."
She was stopping Victoria from coming back!
Ridiculous! Arabella thought she needed an explanation.
"Mom, I'll come back in a couple of days. Please take care of Strawberry."
Victoria hung up.
The folks in the Harrington Mansion just sat there, looking at each other. They thought Victoria was hiding something.
Arabella felt a headache coming on, but what was it?
Eve was from the Harrington Group's security, so why did it seem like she wasn't anymore?
Logically, even if she was looking after Victoria, she should've told them about Victoria's situation, but Eve's tone made it seem like they were Victoria's enemies.
"Eve is one of Alexander's people. Let's have Alexander ask her what's up later."
Maximus saw Arabella was upset and explained patiently.
"Okay, but if they really split, Strawberry..."
Arabella was now more worried about Victoria fighting for Strawberry's custody.
"Yeah, I'm thinking the same. Strawberry's Alexander's daughter, but Victoria... What do we do?"
Eloise started to worry, rubbing her hands together.
"We should talk to Victoria first. There's gotta be a way to make everyone happy."
After a long pause, Brett finally spoke up.
"Victoria coming back is the best move. Even though they're divorced, Alexander's hardly around, and Victoria's still family."
Maximus added.
The mood in the living room got pretty gloomy.
No one wanted a custody fight.
Meanwhile, in a villa abroad...
Eve was giving Victoria a massage, reminding her, "The doc said you should lie down as much as possible. Let's talk about going back when you're better."
Victoria lay silently on the bed. Her long lashes were wet, but she stayed calm, saying, "They probably won't give Strawberry back to me."
"That's on me. I'll get her back."
Eve told her.
Victoria turned to look at her, feeling puzzled and incredulous.
"Don't you hate me?"
Victoria couldn't help but ask.
Since Eve came back, she'd been taking care of her meticulously.
The day Alexander left, Victoria tried to chase after him but ended up hurting her back and couldn't move.
Eve showed up shortly after Victoria's brief despair and took care of her really well.
"I don't hate you. I just misunderstood you before."
Eve thought it was a misunderstanding.
She originally felt sorry for Alexander, but now she got who was really pitiful.
Victoria had to hide and protect the little time she had with Strawberry, while Alexander, upon learning he had a daughter, quietly took Strawberry away.
When everyone thought Alexander was waiting for Strawberry in this house, he had already done something unexpected.
They were sleeping when a sudden knock on the door caused chaos.
Both she and Frank were professionally trained and cautious, not too scared, but seeing familiar faces among the intruders, two against ten, and they were armed, Eve realized Victoria was the vulnerable one.
But she didn't expect Victoria to be this weak.
When Alexander made his move, Victoria had no ability to fight back.
So why was Alexander there that night?
Eve thought maybe he was using a diversion tactic.
Eve sat beside her, peeling an orange, and said, "Frank said you like strawberries. I'll buy some for you tomorrow."
"Eve."
"What?"
"Do you pity me?"
"Of course not. Why would you think that?"
"Actually, it's okay if you do."
Victoria murmured, looking at the orange segment in her hand.
If the Harrington family pitied her enough to give Strawberry back, how great would that be?
Victoria's phone rang again. It was a friend request from Arabella on Facebook.
Eve was standing next to her and asked, "Are you gonna accept it?"
"No, I don't want to."
Victoria replied softly and gently put the phone aside.
She just didn't have the courage.
Arabella would probably video call her, so this way Victoria could see Strawberry.
But Victoria didn't have the courage.
Victoria silently put the orange segment in her mouth and chewed it slowly. It was sweet, so sweet it made her cry.
But she just silently finished the orange, knowing she had to go to Ankenra City.
Whether she could get Strawberry back would be decided on this trip, this one and only trip.
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