CHAPTER 58: CHAPTER 58: RHYS HAWTHORNE KISSES HER

Everyone looked anxiously at Victoria Monroe.

"What’s wrong, girl?"

"Victoria, are you okay?"

Victoria Monroe furrowed her brow, taking a moment to gather all the memories in her mind.

So it turned out she had such a tangled past with Rhys Hawthorne.

Victoria Monroe smiled at her grandmother, putting her hand down, "I’m fine, Grandma, Rhys and I are meeting with the director, so we’re leaving now."

Her grandmother’s eyes revealed a hint of anxiety.

"Just act in those romantic roles, don’t get involved in dangerous ones. Grandma’s old bones can’t handle the fright."

Victoria had thought she would oppose, but luckily she didn’t; she was just concerned about her safety.

Being understood by her family, Victoria felt much better, and she smiled, "Okay."

That brilliant smile seemed particularly glaring in Julian Fordham’s eyes.

The little bird that belonged to him was opening its wings to fly away.

Her grandmother seemed very happy and didn’t forget to say to Rhys before leaving, "Young master, do come visit me often when you have time."

Rhys nodded, behaving as obediently as he did when he was young, "Sure thing, Grandma."

Her grandmother watched the two leave with a smile, then turned to Julian Fordham, "Have you watched their drama ’Minister’? They act so well."

How could he not?

It was from watching it that he began to feel a strong aversion to Rhys Hawthorne, which led to him coaxing Victoria Monroe to leave the entertainment industry.

But now, under the guise of work, Rhys Hawthorne was inching ever closer to her.

Victoria Monroe was still that pure-hearted white rabbit, oblivious to the dangers around her.

Rhys Hawthorne opened the car door for her, and she could only gather her courage and get in.

The car disappeared from Julian Fordham’s view.

His eyes were filled with a blanket of snow, leaving only a cold chill.

No wonder Rhys wasn’t bothered by Victoria being married, as it turned out they had past entanglements.

The thought that Rhys had known Victoria before him brought unbearable pain to Julian Fordham’s heart.

Was there any way to stop her?

He had a premonition that if he let it continue, he would truly lose her completely.

The child!

Their biggest problem was the child.

He had consulted doctors before. The chances of Victoria having a successful in vitro fertilization were only thirty percent, with a high likelihood of miscarriage.

Back then, Julian Fordham considered the potential impact a miscarriage could have on her body and feared it might cause lasting health problems.

At that time, he didn’t dare risk Victoria’s health, thinking he could solve all problems on his own.

Rachel Hayes’s appearance disrupted all his plans.

Now he couldn’t care about those concerns anymore.

Even if there was just a one percent chance, he had to try to win her back.

Julian Fordham dialed Assistant Prescott’s number, "Contact Director Sun and have him draft up the in vitro fertilization plan for Victoria."

"But President Fordham, Director Sun mentioned before that even if the implantation succeeds, there’s a high risk of miscarriage due to her body’s condition."

"I have no other choice; I have to try."

Julian Fordham exhaled a puff of smoke towards the ceiling.

Only the child could make Victoria stay.

"By the way, was that woman’s surgery done cleanly?"

That day, no matter how much Lana Jameson made a scene, he insisted on Rachel Hayes having the abortion surgery. He would have witnessed it himself, but Autumn Fordham had awakened, so he left it to Assistant Prescott.

Mentioning this, Assistant Prescott’s face on the other end of the phone turned unnatural, and he replied with a hum, "Everything’s been handled. When do you plan to reveal your wife’s true identity?"

Julian Fordham thought of the contract terms proposed by Willis, "I’ll wait twenty-seven days until the contract officially takes effect, and then I’ll prepare a grand confession for Victoria, so the whole world will know she’s Mrs. Fordham!"

In the car.

Victoria Monroe glanced at Rhys Hawthorne, feeling somewhat awkward as the memories from their childhood came rushing back.

Like how she had tricked him into giving her his cashmere scarf and how she made him buy her a big house.

"For saving your life, you should repay me with a big house and a small car. Well, since I already have a car, maybe I should ask for a driver..."

Those days she spent simply dreaming, treating Rhys as a granting Aladdin’s lamp.

She cleared her throat lightly, "Back then, I was too young and reckless. Don’t take it to heart, I was just joking, not extorting you. How much did you give us?"

Rhys raised one finger.

"A million?" Her eyes widened; eighteen years ago, a million was an astronomical figure.

Back then, commercial apartments in the city center were only a couple of hundred thousand per unit.

Rhys said calmly, "It was ten million."

Victoria clutched her chest, aghast that her mother had taken ten million and run off with a man?

If they had that ten million, they would have long moved out of the slums and perhaps never met Julian Fordham later.

Everything, it seemed, was destined in the dark.

"Ms. Monroe."

Victoria looked at him, the man leaning back against the chair, his sharp side profile exposed with superior jawline.

He slowly turned to her, his gaze sincere and without disguise, "You saved me that snowy night. For lifesaving grace, I must repay you tenfold, so you’re not just a friend to me. You can ask me for any condition, anything within my ability, and I’ll do my utmost."

Without a doubt, this sentence gave her a Hawthorne family immunity card.

Victoria finally knew the reason for his kindness towards her, and she felt a sense of relief.

Without any reservations, she showed him a smile, "Long time no see, young master."

The long-absent title stirred a special sensation within Rhys.

"These years, you..." Victoria was about to ask.

The car made a sudden sharp turn, the snowy road slippery. To avoid another vehicle, the driver abruptly turned the wheel.

Victoria’s body suddenly lurched into Rhys’s arms, a pair of strong hands steadily supporting her waist.

In those few seconds of loss of control, Victoria instinctively clung to Rhys, her soft breaths falling on his neck. A sudden brake brought her red lips close to Rhys’s prominent Adam’s apple.

The moment of skin contact felt as if an electric current spread from their skin, reaching Rhys’s heart.

The man was momentarily stunned, his whole body as rigid as ice, forgetting to react.

Victoria was extremely nervous, hastily letting go of him, propping herself up against the cushion to create distance.

But just then, another car came from the opposite direction, and the driver turned the wheel once more.

Still unsteady, Victoria fell completely onto Rhys’s lap this time.

"Ah!"

She gasped lightly, her body uncontrollably swaying with inertia, her red lips just an inch away from Rhys’s mouth.

Their eyes met, his cool, elegant breath brushing lightly against her soft lips.

Rhys fixated on those soft and rosy lips, with only one thought in mind.

To pin her against the car and kiss her until her legs gave out.

The driver seemed to sense his thoughts and braked again, their bodies swaying. He leaned in closer to her lips...