Chapter 4

"Welcome back, Mrs. Quigley." The butler, Thomas Saunders, greeted Victoria as usual. Leon and Eva turned to look at her. Eva hesitated for a moment. Then, she greeted her softly, "Hello, Vicky." Victoria didn't bother sparing her a glance. She walked straight upstairs and kept her gaze forward. She was afraid that if she looked, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from losing her temper. "Did you not hear Eva's greeting? Or have you always been so rude, Ms. Smith?" Leon's distant and indifferent voice rang out. Victoria halted in her steps. "Ms. Smith?" she muttered to herself. Turning around to look at the two, she snapped in a sarcastic voice, "You're bringing your affair into our home, and you expect me to be polite?" "This is my house. I can do whatever I want. You can move out if you can't stand seeing us," Leon replied in a steady, unhurried voice. Victoria's hands clenched tightly at her sides. Though she knew she had no place in his heart, hearing such cruel words still felt like a knife twisting in her chest. He was the one who'd told her this was her home, and all his possessions belonged to her as well. "Don't say that, Leon. Vicky is your wife after all. Isn't it a little harsh to say that?" Eva gently tried to mediate. "I gave her a chance, and she didn't take it," Leon said. His eyes were fixed on Victoria, and she was staring right back at him. One refused to back down, and the other refused to compromise. "Vicky, why don't you just apologize to Leon? He cares so much about you, and I'm sure he won't hold a grudge." Eva subtly fanned the flames. "I was going to move out anyway," Victoria retorted and stubbornly refused to yield. Then, while ignoring Eva, she added, "A place reeking of a cheating man and a homewrecker makes me sick. I can't stay here for another second." With that, she turned and strode upstairs. Her pace quickened, which made it seem like she feared their filth might catch up to her. Bang! The door slammed shut behind her with a deafening bang. Once Victoria entered, she immediately grabbed a suitcase and started packing her stuff. She knew this was Leon's way of provoking her, but she couldn't hold back any longer. After gathering her important documents and essentials, she headed to the closet. She hesitated briefly as she looked at the countless designer clothes, bags, and jewelry. And in the end, she went straight for the jewelry section. She needed money, and selling these could get her through the crisis. But before she could take them out and store them away, Leon entered with Eva. "Vicky, how could you be so careless with such expensive jewelry?" Eva's eyes gleamed with envy as she took in the countless limited-edition and custom-made pieces. "Are you going to sell them?" Victoria snapped, "None of your business." Eva glanced at Leon and continued, "But Leon gave these to you. How could you just sell them?" "Not your concern," Victoria snapped. She didn't bother being polite. Hearing this, Leon, who'd remained silent until now, finally spoke. "I didn't expect you to have a habit of stealing jewelry, Ms. Smith." Victoria froze. Steal? "If I call the police, how many years do you think you'd be sentenced for?" he asked and stared at her. "We haven't finalized our divorce, and these were gifts from you. How is that stealing?" Victoria calmly countered. Leon took a step closer. His warm voice carried words as sharp as knives. "How can you prove they were gifts and not part of my personal collection?" Victoria was momentarily stunned. That was when she realized he wasn't going to let her take anything from the house and was determined to force her to a dead-end. "You can take them if you want, but the day our divorce is finalized, I'll report a theft at home," Leon added. He wasn't going to leave her a way out.