Chapter 261 Victoria Leaves the Country


    And this child would be the only memento he’d ever leave her!


    Victoria didn’t say it out loud. She simply smiled mildly, her delicate features sparkling with gentle,


    peaceable light.


    “I’ve thought it over. I’ll give birth to him properly and raise him to adulthood. No matter what hardships


    you, right? It’s not so easy to be a godmother. Are you going to support us mother and child?”


    Natalia fumed.


    She couldn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes.


    “Yes, yes, fine. I’ll support you two. But how would you exin this to the old man? I heard you left


    home because you two argued. He probably won’t permit you to give birth to this child.”


    Victoria was silent for a while.


    Then she murmured, “I can’t budge on this. If he won’t forgive me, then he’ll just have to treat it like


    he’s never given birth to me as a daughter. After all… I haven’t done anything to be proud of.”


    Natalia’s heart ached as she heard that.


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    “Victoria.”


    Victoria forced a smile and lifted her head.


    “I’m alright. No need tofort me, really. I’ve thought it all through in this time. The most important


    thing for me right now is to raise this child properly. The environment inside the country is messy and


    chaotic. Even though I’ve decided on all this, I still don’t want the public to know, so I’ll be leaving the


    country all the same for these days. If you miss me, you can fly over to see me. When the dust settles,


    I’ll be back.”


    Natalia couldn’t voice her bitterness.


    But since Victoria had made her decision, she had no other choice than to support her.


    She got up, walked over to her, and held her hand.


    “Don’t forget you still have me no matter where you go, Victoria.”


    Smiling, Victoria nodded.


    …


    Three dayster, Victoria left.


    That day, Natalia went over to the airport to see her off, even giving her a list of people she’d been


    close to in Othua. If something really came up, she’d have someone to contact.


    Jokingly, Victoria noted that, five years ago, she’d seen Natalia off, and now it was Natalia’s turn to see


    her off. No matter how you looked at it, what went around came around.


    Natalia could only smile helplessly, missing her already even though they could meet whenever they


    wanted in Othua.


    It wouldn’t be as convenient as it had been in Julio. She was also worried about the secret that Victoria


    wouldn’t tell her.


    But Natalia didn’t say any of that out loud. She went back to the office after she’d seen Victoria off.


    Archie had gone back to Eqitin for a couple of days, taking Ariana and Anne back with him.


    Anne’s health wasn’t good, and she needed regr checkups. Archie was there for it every time.


    Natalia had wanted to go as well, but with Kiera’s case in Julio demanding her attention at any


    moment, she couldn’t leave. They’d have to leave it for next time.


    Knowing that she’de back safely, Nathan and Hamlin were overjoyed.


    They hadn’t believed Jessica before, and this proved that they were right. Only, hearing about Natalia’s


    mother, they had to sigh about the whole affair.


    But sigh as they would, they still had work to do.


    This night, Nathan booked a spot in the Parlour and held a gathering. Natalia was invited.


    The people attending the gathering were all bigshot seniors in entertainment, and because it was a


    private affair, not too many people were attending, so it didn’t count as official business.


    Since Natalia was making her living in such circles, she’d have to interact with such people eventually.


    Nathan had invited her to the gathering with some intention to pave the way for her, so of course she


    couldn’t turn him down.


    At eight in the night, social lubricants were in full flow in the Parlour.


    Thepartment that Nathan had booked was on the third floor. The banquet hall was inside, leading


    out into a small garden with a nice view.


    Of course, drinking was a given in a gathering like this.


    Thankfully, Natalia could handle her alcohol, so she wasn’t too put off.


    Everyone who attended were seniors in the entertainment business, most of them having a great


    rtionship with Nathan.


    They hadn’t known who Natalia was before, but after this incident and knowing she was Archie


    McCarthy’s wife, they naturally all tried to get in good with her.


    As night fell, the atmosphere was one of rtive harmony and enjoyment.


    At about eleven, everyone had had about enough to drink.


    Natalia went to the washroom for a moment, and suddenly received a call from Archie as she came


    out.


    The man’s voice was as low and clear as always. “What are you doing?”


    Natalia walked over to the balcony on the side, enjoying the breeze as she replied, “Drinking.”


    “Is that so?”


    She didn’t need to look to tell that Archie seemed to be frowning.


    Archie didn’t like it when she attended to business like this. With his status, it was enough for her to not


    go anywhere.


    Nataliaughed and didn’t want him to overthink it. “Nathan put together a banquet. It’s all bigshots


    here. He wanted me to make an impression.”


    The man’s voice calmed somewhat. “How much did you drink?”


    “Not that much. They’re all seniors, so it wouldn’t be fitting to have me drink too much. Besides, with


    you at my back, they’ve given me more consideration, so it’s a good deal for me.”


    Archieughed too. “What kind of good deal is that? If you don’t want to deal with them, don’t. With me


    here, no one would dare tread on you.”


    His words were casual, but they were infinitely warm.


    A gentle smile graced Natalia’s lips as she nodded. “All right. I’ve got it.”


    Seeing her like this, Archie’s mood improved even more, and he murmured, “I’ll be back tomorrow


    morning. Come pick me up at the airport?”


    Natalia blinked and didn’t think that he’d be back so soon, so she agreed.


    The two chatted for a while longer and hung up.


    After she put her phone away, Natalia enjoyed the breeze for a while longer, felt the alcohol fade, and


    got ready to head back.


    But the moment she lifted her head, she saw a young man headed her way.


    “Stephen? What are you doing here?”


    Stephen was still keeping up his lollygagging pretty-boy image. He lifted his ss.


    “There’s a banquet, so I’ming over to sit around. What are you doing here instead of going back to


    Eqitin with my brother?”


    Natalia chuckled. “So only you are allowed to deal with business, and I’m not?”


    Stephen poked his nose. “With my brother at your back, you’ve got no reason to attend to business.”


    All right. Guess those two really were brothers.


    Natalia took a look at the time and found it was gettingte, so she didn’t linger to chat.


    “All right, I’m going back in. Don’t drink too much, all right?”


    Stephen nodded.


    Natalia headed back into the hall.


    At that moment, thepartment next to theirs was pushed open from the inside, and a drunken man


    stumbled out with his hand over his mouth.


    Natalia jumped. She’d just made it to the door to thepartment, so the man crashed squarely into


    her the moment he emerged.