Chapter 100

He forced down the storm of emotions in his heart, suddenly sat up, and said coldly, "No, you're overthinking it. To me, you're just a toy."

When Victoria heard this, it felt like a boulder had struck her heart, causing a dull pain. She blinked her wet eyelashes and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm just a toy you bought. But I have feelings. If you don't care about me and can't give me a proper place in your life, then don't come looking for me anymore. I don't want to get hurt by your girlfriend because of you. I wish you both happiness in advance."

Hearing this, William's face turned frighteningly dark. He narrowed his long, deep eyes, staring at Victoria with a cold, piercing gaze, as if he wanted to devour her alive.

Victoria met his gaze fearlessly, not blinking.

A surge of anger rose in William's heart. He stood up, looking down at her from above, his eyes shooting out a chilling light. "Fine. Very well!"

With that, he slammed the door and left.

Victoria pulled the blanket over her head, curling up, a tear slipping from the corner of her eye.

She craved the warmth he gave her so much, and she didn't want to say anything to ruin the moment.

But she couldn't let herself get lost in an illusion of happiness; she had to stay clear-headed.

None of this belonged to her in the first place!

For a man like William, the more indifferent you acted towards him, the more he wanted to conquer you.

On the contrary, if you showedaffection first, he would only grow tired and annoyed with you.

Thinking of William's disgusted look just now, she felt her nose tingle, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

He didn't love her, never had.

Victoria closed her eyes, her heart wrenching painfully as if being torn apart.

William slammed the car door shut, stepped on the gas, and sped away.

All the way, he floored the gas pedal.

He didn't understand why, when he heard Victoria's words, a feeling akin to panic surged in his heart.

He hated this uncontrollable feeling.

Of course, he knew why Victoria said she liked him. It was just to use reverse psychology to push him away.

Yet, he had fallen for it and said so many hurtful things to her.

Her bruised body and pained eyes haunted him, as if ants were gnawing at his heart, making it hard to endure.

A sudden screech of brakes echoed through the city. William's knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel.

'Victoria, what am I supposed to do with you?' he wondered.

Victoria barely slept all night and was woken by her phone ringing.

She opened her tired eyes, groggily reaching for her phone, not even looking at the screen before putting it to her ear.

Samuel's anxious voice came through the line, "Victoria, are you okay?"

Victoria's sleepiness vanished instantly. She sat up quickly, despite the soreness all over her body. "I'm fine."

"I heard your brother accused you of stealing his work, and then you were bullied by a group of people," Samuel's voice was heavy with worry.

Victoria sniffed, trying to steady her emotions. "Don't worry, I'm fine now."

Hearing her choked-up voice, Samuel's heart ached even more. "Victoria, don't be afraid. My studio has surveillance. Those two paintings were completed in my studio. I can testify for you. I won't let anyone falsely accuse you!"

Warmth surged in Victoria's heart. Besides Alvin, Samuel was the one who cared about her the most in this world.

But she kept letting him down.

"Samuel, thank you..." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry for always dragging you into my mess."

Samuel sighed. She still didn't understand that what he wanted to hear was never her thanks.

"Victoria, if you really want to thank me, promise me that when you run into trouble, you'll call me first. I'll do everything I can to protect you!"

Victoria was stunned for a moment, her eyes suddenly turning red. She choked up, "Okay, I promise you!"

After hanging up, Victoria hugged her knees, leaning against the wall, slowly squatting down, burying her head in her arms.

She knew Samuel was sincere.

And she did have feelings for Samuel. He was like a ray of sunshine shining into her dark heart.

She couldn't bear to reject him, but she didn't dare to get close, afraid of tainting this pure beauty.

Maybe one day, when she completely cut ties with William and freed herself from this mess, she wouldn't avoid him anymore.

Victoria was lost in thought for a long time until a nurse came to change her bandages, bringing her back to reality.

After the nurse finished, she nervously opened the trending topics online.

After the last online attack, she was terrified of being dragged into the spotlight again.

She was just an ordinary girl, not strong enough to face endless insults and abuse.

Those clueless netizens were like poisonous wasps, stinging anyone they could.

Such public opinion would drown her, plunging her life back into darkness, never to see the light of day.

But this time, she didn't fall into the abyss as expected.

Despite the huge commotion last night, there wasn't a single stir online today.

Victoria guessed it was William's doing.

But what she didn't know was that to quell the situation, Harry had personally visited each person on the list from last night, deleting all recordings and videos.

He also threatened all media outlets-anyone who dared to report anything negative about Victoria would be seen as against William.

This move silenced all reporters and paparazzi teams, who chose to keep quiet.

Even posts from ordinary netizens disappeared instantly.

Victoria breathed a sigh of relief, no longer worried about her job being affected.

But with her face bruised and swollen, she wasn't fit to go out for work. She applied for two days of remote work with Diana.

Though her pay was significantly lower and her body was in pain, she couldn't keep taking leave.

Diana readily agreed.

In the CEO's office at the Scott Group

Harry knocked and entered, respectfully reporting to William, who was reviewing documents. "Mr. Scott, I've taken care of everything you arranged. All news media have retracted and blocked the stories."

William didn't look up, continuing to review the documents.

He asked coldly, "What about the art association?"

Harry paused for a moment before cautiously speaking, "Mr. Scott, the art association initially refused to suppress the matter, given it involved their gold and silver award winners. But they just called to say Ms. Carter's innocence has been proven, and her awards will be reinstated."

"Proven?" William sneered, his eyes darkening.