At that moment without wasting another second, Abigail reached for her handbag. The soft thud of it landing on her lap broke the silence between them. Her movements were quick, deliberate, almost trembling with restrained urgency. She unzipped the bag, rummaged through it, and pulled out her phone.
Victoria watched every motion with growing curiosity. Abigail’s hands weren’t steady; there was a faint tremor in her fingers as she unlocked her screen and began scrolling rapidly through her gallery. The faint glow of the phone screen reflected in her eyes as she muttered under her breath, "There... here it is."
Finally, Abigail stopped scrolling and turned the screen toward Victoria.
"Take a look at this."
Without wasting anymore time Victoria leaned forward slightly. The image staring back at her was sharp, clear, nothing like the blurred, censored photo that had gone viral online. Her eyes widened in shock. The woman’s face, previously hidden in the publicized rumor, was fully visible now.
Then Victoria’s throat tightened as she slowly lifted her gaze to Abigail. "Wait," she whispered, disbelief lacing her voice, "this isn’t the same picture everyone has been sharing. The other one was blurred. This one" She paused, her voice hardening. "How did you even get your hands on this?"
Abigail’s lips curved slightly, but it wasn’t a smile. It was sharper, colder. "I didn’t go looking for it," she replied, her tone laced with quiet triumph. "The picture came to me."
Immediately Victoria’s brows knitted together. "Came to you? What do you mean?"
Then Abigail inhaled deeply, holding Victoria’s gaze as if savoring the weight of what she was about to say. "Because I saw it on Robert’s phone."
Immediately Victoria heard the words her entire body stiffened. "Robert’s phone?" she echoed, voice barely above a whisper.
"Yes." Abigail’s tone carried no hesitation. "I went through his phone last night. And this was there." She tapped the screen with her finger. "Not just this one there were several."
Before Victoria could process the blow, Abigail’s thumb swiped across the screen, sliding to the next photo.
The second image appeared, even more damning than the first. Again Victoria’s breath caught in her throat as she leaned even more closer, her pulse pounding in her ears. The picture was crystal clear, taken from a different angle, one that left no room for denial, no excuses that it could have been edited or staged.
At that moment, Victoria’s expression shifted completely. Her sharp eyes widened, disbelief sweeping across her features as Abigail’s words sank in. For a moment, the room seemed unnervingly silent, the faint ticking of the ornate grandfather clock in the corner suddenly deafening in her ears. The scandal, the very same scandal everyone had been whispering about for days, laughing over, dissecting online, she had treated it like passing gossip, nothing worth her concern.
Cora’s public press conference had already put Samuel in his place. Victoria had even admired the boldness it took to rip up a contract on live television. It had seemed so distant, almost entertaining from the sidelines.
But this? This revelation shattered her sense of detachment.
If this woman, Cora was connected to him in any way, why hadn’t he been mentioned? Why had Cora only denied Samuel? Why remain silent about Robert? The thought twisted in Victoria’s stomach, a cocktail of anger and unease bubbling inside her chest.
Then she leaned forward suddenly, her tone edged with urgency. "Abigail," she said, her voice low but strained, "have you... have you actually seen this woman around Robert before? Anything at all? Some hint, some moment, anything?"
Abigail shook her head slowly, frustration flashing briefly across her own face. "No," she admitted, "I haven’t. And that’s what makes this worse, Victoria. I’m just as surprised as you are. I don’t understand what’s happening either."
Then Victoria’s breath hitched slightly as she studied Abigail’s expression, searching for any sign of exaggeration, but there was none. Abigail looked genuinely unsettled.
Abigail sighed, running a hand through her hair, then leaned closer across the table. "You know me. You know how long I’ve been trying to push you and Robert closer. You’ve been chasing him for so long, carefully, quietly... and now, out of nowhere, this happens. Some other woman steps into the picture. Not just any woman, the boss of MK Entertainment. The one with the influence, the one with the headlines. And she comes out of nowhere."
At that moment Victoria’s hands curled into fists on her lap, her nails pressing into her palm. The name alone Cora was already grating on her nerves. She had only seen glimpses of her face on the news, those bold eyes, the way she had carried herself at the press conference with unnerving confidence. Someone like that wouldn’t simply pass through Robert’s life unnoticed.
Victoria swallowed hard, her tone icy. "This doesn’t add up."
"I know." Abigail’s agreement was instant. She swiped to the next photo on her phone and held it out, the glow of the screen lighting her face. "That’s why we need to figure out what’s going on. Look at this."
Victoria stared at the image, her heart pounding harder with each second. The first photo she had brushed off as coincidence, but this... this second one suggested something deeper. Something Robert hadn’t told her.
Abigail’s voice softened but carried a hint of warning. "You see why I came to you first, right? This isn’t just gossip anymore. This is something we need to know. Something we have to know. If she’s involved with Robert, or if she’s connected to him in ways we don’t understand... then everything changes."
Abigail’s voice cut through even more . "Do you realize how bad this will look, Victoria? A disgrace, that’s what it is. The Girls circle will tear you apart."
Victoria’s grip tightened on the armrest of her chair. She could feel her pulse rising with every word Abigail uttered.
"Everyone knows you’re supposed to marry my brother," Abigail continued, her tone laced with frustration. "It’s been obvious for years. It’s practically an unspoken agreement among the families. People already see it as inevitable you and Robert. And that’s why they respect you so much. Even those who already respected you for who you are started looking at you differently the moment they realized Robert was in the picture. Together, you two are untouchable."