The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 307

In just over half an hour, Tobias had dinner ready.

Victoria helped set the table while Tobias served the soup, placing a bowl in front of her as if the moment in the kitchen had never happened.

Seeing the ingredients in the soup, Victoria looked surprised. "Is this Mrs. Holt's special mushroom soup?"

Back when Victoria was in middle school, The Sanger Group was in a period of rapid expansion. Garnett spent nearly every day at the company or on construction sites, leaving him no time to care for Victoria and Grady. Although the Sanger family had cooks and maids, with Garnett away so often and Mr. Flint on leave to care for Saul—who had injured his leg in a fight during his rebellious phase—the staff's care for the siblings became perfunctory.

They were often given simple meals like bread and milk, which led to Victoria nearly fainting from low blood sugar during gym class. When Tobias found out, he started taking them home for dinner.

The Holt family only had one son and were old family friends with the Sangers. When Mrs. Holt saw how pale little Victoria was, her heart ached. That evening, she had Mr. Holt call Garnett and tell him that if he couldn't care for the children, they would.

Garnett agreed.

From then on, Victoria went to the Holt's house for dinner after school every day. Mrs. Holt thought she was too thin and concocted all sorts of nourishing broths for her, with her special herbal one being the most common.

Victoria spooned a mouthful of soup, and the fragrant aroma of the mushroom spread through her mouth. The familiar taste brought a faint smile to her lips. "It tastes exactly like Mrs. Holt used to make. It's delicious."

"If you like it, have some more." Seeing her smile, Tobias smiled back.

Victoria nodded and ended up drinking two bowls.

Tobias watched her, his eyes filled with undisguised affection. Noticing she was only drinking soup, he stood up to serve her rice and put more food on her plate, caring for her with the same attentiveness he had when they were children.

Before long, her bowl was piled high with meat.

"Tobias, I can't eat all this," Victoria said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Eat slowly. You're too thin. My mom saw a picture of you the other day and asked if you weren't eating properly," Tobias said, adding another piece to her plate. "I bought plenty of mushroom. Once Mr. Sanger is out, I'll come over and make soup for both of you every day to help you build up your strength."

She had harbored a secret crush on Elias for twelve years. She knew all too well how painful it was to love someone in silence, clinging to a sliver of hope.

That was why she couldn't pretend nothing had happened, not after knowing how Tobias felt. The kinder he was to her, the more overwhelming her guilt became.

"Tobias, my feelings for you are the same as my feelings for Grady. I… I know that's hurtful to hear, but I… I…" Victoria's mind was suddenly a tangled mess. The words of rejection were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to say them.

She couldn't swallow them down, nor could she voice them. A film of moisture welled up in her eyes.

A pang of pain shot through Tobias’s heart. He stood and pulled her into his arms. "If it's too hard to say, then don't. Victoria, you don't need to feel guilty. I never intended for you to find out about my feelings so soon."

It was just that morning, seeing Elias at her place, he had acted on impulse.

He was afraid that if he didn't speak up, he would once again have to stand by and watch her marry someone else, just like two years ago.