Chapter 18 Meeting Victoria at the Party

When Damien arrived at the party hotel, most of the people had already arrived. As soon as he entered, he was surrounded by several socialites. He politely exchanged a few words with them and then looked around. He spotted a few of his good friends and walked straight towards them.

"Damien, you always arrive late."

A young man in a floral shirt held a glass of wine, nodded towards Damien.

There was also a man sitting beside him, dressed much more formally in a tailcoat, with meticulously styled hair, exuding an air of nobility in his every movement.

"Damien, if you don't want to come to such gatherings, you can just refuse. After all, your family doesn't rely on you for a marriage alliance."

Damien sat down between the two and patted the floral-shirted man on the shoulder. "Noah, help me investigate something."

"What is it?"

"Amelia, the girl we met at the bar that day. I want to know about her family background, preferably in detail."

Both Noah and Isaac looked surprised. They were used to Damien's calm and collected appearance, but this time he seemed unusually interested in someone.

Isaac asked, "That girl, you didn't... really do anything with her that night, right?"

They were all good friends who grew up together with Damien, and their families had business ties, with the Kingsleys being the strongest. However, their friendship was not based on their families, but on genuine affection.

Facing his buddies, Damien didn't conceal anything and nodded.

"I did it, with that kid..."

He seemed to feel that it wasn't appropriate to refer to Amelia as a kid, especially since she was carrying one in her belly, so he changed his words.

"That girl is carrying my child."

"What?"

Noah exclaimed in shock and the glasses on the table shattered as they fell to the ground.

Isaac glanced at him speechlessly, and Noah realized that he had overreacted, attracting attention to their table.

But this was a huge shock, and he was truly astonished. Damien, the guy they often teased about having physical issues, actually had a child?

Isaac was also shocked, but he didn't react as drastically as Noah. He looked at Damien, unable to imagine that he would have done something with that girl that day. That kind of inexperienced kid shouldn't be his type!

Damien looked helplessly at his two good friends staring at him. He poured himself a glass of wine, took a sip, and then said, "I didn't tell my family, so you guys have to keep it a secret too."

Noah and Isaac both nodded. Isaac asked, "Where is that girl now? Carrying the eldest grandson of the Kingsleys, we can't let anything go wrong."

"I know, she's staying at my place."

Noah looked at Damien and asked quietly, "So what are you going to do? Are you going to keep her as a mistress?"

Afterwards, he continued talking to himself, "No, that's not right. I might be able to do something like that, but Damien, you shouldn't be able to. So are you planning to just support her?"

Isaac looked at him speechlessly and was about to talk to Damien when a young lady in a light blue evening gown walked towards them.

"Mr. Kingsley, it's been a long time since we've seen you. Ever since you took over the company, you haven't been attending these gatherings. It's really sad."

Damien glanced at the young lady in a casual manner and replied, "I've been quite busy."

Isaac raised his glass and clinked it with the young lady.

"Miss Jenkins, you look radiant tonight."

Although Miss Jenkins clinked her glass with him, her eyes were always on Damien. However, Damien obviously didn't want to drink with her. She stood there for a while, without anyone inviting her to sit down.

After all, they were all from prestigious families, and she didn't want to overstay her welcome. Thankfully, Isaac gave her some face and accompanied her in a drink.

But Miss Jenkins didn't stay for long, as if she had something urgent to attend to. She smiled and excused herself from their company.

As I was about to leave, I saw a graceful figure approaching.

She was wearing a bright yellow fitted long dress, which highlighted her curvaceous figure. Her makeup was flawless, her eyes captivating, and she stared intensely at Damien. Victoria, although gentle and composed, exuded a seductive charm.

"Mr. Kingsley, I am Victoria Torres. It's an honor to meet you," she said confidently, even amidst the group of wealthy gentlemen including Isaac.

Damien looked at Victoria, which infuriated Miss Jenkins. When she approached earlier to offer a toast, Damien didn't even glance at her.

But now, he seemed to view this young star in a different light. Miss Jenkins stared at Victoria angrily, thinking it audacious for a small celebrity to imagine a connection with Damien.

Inside, Victoria was also excited, tightly clutching her bag. However, she maintained her composure, not showing a hint of nervousness.

Damien was the man she had always admired from afar, and meeting him this year made all the sacrifices she had made worthwhile.

Isaac frowned slightly, about to speak, but Noah acted before him. Noah placed a bottle of wine on the table, and glanced at Victoria.

"Are you here to drink? We gentlemen prefer using bottles for our drinks. Are you up for it?" he sneered.

Isaac took this opportunity to pull Damien aside and whispered in his ear, "Don't forget you still have one trouble to deal with."

Damien rolled his eyes in response. He had glanced at Victoria earlier because it reminded him of Amelia.

She had asked him, with a timid and anxious gaze, if he would be good to their baby. Her unease stemmed from the media frenzy around Victoria.

Although Damien did recall Victoria, it was because she wore a brooch that caught his attention. It was a hibiscus flower—few people knew Damien's fondness for hibiscus flowers, not even the debutantes from prestigious families who tried to discover his preferences. Seeing Victoria wearing a hibiscus flower brooch, he had thought she shared the same interest.

He had spoken a few words to her then, but now, it seemed that it was all deliberate.

Victoria wanted to get close to Damien, so naturally she had researched his friends as well. She recognized Noah, who liked to wear floral shirts, as a playboy.

It was known that he was involved in the real estate business and had a passion for extreme sports, which led him to start a club.

Noah smirked at Victoria, his eyes filled with mockery.

Victoria bit her lip and instinctively looked at Damien, but his gaze was already elsewhere—he was engrossed in a conversation with Isaac.