Chapter 170
Martin unhappily threw the car keys in his hand heavily onto the cabinet.
Victoria, who was on the phone, was so startled that her body trembled violently. She looked up and saw Martin in a black coat, striding toward her with his long legs, his face cold and stern.
Victoria snapped back to reality. Aaron seemed to notice something was wrong and quickly asked her what happened over the phone.
She forced a smile, said something came up, and hastily hung up.
Victoria gripped her phone tightly, watching Martin approach. Mia's words instantly echoed in her ears: "You think I'm the one who wants to kill you? It's your husband Martin who can't wait any longer!"
"Martin wants you dead! Don't you know how much he's hoping for you to die?"
Mia's shrill voice rang out like a loudspeaker in her ears, echoing frantically and relentlessly!
This wasn't the first time Martin wanted to kill her.
Victoria was beginning to understand now why she had protected Mia—because behind Tamsin was Mia, and behind Mia was Martin himself!
If this were before, she would definitely have broken down, questioned him, cried and made a scene.
But the current Victoria was unusually calm.
When she chose to come back, she had already accepted this cruel reality.
When Aaron first pulled her out of the river and she was in the hospital, she didn't eat or drink, just silently shed tears.
Victoria couldn't understand why she was so hated, why someone would harm her like this!
Even if she was the daughter of an enemy, what had she done wrong? She didn't know anything, she was innocent too!
They didn't seem like husband and wife, but more like enemies.
Victoria locked herself in the hospital room for two whole days, not eating or drinking, not saying a word, watching the sky brighten and darken, darken and brighten again.
Later she forced herself to accept it. She had to allow anything to happen! Because even if she didn't allow it, there was nothing she could do, right?
Seeing Martin approach, Victoria only felt it was glaring and ironic.
His eyes were cold and mocking. She looked away, not wanting to see him.
This subtle movement made Martin's expression even worse, "The moment I come back, you stop talking to him? What else were you saying that can't be heard?"
Victoria looked up again, studying him.
His shirt was wrinkled, stubble had appeared on his chin.
It gave Victoria the illusion that Martin looked so unkempt because she had been missing these past few days.
But quickly, she dismissed this possibility. Her disappearance was caused by him.
How could he become like this because of her?
Before, she couldn't face reality and had false confidence in herself, but now she knew better.
"What does your silence mean? You're admitting it?" Martin's brow furrowed even more.
Was Victoria now unwilling to even defend herself?
She blinked her dry eyes, pressed her lips together, and thought for a long time, not knowing how to respond.
Because she realized she and Martin seemed to have nothing left to say to each other.
Right now Hayden was still in the hospital, needing medication for recovery. Angering Martin would do no good.
Victoria could only act like an elementary school student who did something wrong—silent, head down, waiting for his anger to pour down like a storm.
Her stomach suddenly growled. She had rushed back to see Hayden and barely ate anything.
Martin looked at Victoria irritably, getting even more furious, "Look at yourself, so sloppy. Go change into clean clothes."
Because he smelled another man's scent on her clothes—he had already identified it as the cologne Aaron usually wore.
But Victoria felt he was just stalling, biting her lip as she looked at him, "Martin, please restore my father's treatment!"
She used the word "please."
"Can't you understand what people say? I told you to go change your clothes!" Martin flew into a rage.
Victoria's nose tingled, feeling extremely wronged. Tears were already welling up in her eyes, but she didn't want to be so pathetic in front of him, so she forced back the tears and quickly went to the walk-in closet.
Closing the door, she leaned against the stiff, cold door panel, covering her mouth as she sobbed.
Martin, I'm your wife, your wedded wife. Do you know, you haven't seen me for days, I almost died!
Can't you be just a little bit nicer to me?
Even just a tiny bit, a tiny bit.
After crying herself out, Victoria finally pulled herself together. She changed into a cream-colored knit dress, and afraid he would notice her flat stomach, she wrapped herself in a down jacket.
Then she zipped it up, held the clothes she had just changed out of, and walked out of the closet.
Martin was still sitting on the living room sofa.
She didn't look at him, holding the clothes, planning to put them in the washing machine.
"Throw them away!" Martin's crisp command came again.
Victoria smiled bitterly. Couldn't she even decide what to do with her own clothes anymore?
"Why?" Reason told her she should obediently listen and not provoke him.
She needed something from Martin now!
But Victoria still blurted out that question.
"What reason? Don't you know in your heart?" Martin sneered. He felt Victoria was playing dumb with him.
After living together for those few days, was she still thinking about it?
Victoria pressed her lips together, "I really don't know."
"It's dirty, so it should be thrown away. Is that reason enough?" His tone grew increasingly impatient.
Dirty?
More than just the clothes were dirty.
Martin had been dirty all along. Should she throw him away too?
Victoria raised her misty eyes, looking seriously at Martin in his sharp suit on the sofa, "You're dirty too. Should I throw you away as well?"
"Victoria, you think you're so clean yourself? The things you do behind my back, don't think I don't know!" Martin laughed in anger, suddenly standing up.
He walked up to Victoria and grabbed her chin.
Her eyes showed honesty, "What did I do? Tell me."
If Martin hadn't personally investigated and heard from the landlady about Victoria and Aaron living together inseparably, he would have been fooled by her pitiful appearance right now.
His fingers pressed harder and harder.
Watching Victoria's eyes fill with tears, but her gaze still so defiant.
He had wanted to personally tear off her disguise, to expose her disgusting true face.
But Martin hesitated now. What would exposing her accomplish?
Tearing off the disguise, she was still his wife.
If they broke up completely, aside from pushing her into another man's arms, he would gain nothing. This would only be pushing her toward another man.
Martin forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart, let her go, snatched the clothes from her arms, and threw them into the trash without hesitation.
Victoria wanted to pick them up, but he grabbed her wrist. She looked up and saw his fury, "If you dare pick them up, I'll let your father die right now. Do you believe me?"