Chapter 213
Victoria didn't know what she was crying about.
She thought her tears had already run dry.
This ending,she'd known it all along, it was destined from the start.
Starting from the very first day Martin had come to her, from the moment Hayden's car struck Martin's father Wesley, from the time Sean set Martin's house on fire.
All the karma was set in stone.
But when this day actually arrived.
Victoria came to see that she wasn't nearly as strong as she had thought, and her heart was much more fragile than she had believed.
She was still afraid of dying.
She still had the instinct to want to live!
But no matter how hard she fought, how long she had wrestled with fate, going back and forth, pushing and pulling, she still wound up right back where she began.
Fate always brought her to where she was meant to be.
Victoria sobbed.
Sad and grieving for a full hour.
She'd used up all the hot water.
When Martin saw that she still hadn't come out, he started to worry that something might be wrong, so he went over to the bathroom door.
He couldn't hear her crying, only the sound of running water.
Martin thought she'd fallen asleep in the shower.
He reached out and knocked on the bathroom door.
"Why aren't you done yet?"
At those words.
Victoria snapped awake, quickly opening her eyes.
"Almost done."
She pretended nothing was wrong, her voice calm.
Victoria had let out all her sorrow. Now she could lie beside him again without any trouble.
She turned off the shower.
Victoria took off her soaked down jacket, along with her sweater and jeans.
Put on a bathrobe.
Then casually dried her hair with a towel.
She placed the dirty clothes into the washing machine, selected the right setting, and the machine started filling with water and began its cycle.
She returned to the master bedroom.
Martin was lying in bed reading, also in pajamas.
When she came in, he didn't look up, didn't even glance at her.
Naturally, he didn't notice Victoria's reddened, tear-stained eyes.
Victoria had grown accustomed to this by now. She figured that when she died, he probably wouldn't even bother coming to her funeral.
When he learned of her death, his reaction would probably be the same as now,cold and indifferent, not even willing to lift an eyelid, still able to read his book in a good mood.
Victoria at this moment couldn't know that when that day truly came, Martin would completely fall apart, even keeping vigil by her body, his hair turning white overnight, calling her name with deep feeling, wishing he could leave with her.
But that was all in the future.
No one can predict their own fate. Victoria couldn't, Martin couldn't either. Just like Martin now,in his mind, he could control everything, Victoria could never fly out of his grasp.
He and Victoria would be together, for life.
Victoria walked to the nightstand, bent down, and opened the drawer.
Inside lay a pink, compact hair dryer.
This was back when they were still dating, on her birthday, after she had pleaded with Martin over and over to get her a present.
Back then, knowing he was an orphan and poor, she'd randomly picked out a hair dryer that only cost two hundred dollars.
Not even a fraction of what her family's hair dryer cost.
But this was from Martin, and she'd always treasured it.
Used it all these years.
Even after Martin had changed, grown distant, ignored her, and asked for a divorce, she still never got rid of it.
She wasn't that childish, it was a people problem, no need to take it out on things.
Victoria took the hair dryer and closed the drawer.
Plugged it into the outlet.
All of a sudden, Martin raised his head, shut his book with a blank expression, and began speaking to her, his lips moving quietly.
Thinking she'd disturbed his reading and he was unhappy, she tactfully turned off the hair dryer.
"I'll go blow-dry it outside." Victoria pressed her lips together.
Martin's face darkened. He got out of bed, walked over to her, took the hair dryer from her hand, then glanced at the edge of the bed, "Sit down."
"You don't need to dry it for me." Victoria finally realized,he'd just asked her to give him the dryer, not told her to go outside.
But she didn't want to be this intimate with him.
She was going to die anyway, she should get used to being alone.
Otherwise she'd be too reluctant to leave.
Martin frowned, his tone displeased. "Whether you need it or not, I decide. Sit down."
Victoria didn't feel like arguing with him.
She sat on the edge of the bed.
The dryer was turned on again.
Making its rhythmic humming sound.
The air it blew was warm, falling on her earlobes, her neck.
This was an indescribable, unclear intimacy.
Martin held the hair dryer in one hand, spreading Victoria's long black hair with the other.
Carefully drying her hair.
Before their cold war, every time she washed her hair, Martin would dry it for her.
For reasons he couldn't quite explain, Martin found himself feeling more and more nostalgic for the happy, affectionate times he had once shared with Victoria.
He used to love seeing her suffer, seeing her in pain.
Seeing her afraid of him.
Because when she suffered, his guilt toward his parents who died unjustly would lessen a bit.
But Martin gradually discovered that when she suffered, his heart was tormented too.
Now he didn't like her being afraid of him, distancing herself from him.
If possible, he wanted to go back to before.
Once this child was born, things should gradually become as he wished.
Thinking this, Martin's lips curved into an imperceptible smile.
A long-absent smile that Victoria couldn't see.
Martin dried her hair meticulously, every strand thoroughly dried.
Only then was he satisfied.
After drying her hair, he took a comb and brushed Victoria's hair.
Her hair was dry and brittle, lacking nutrition. Her hair hadn't been like this before.
Martin frowned.
Victoria sat there like a puppet on strings, completely still.
She stared at the floor.
Waiting for him to finish fussing.
Victoria calculated that she could leave at any time,this was already a done deal.
Getting Hayden to wake up quickly, seeing Hayden one last time,that was what mattered most.
So when Martin picked her up and put her under the covers.
She didn't dare resist.
She needed to beg him to use the best medicine to wake Hayden up, so she could see him one last time.
Victoria noticed that Martin seemed to be in a good mood tonight, not even frowning.
She boldly took off his glasses and softened her tone slightly. "Martin, can you make my dad wake up in the next few days?"
"Terry said he's recovering well, probably should wake up in the next few days." Martin was momentarily stunned by her sudden gesture, then tucked her in.
Victoria continued, "Can it be sooner? I want to see him earlier."
She was someone who might not have tomorrow after today,she had to find a way to make Hayden wake up sooner.
"Are you begging me?" Martin narrowed his eyes, expressionless.
Yes, begging him.
But begging him couldn't just be with words.
Victoria understood what he meant and kissed the corner of his lips. "Please. Martin."