115. Victor’s Confession

**115.  Victor’s Confession**

As the night deepened, the grand party inside the luxurious venue continued in full swing, but Eirene had had enough. The dazzling chandeliers, the endless chatter of the elite, and the suffocating air of judgment, it was too much for her to handle.

She stepped out of the building, the cool night air brushing against her skin as she exhaled slowly. Adjusting her shawl over her shoulders, she glanced at the road, scanning for a cab.

Lucy, exhausted from the evening’s events, rested against her mother’s side.

“Are we going home now?”

she mumbled, her small fingers gripping Eirene’s hand tightly.

“Yes, baby. Just waiting for a taxi,”

Eirene replied softly, rubbing Lucy’s back in slow, soothing circles.

Just then, a sleek black car pulled up in front of them. The window rolled down, revealing none other than Victor Park in the driver’s seat, his usual sharp expression softened with amusement.

“Need a ride?”

Victor asked casually, resting an arm on the steering wheel.

Eirene’s gaze flickered to the empty back seat before meeting his eyes.

“You’re by yourself?”

Victor smirked.

“Were you expecting someone else?”

Samuel had promised to send her back, yet he had disappeared halfway through the party.

*Was she expecting him?*

She hesitated, glancing down at Lucy, who was already staring at Victor with mild curiosity. Taking a cab was the original plan, but standing out here, waiting in the cold, didn’t seem ideal.

“no, I was just looking out for cab”

Victor tilted his head.

“What, you trust a cab driver more than me?”

Eirene sighed. “No, Let go”

Victor smiled in satisfaction and unlocked the doors. “Fair enough. Get in.”

Eirene helped Lucy into the backseat before settling herself in the passenger seat. As soon as she clicked her seatbelt into place, Victor smoothly pulled onto the road.

“You left early,”

Eirene noted, glancing at him.

“I thought you wanted to socialize.”

Victor chuckled, eyes on the road.

“I did. But people get boring after a while.”

Eirene snorted.

“You? Bored of high society?”

He smirked.

“You sound surprised.”

After a few minutes of quiet, Victor spoke again, his tone more thoughtful this time.

“You handled Anna well.”

Eirene let out a small smile.

“Me? More like Lucy handled her.”

She glanced at Lucy, who had already drifted into deep sleep in the back seat.

Victor chuckled.

“Didn’t expect Lucy to take charge like that.”

A small, genuine smile tugged at his lips.

“She’s a natural at these things jumping at the scene just like Samuel. Standing strong and commanding.”

Eirene’s heart swelled at his words. She turned to the window, hiding the unknown emotion that flickered across her face.

“Yeah,”

she murmured.

“She is.”

Victor didn’t say anything more, but the quiet respect in his gaze spoke volumes.

As they drove through the dimly lit streets, Eirene noticed something… the route was different.

Victor wasn’t taking her to her apartment. She recognized this road. It led to Samuel’s penthouse, a place she had visited before.

Her posture stiffened.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked, her tone serious, her eyes looking at Victor suspiciously.

Victor didn’t slow down.

“Samuel asked me to bring you to his place. He has something to discuss.”

Eirene’s fingers curled slightly.

“I have nothing to discuss with him. Stop the car.”

Victor remained unfazed by her sharp tone. Instead, he simply said,

“It’s about your mother.”

That was enough to make her pause.

Victor glanced at her, a knowing smile playing on his lips as he continued driving.

After a few moments of silence, Eirene spoke again, her voice quieter this time.

“So that’s why you waited for me?”

Victor hesitated before answering.

“Well… I do enjoy spending time with you. So, I probably would’ve waited even if Samuel hadn’t asked.”

Eirene barely registered the undertone of his words. Her mind was elsewhere… on Samuel, on what he had promised. Oddly, she felt a little lighter knowing that, in some way, he had kept his word. The realization unsettled her.

Trying to brush off the weight of her thoughts, she joked,

“Yeah, I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve come to my rescue. If I didn’t know you liked boys, I might’ve misunderstood your intentions.”

Victor’s grip tightened subtly on the steering wheel, a flicker of regret crossing his face. He cursed his past decision, the lie he had spun to make Samuel’s path to Lucy easier, to push things along without interference.

His voice was quiet, almost lost in the hush of the night.

“You can misunderstand them.”

In the dead silence of the night, Eirene heard it clearly. Her brows furrowed as she turned to him.

“…What do you mean?”

Victor kept his eyes on the road. His grip on the steering wheel tightened before he finally spoke, his voice even but carrying an edge beneath it.

“I’m not gay. It was a lie.”

Eirene blinked, caught off guard. Of all the things he could have said, she hadn’t expected that.

“Why would you lie about something like that?”

she asked, her confusion genuine.

Did he change? Was it something about her?

Victor let out a breath, shaking his head slightly.

“It wasn’t about me. It was about a task I had to complete.”

His tone was light, but the tension in his posture betrayed him.

“My boss needed someone to adopt his daughter without revealing his identity. That was the fastest way to make sure it happened without complications.”

Silence settled between them.

Eirene processed his words, staring out the window. She hadn’t thought of it like that before, never had she considered that Victor’s involvement with Lucy was part of something much bigger. He had always been there, always helped, and yet she had never questioned why. Now, it made sense.

She exhaled softly.

Victor didn’t say anything else. He didn’t need to.

The car eased to a stop in front of Samuel’s building. The silence between them lingered, not uncomfortable, but heavy with unspoken thoughts.

Victor shifted in his seat, then carefully lifted Lucy into his arms, mindful not to wake her. He glanced at Eirene, his expression unreadable under the dim streetlights.

“Follow me.”

Eirene hesitated for a moment before stepping out. She knew she wouldn’t be allowed inside on her own. The security here was top-tier, and access to the penthouse required more than just knowing the right people, it required clearance. Without Victor, getting past the lobby would be impossible.

Wordlessly, she fell into step beside him, her gaze flickering to Lucy’s sleeping face. She looks so much like Samuel…

As Eirene followed Victor, her gaze lingered on his strong, unwavering stride. A faint discomfort settled in her chest… not because of his confession, but because she had never been in this position before.

She had received admirations and confessions before, but none from someone like Victor. And yet, even as she acknowledged his presence, her heart remained elsewhere.

Samuel was still there.

No matter how tangled her mother’s case became, a part of her, one she hadn’t even been fully aware of until now, is undeniably tied to him. The realization unsettled her, but she pushed it aside.

*I’ll think about it after solving my mother’s case.*

For now, she needed to focus on whatever Samuel had discovered.