Chapter 277

Chapter 277

The moment that thought crossed her mind, Amelia let out a bitter laugh.

A flicker of confusion passed through Joseph's eyes. He didn't think he'd said anything amusing just now. Why was Ms. York suddenly laughing so strangely?

Still, puzzled as he was, he knew better than to ask.

After a moment's contemplation, Amelia grabbed her bag and stood. "So when is she available?"

Joseph's face maintained its practiced smile. "I'll need to confirm the specific time with Ms. Mellon. But rest assured, Ms. Mellon will definitely visit you. She mentioned she greatly admires you as a person, Ms. York."

The words were clearly meant as a compliment, yet Amelia couldn't help but detect a hint of mockery in them. Her irritation deepened.

She didn't let it show, though. With a brief nod to Joseph, she turned and walked away without looking back.

To prepare for this heart-to-heart with Sophia, Amelia had deliberately cleared her entire afternoon and evening. After all, she knew full well the bad blood between them ran deep. Getting everything out in the open and moving into a partnership phase wouldn't be easy. But never in her wildest dreams had she imagined Sophia wouldn't even give her the chance to meet and talk.

When she got home and saw Victoria dressed to the nines, dripping with expensive jewelry like she was going to some gala, the anger Amelia had been bottling up the whole way home finally exploded.

"What on earth are you dressed like that for? Planning to compete in a beauty pageant? Let me ask you—do you even remember what I told you to do?"

Victoria hadn't expected Amelia to come home guns blazing, immediately calling out her not-so-dignified little schemes. She froze.

Amelia grabbed a cup of tea and threw it at Victoria.

Though the tea had already cooled, the sudden assault still made Victoria shriek. "Mom! What are you doing?"

After five years as someone's daughter-in-law, the pride Victoria once had as an unmarried socialite had been ground down considerably. If this had happened to her before marriage—no matter who did it—Victoria would've fought back without hesitation, refusing to take even the slightest loss.

But now? She just stared at Amelia with wounded eyes, forcing herself not to let the tears fall.

Amelia pointed toward the stairs, her face expressionless. "Get back to your room and change out of those ridiculous clothes. You're over thirty years old. Dressing like that is completely inappropriate. Understand?"

Victoria didn't understand.

She was wearing a caramel-colored mermaid dress today. Both the color and style were perfectly suitable for her age.

Swallowing the impulse to lash out at Amelia, Victoria maintained her respectful attitude toward her elder. "Then what kind of outfit do you think would be appropriate for meeting Ms. Windsor, Mom?"

The moment those words left her mouth, Victoria felt something lodge in her chest, making it hard to breathe.

What a turn of events. Now she had to grovel and fret over her appearance and behavior in front of that bitch Sophia.

She'd thought this question was safe enough. After all, her attitude seemed so humble and obedient. But Victoria never expected Amelia to explode again.

"Victoria, you've been a socialite for over twenty years and the Howard family's wife for five years, and you still don't know what's appropriate to wear when meeting a client? You need your mother-in-law to teach you? Are you truly that stupid, or are you just ignoring everything I say?"

Victoria would never admit to either accusation.

She'd somehow mastered a spineless skill: apologizing while keeping her head down, absolutely refusing to meet Amelia's eyes, hoping to calm her fury as quickly as possible.

However, Victoria was still no match for Amelia. When Amelia was on a roll, she wouldn't stop until she'd vented to her satisfaction.

So Victoria held it in and held it in until she couldn't hold it in anymore. She lifted her head, her voice trembling. "Mom, did Sophia refuse to see you?"

The room fell silent for two seconds. Then Amelia's voice rang out, raw from having her sore spot jabbed. "What are you implying with that question? Are you trying to mock me? Victoria, if you weren't so petty and vicious, would any of this be happening today?"

Petty and vicious...

The thread of reason in Victoria's mind snapped.

"If Robert had never met that bitch Sophia, none of the past five years would've happened! Mom, why didn't you separate them completely back then? Did you actually want Sophia as your daughter-in-law?"

Some people had long grown accustomed to wearing different masks with different people. If the person standing before Victoria today were someone she'd always looked down on and hated—like Sophia—Victoria absolutely wouldn't have been this polite.

But this was Amelia. Robert's mother. So the best Victoria could manage was veiled sarcasm.

Amelia caught it. She studied Victoria with contempt for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "You're right. I really didn't fulfill my responsibilities as a mother. So now I'm going to make up for it properly."

Victoria's heart lurched. Amelia would never back down this easily. She must be plotting something.

Sure enough, the next moment Amelia brought up Orion. "From now on, I'll be raising Ori myself. I guarantee I won't make the same mistakes again."

Her tone was so casual, yet it made Victoria scream out again.

Orion was Victoria's lifeline now. To keep custody of her son, she'd even kept quiet when he went missing. How could she possibly accept this?

"Mom! Mom! Please, I'm begging you, don't do this! I know I was wrong, I really do. I'll apologize properly to Sophia, I swear. Just don't take Ori away! He's so little—how can he be separated from his mother?"

Watching Victoria's pitiful display, Amelia finally felt some satisfaction.

But satisfied or not, once she'd made this decision, she had no intention of changing it. After all, she'd been dissatisfied with Victoria's parenting methods for a long time. While Orion was still young, if she took him and raised him properly herself, there might still be hope.

"It's precisely because he's young that he can be separated from his mother. Any older and he won't want to leave. Enough. Stop wasting my time with this nonsense. It's settled. Someone, go pack Ori's things."

Victoria had thought that was the most devastating thing possible. She never imagined worse was yet to come. What did she mean by 'pack his things'?

That's what she was thinking, and that's what she asked.

Amelia answered unhurriedly, "I'm taking Ori to live elsewhere. You can visit him twice a week."

This seemingly generous arrangement only broke Victoria further. She stared hard at Amelia's chest, fighting the urge to punch her right there.

But reason told her she couldn't do that. Amelia responded to softness, not force. So she continued pleading, playing every emotional card she had.

Amelia savored Victoria's humiliation, but her attitude remained firm. "Victoria, I've already given you four years. But you still haven't learned to behave yourself. How can you possibly raise a child?"