Chapter <i>565 </i>The Real Cost


    Tessa wouldpletely fall apart living Victor’s kind of life.


    Abraham said, “Tessa’s future isn’t going to be much different. They’re about the same.”


    <i>About </i><i>the </i><i>same</i>?


    Ste’s chest tightened. <i>Letting </i><i>Tessa </i><i>live </i><i>the </i><i>way </i><i>Victor </i><i>does</i><i>? </i>


    Finished


    “And besides, Tessa already said she’d marry him. He didn’t even say yes. There has to be something else going on.”


    Abraham looked up. “Tessa said she wanted to marry Victor?”


    “Yeah.”


    Ste nodded. Her head was still spinning from all the chaos around the two of them. Everything was so messy it made her brain feel like sludge.


    “By the way, do you know something about Ashen Pact? From the way you talk about it, it sounds way worse than I thought.”


    Abraham’s phone rang. He checked the caller ID, then hung up without answering. “We need to go.”


    <i>Always </i><i>with </i><i>the </i><i>mystery</i><i>. </i>


    So Victor really did want Tessa? But if that were true, then why didn’t he just say yes when she offered to marry him?


    Why all this back–and–forth that made everything even more confusing?


    And honestly, Ste wasn’t fully convinced Victor would even want Tessa.


    Compared to all those long–legged women Victor had been surrounded by before, Tessa was definitely on the short–legged side.


    <i>Aren’t all </i><i>men </i><i>into </i><i>long </i><i>legs</i>?


    Still thinking it over, Ste got into the car with Abraham. He nced at her soft white coat and smiled.


    “Not bad. You’re finally taking care of yourself.”


    She used to refuse anything that covered up a fancy gown. If she was wearing formalwear, it had to be styled to perfection. A coat? Absolutely not.


    “I’m putting my health first now.”


    Abraham chuckled.


    While he focused on something else, Ste quietly pulled out her phone and sent Tessa a message:


    23:52 Mon, Aug <b>4 </b>


    Chapter 565 The Real Cost


    –


    “Victor wants you as thepensation.”


    Whether <b>Tessa </b>believed it or not, that’s what Abraham had said. Ste still didn’t fully buy it.


    X


    Finished


    Tessa stared at the message,pletely frozen.


    <i>No </i><i>way</i><i>. </i><i>That can’t </i><i>be </i><i>right</i><i>. </i>


    Wasn’t it supposed to bepensation? What did Ste mean by that?


    She immediately tried to call, but Ste didn’t pick up. She was on her way to the banquet, and with Abraham beside her, she’d declined the call.


    All Tessa got was the constant <i>beep </i><i>beep </i>of the line going dead.


    She looked at the message again, then typed back:


    “What does that mean?”


    It was justpensation. How did this suddenly turn into being about her?


    A few secondster, Ste replied:


    “My brother said Victor wants you. You’re thepensation.”


    Tessa’s arms went numb.


    <i>He </i><i>wants </i><i>me</i>? <i>If </i><i>that’s </i><i>really </i><i>what </i>he <i>wants</i><i>… </i><i>then </i><i>what </i><i>the </i><i>hell </i><i>am </i>I <i>supposed </i><i>to </i><i>do</i><i>? </i>


    She quickly shot back:


    “I don’t believe <i>it</i>.”


    Ste answered right away:


    “I don’t either. But that’s what he said.”


    Whether it made sense or not, that was the answer Abraham gave. Ste still wasn’t sure she believed it


    herself.


    Tessa sent another message:


    “Why don’t you believe it?”


    Ste blinked at her screen. <i>Why </i><i>don’t </i><i>I </i><i>believe </i>it<i>? </i>


    She nced at Abraham, who was casually flipping through documents on his tablet.


    She didn’t reply right away. Could she even say it out loud?


    69%


    D X


    GOND


    Finished


    Chapter 565 The Real Cost


    No. The truth <i>would </i><i>sting</i>.


    Finally, she typed:


    “I just don’t.”


    Because if she was being honest, Victor had been surrounded by foreign women with knockout figures. Tessa didn’t exactly match that.


    Not to mention the chaotic mess she’d made around Victortely–grabbing him in all the wrong ces- and still, nothing had ever happened between them.


    Even after Marie’s ims that Victor didn’t work, Tessa had proven otherwise. And still… nothing.


    So there was only one exnation: Victor probably didn’t like her that way.


    When Tessa didn’t respond, Ste hesitated, then sent another message:


    “Why don’t you just ask Victor directly what he wants?”


    This endless guessing wasn’t getting them anywhere. And Tessa didn’t have the energy to keep doing it.


    If Abraham was right, then she needed to hear it from Victor himself.


    Tessa read the message and felt a jolt go down her spine. She replied:


    “How am I supposed to ask?”


    Seriously–how was she supposed to ask something like that?


    Could you even be subtle with a question like that? If she tried to be vague, it’d just sound clueless. And if she was going to ask… it had to be direct.


    And that was terrifying.


    On top of that, hadn’t she already said she’d marry him?


    She’d already lost her dignity. She’d said she could marry him, fine. But the problem was–Victor hadn’t agreed.


    Send Gifts


    4.4K


    。