In the past, Victoria had always found it weird whenever Rex Davies had ordered the silver cutleries out on special occasions, and they had to eat in them. She found it weird still in the present day as they sat at the long dining table.
It was one of the extravagance ways of the Davies family. They would eat dishes served on silver plates and bowls, using silver spoons and forks.
Victor and Victoria had reached the Davies house late to spend as less time as possible there. Before they stepped out of Victor's apartment, he had stared at her get up from head to toe for a long minute. And she had nervously tugged the simple black knee-length dress she had put on. She wondered if the black shirt (with no coat for tonight's event) Victor had put on had anything to do with him wanting to match her outfit. Or perhaps it was just a coincidence. At last, Victor had pointed out that crumbs of the cookie she had eaten earlier decorated parts of her dress. Huh, and she had thought he would compliment her.
Rex Davies sat at the head of the table, looking as regal and stiff as always in a three-piece suit. Others sat at both sides of the table.
Almost as though it was a silent declaration of being the right hand of Rex, Regina sat at his right, closest to him. Victor sat closest to him at the left, after which Victoria took her seat—despite her father's well-expressed but vocally mute chagrin. Actually, after they had reached the Davies's mansion purposefully late, an annoyed and bored Regina had instantly commanded Victoria to take the seat opposite to her and closest to Rex on the left. However, Victor had counter-attacked calmly, graciously asking Victoria which seat she would like to take. Of course, she had pointed to the one she was sitting now. Gently pushing her chosen chair back and helping her sit down like a chivalrous man, Victor had positioned himself between her father and her.
Like a wall, his tall and straight form was stationed between them.
From the corner of her eyes, Victoria noticed her father glaring at Victor and her. Regina looked at them with dead cold eyes.
Victoria squirmed in her seat.
A myriad of consequences that could take place because of riling them up crossed her mind.
At least she was familiar with the hurt they could inflict. But Victor—as far as she knew from Ellie one of these days, came from a loving family and a merry childhood. That's why she worried for him. Because although it was her family, she knew the horrors they could inflict on someone.
She had her hands placed on her lap and swirled her thumbs around one another anxiously.
Under the table, a hand suddenly was placed on hers discreetly.
It was the same warmth as last night that soaked into her skin. It was a touch of care and protection.
She looked to the side and up at Victor. He stared back at her, and his gaze depicted she needn't worry.
The kitchen staff served food. Most of these people were Indians whom her father had brought to the country through employment visas. Especially the Davies household always had an Indian chef because of a strong inclination toward Indian cuisine. The recent chef was Hari, who had played his magic even today.
Many familiar dishes were laid out in front of them, with the main focus on biryani.
However, neither she nor Victor had much interest in relishing them. Both of them were as alert as they would have been on a battlefield.
Also, Victoria thought that her husband was a better chef than the pro in Davies' kitchen.
Wait.
What did she say in her thoughts?
Her husband!
Whoa—where did that come from?
Normally, she never called or thought of Victor as such.
Turning his wrist, Rex checked out the time on his watch and frowned at his sister. "So, where's the birthday boy? Don't tell me he's not coming to the family dinner I've thrown for him."
For some reason, Regina looked uncomfortable. "He did call me half an hour ago," she cleared her throat and started to pour herself a glass of cold water. "He's caught up in a last-minute meeting with the foreign delegates you introduced to him that day about outsourcing for the company. Apparently, there's been some emergencies."
Rex looked satisfied with the explanation and started to serve himself a nan and chicken kebab.
Victoria was fascinated when Victor only ate the dishes she took herself.
Another strange fact was that although Victor was eating, every now and then, he was slipping his hand discreetly underneath the table and grabbing her hand. He would rub his palm against hers, roll her thumb slowly on the back of her hand or slip his fingers between hers to give light presses whenever Regina or Rex attempted to converse with her.
His ministrations on her hand were otherwise innocent. However, the swirling heat that began to originate inside her stomach made her question to herself if they were as innocent as they looked. Or perhaps, she was the culprit herself.
Her father and Regina, between their talks, were consistently watching them. They were even having some eye-to-eye talks that Victoria felt a bit anxious about.
"So, it seems you guys have settled down as a couple quite nicely," Regina spoke, eyes settled on Victoria hard.
Victoria wasn't quite prepared for it what happened next.
"That's true," Victor replied to her aunt and, simultaneously, brought out both of their conjoined hands up into the open. Not only that, he did something entirely outrageous after that.
Regina's eyes narrowed no matter how much she tried to stop the action. Even Rex had paused eating and was looking at Victor and Victoria's joined hands.
"Well, that's splendid," Regina commented in an overly sugary manner. "Now, when are you two going to give us the good news and make a child? And try to make sure it's a boy or else your dear mother's company along with Rex's entire properties."
For a moment, they remained silent. She looked at the peripheral, Victor's eyes narrowing.
"As far as I know," Victor spoke calmly. "Making babies is an extremely personal plan a couple makes at their own convenience."
Stunning Victoria, Victor lifted their joined hands and placed a chaste kiss on the back of her hand.
Victor continued without paying any attention to her flushed state. "And according to well-known recent day laws, if one is not a retard moron still following rules of hundreds of years ago, that is, a daughter is as deserving enough as a son to inherit a family property."
Rex wiped his mouth with the napkin. He stared wide-eyed at Victor. Regina was wide-eyed too. It seemed none of the two were prepared for Victor's cutthroat reply on behalf of Victoria.
"Do you two wish to own my properties now?" Rex remarked in a cold tone.
It was Victoria who replied then, "Only my mother's. It's her memories that I wish to keep forever."
"You—" Rex was beginning to say something, and Victor curled his freed hand into a fist.
But cackling the fakest laugh ever, Regina intervened, perhaps, thinking it was better to put out the fire she had lit in fear it would become lava any moment. She tapped on Rex's shoulder. "Ah—Rex, these children have such a sweet bond between them—giving replies on behalf of one another, holding hands, being so mushy. How absolutely splendid!"
Dinner went quite unperturbed after that. A few comments about the food here and there, bringing the chef to praise him, and so on.
Victoria reveled in the quiet Victor, and she shared. She had lost her appetite by now, and she could feel the same with Victor. Still, they kept putting bits and pieces in their mouths to keep themselves busy.
A message notification from Victor's phone grabbed his attention. Looking at the phone, he turned serious as he brought up the phone and read the text. As the phone was between them, Victoria managed to read the sender's name flashing on the screen.
Kate.
For some reason, her heart dropped.
Excusing himself from the table, Victor left the table after telling Victoria, "I'll be back in a minute. It's important."
She watched as he went out the side door and to the garden.
The moment Victor was out of hearing range, Regina opened her mouth to start another of her biting sessions. Victoria gritted her teeth as Victor's absence now would pay her dearly because of his audacities during his presence. Nevertheless, it was perhaps God's blessing that was sent through Ricky.
The lounge area could be seen from the dining and a loud noise made everyone at the table stop talking and look over there.
The source of the noise turned out to be Ricky.
He seemed to have tripped on the table and fallen on the floor. Now, with the couch as his support, he was climbing up back to his feet. However, he had a weird sway and distinct lethargy in his movements.
"Oh, dear lord," Sucking in a breath, Regina stood up fast and sprinted to her son.
Rex quickly wiped his mouth with a napkin and followed along, although not as fast as his sister.
By now, Victoria could guess what was happening. After all, she had known her cousin since childhood and his entire teen and youth years. Also, while Ricky was being obedient to her father by following her around and knowing her every step, she too got to know his demeanor—his ways.
Sighing, Victoria got up to her feet and walked around the table to get to the scene.
As Regina fussed over her son, more like checking his temperature with a hand on his forehead. Ricky had got to his feet now and was slapping off Regina's hands with a look of agitation.
It seemed that perhaps, Rex thought his nephew was contagious with something and stood keeping a distance from him. Nevertheless, he leaned forward and took a sniff of him.
"You're drunk," in a stoic tone, Rex pointed out.
Ricky slurred something incoherent before noticing Victoria with his bloodshot eyes. He chuckled like it was something funny he had seen.
Victoria stood a good distance away from Ricky, but seeing his reaction, she crossed her arms and took another pensive step back.
Still chuckling, Ricky slurred, "Here comes the punching bag of our fam. Now, the wife to a puss*. My goodness!" he even clapped his hands like the absolute madman he was. "What happened to your dreams of inheriting my uncle's properties? Huh? Don't worry, sis. I'm going to take good care of everything hmmm..."
Victoria couldn't help but tilt her head and smile sardonically. Calmly, she commented, "Of course, I can see how well you will do that, birthday boy."
Regina counter-attacked through gritted teeth, "After failing to follow all your responsibilities as a daughter and a woman of an honorable family, I'm surprised you have the gall to taunt someone else who's doing it better than you."
It did not make sense why Ricky started to count his fingers while muttering to himself, "Why does it feel like I just got insulted!"
There was no point in getting included in this mess more than this, so Victoria chose to disregard Regina's comment and started to turn around. But a strong grip on her upper arm made her cease moving and instead hiss in pain from the strength of the hold. She looked up to discover her father's infuriated face, which had lost its calm mask at last.
"You've suddenly grown a pair of bad confidence, I see," Rex fumed. "And a rapport with your new bold husband."
In vain, Victoria tried to squirm out of his hold. "Wasn't it you who went to great lengths, like blackmailing and so on, to get us married to each other? Now, are you complaining about the rapport we've established, dad?"
"I complain about nothing, you foolish girl," Rex thundered. "I destroy everything that stands against me. And, dear, you and your husband crossed that boundary quite a few times tonight—"
As the grip Rex had on her tightened more, she croaked, cutting in his angered rant, not being able to bear it, "Let me go—ugh—"
Of course, Rex Davies didn't put an ear to her voice that depicted pain. However, he did put an ear to the male voice that crudely threatened him, which was a surprising incident—a rare occurrence ever experienced by Rex Davies.
"I suggest you remove your hand from my wife," Victor's voice portrayed a raging storm. "Or else I will have to remove it from its socket, with all due respect, sir."
Rex Davies was so stunned that although he didn't remove his hand entirely, his hand tremendously loosened around her arm.
So, Victor came up to stand a breathing distance away from Victoria. Slipping a hand around her shoulders, he smartly brushed off Rex's unsuspecting hand.
"How insolent!" Regina gasped.
It took Rex Davies a couple of seconds before he was able to recover from the shock he had just received.
In the meantime, Victor had shuffled Victoria to his other side, putting himself between the father and the daughter.
For the first time in her entire life, Victoria felt safe despite her father being around her. She didn't feel alone and helpless anymore, standing against a pack of wolves.
Rex's face darkened like clouds. "You swine! Have you forgotten what I'm capable of if you provoke me?"
Victor's eyes narrowed into slits.
Victoria's heart thudded. She had absolute faith in her father to commit the absolute worst to people who came his way. She didn't want Victor to get harmed because of her.
"Let's not throw everything so out of proportion, Mr. Davies," Victor said, calming himself. "I'm just taking my responsibility as a husband extremely seriously—that is to make sure no harm befalls your daughter—"
Rex looked like he was going to commit murder at any moment.
Victoria tugged Victor's shirt, demanding, "Let's go home, please."
"Of course, you would want to go home after ruining my son's birthday," Regina fumed.
Victor's brows raised at the delusional woman's accusation.
For the fourth time, Victoria tugged Victor's shirt, signaling him that they should leave now. But Victor seemed too engrossed in the verbal battlefield, and Victoria feared he wouldn't budge until shedding some blood or breaking a few teeth.
Suddenly, Ricky, who was on the brink of nodding off even though he was somewhat standing, snapped open his eyes. His eyes zeroed in on Victoria, and it seemed something important crossed his mind that instant. "You dare insult me!" He roared. Pushing off Regina, who fell on top of the tea table, shrieking, he started to storm down the distance to Victoria.
Rex Davies simply shoved his hands inside his pockets and backed off toward the wall, perhaps to give more space to his nephew. It was unimaginable how toxic this man was.
Victor pushed Victoria further backward so that her entire form hid behind his body. In the next second, when Ricky reached close to them, Victor simply threw back his hand and hurled his curled fist right into Ricky's face.
Several gasps erupted around.
Ricky lost consciousness even before he fell back and hit the ground with a loud thud.
There—shedding blood and knocking teeth were all done.
~
Word Count: 2534
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A/N:
Hello lovely readers,
Here was a close glimpse and change of a scene with Victoria's family. Did you like the chapter?
To be more specific, did you enjoy Victor throwing that punch and standing up against Victoria's father?
Please don't forget to vote and comment! Fan/follow me to get notified of my updates instantly.
Lots of love,
Lara.