The Heir

chapter 8

VICTORIA filled their mugs with coffee before settling on the table for breakfast. She picked her tablet on the table and started to surf the internet as she waited for her coffee to cool down a little.

“Good morning, husband,” she greeted Maximillian when she saw him sauntering towards the dining.

“Good morning to you too, dear wife,” he greeted back and kissed the side of her head before sitting on the chair across her.

“You came home late last night,” she said with her eyes fixed on her tablet’s screen. “Where have you been?”

“Oh. I… uhm… I was out looking for a sideline.” He got an egg and put it on her plate before getting one for himself.

Victoria put her tablet down and focused on her husband. She could not help but feel bad for him. Her family had been treating him cruelly ever since they started dating. They said he was a son of a waste, a nobody. Her family did not believe that their love would keep them together. What they believed was that love could not keep them alive. Victoria thought, if she marries Maximillian, she could prove them wrong. But things only got even harder for them. Her husband finds it hard to look for a decent job because of his educational attainment. Maximillian was not able to finish college when his foster mother started to get sick. He had been working hard for his foster mother, who did her best to raise him. Her husband became the Jack of all trades. He would do part-times in store, manual labors, and many more to earn money. However, for the rest of the Griffiths, it was something they could not be proud of. But for Victoria, it only made her love Maximillian even more. She adored his perseverance. And there was no way she would be ashamed of the things he had done for his foster mother and for her. She may be a Griffith by blood, but her point of view was different.

“How was it?” she asked afterward.

“Hm?” He raised his head and looked at her.

“Tell me about this job hunting of yours.” Victoria picked her mug and held it with two hands.

“So-so.” Her husband shrugged and resumed eating.

Victoria knew what he meant whenever he said that. She took a sip of her coffee and started eating her breakfast. She has no more questions to ask.

“By the way, I heard from a reliable source that the LS Group will be launching a real estate project—”

“Who told you that?” she cut him off.

“I said a reliable source.”

“Max.” She pressed her lips together.

Her husband heaved a sigh. “Fine. A friend who works at the LS Group.”

“Who is that friend?”

“A friend of a friend.”

“Maximillian.”

“Wilfred.” Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“Sounds new to me.”

“Well, he is indeed a new friend of mine.” Maximillian took a sip of coffee. “If you do not believe me, why don’t you check it online?” He pointed his lips at her tablet.

“Right.” Victoria picked it up with her eyes still fixed on her husband.

She searched the LS Group website, and when the webpage opened, she saw the thing Maximillian was talking about. They were inviting the companies to submit project proposals. And by the looks of it, many companies already showed great interest in the project. However, it was not the only thing that caught Victoria’s attention. There was this forum on the LS Group website. A lot of people were talking about this mysterious new boss of the LS Group that the company has not announced yet. Even her grew curious of who it was. As far as she remembered, the president was a certain Vanessa Smith, and their website said so. Where did the news of a secret boss come from?

“Does your friend’s friend know about this mysterious secret boss of the LS Group?” Victoria asked after a while. But her husband just laughed at her. “What’s funny, Max? It was here at their webpage’s forum. Everyone is talking about it.”

“The mysterious new boss thing reminds me of those Mafia-themed stories that I’ve watched recently.”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “Max, come on. I’m serious.”

Just when her husband was about to respond, the phone suddenly rang. She rose to her feet and went to the living room to answer the call.