The Inescapable Celibate Heir Chapter 54: Forced Buying and Selling

"I see there's nothing written on this box, and it's quite special," Victoria quickly put the necklace back in the box as she noticed Ethan staring at it intently. 

"Is it important to you? Sorry, I shouldn't have touched it."

"The crystal vase is fine; I remember my mother liked it." 

Ethan walked over, nostalgically touching the amber necklace. "I made it, do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. I didn't know you were into crafts," she replied.

"Then it's yours."

"Alright." Victoria pointed to the crystal vase in his hand. "Then I don't need this."

Ethan slowly shook his head, stuffed the crystal vase into her hands, and then took out the amber necklace, hanging it around her neck.

"A return gift is necessary. The amber is just a trinket; it's not valuable."

Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Thanks."

The two walked out of the collection room together.

"You must take good care of it, don't lose it!" Ethan suddenly emphasized.

Victoria gave him a puzzled look, thinking to herself, 'Even out of politeness, I wouldn't deliberately lose it.'

Ethan suddenly stopped and propped one hand on the wooden shelf, blocking her way.

Victoria, trapped between Ethan's arm and the shelf, looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

Ethan suddenly leaned in and whispered to her, "It's not just about politeness, have you seen 'Dreamweaver Romance'?"

Victoria's cheeks suddenly turned bright red; she had seen it.

Dreamweaver Romance was a hit TV show when Victoria was in elementary school. The male and female leads grew up together, and the male lead gave the female lead a grass-woven dragonfly, making her understand his feelings, and they fell in love.

Back then, Ethan was also a child. He learned to weave a dragonfly like the male lead and planned to give it to his crush, but never got the chance.

He sealed the grass-woven dragonfly in amber to preserve it, and later even forgot about it himself. That is, until today, when Victoria discovered it.

"I'll give it back to you." Victoria said, trying to take off the necklace.

Ethan pressed down her hand. "Since you've carried it, it now has your scent; my future bride would definitely mind."

Victoria slapped his hand and glared at him. "You put it on me, and now you're blaming me!"

"It doesn't matter; you took my dragonfly, so now you have to take responsibility for me."

With that, Ethan turned and walked away. Victoria tried to take off the necklace to return it to him, but he refused to take it.

Such an important thing couldn't be left out casually.

The atmosphere between them became a bit awkward, and Nick came over to ask.

Victoria quickly stuffed the necklace into her pocket to avoid being teased by everyone.

Nick planned to take Victoria home, but she shook her head and glanced at Ethan.

He stepped forward. "I picked her up today, so I should take her back."

Nick asked for Victoria's opinion.

Victoria pouted and reluctantly nodded.

"What's wrong? You look unhappy," Nick said, eager to learn more.

Eric quickly pulled him away to get the car, leaving Ethan and Victoria.

Ethan had the driver bring the car over and opened the door. "Ms. Hamilton, please get in."

Victoria glared at him and got into the car. "This is coercion!"

Ethan also got into the back seat. "You wouldn't take it even if it was free?"

Victoria turned her face away, thinking, 'As if you could really sell yourself to me without any responsibility. You Smith family, living in such a luxurious and noble estate, I can't afford to mess with you!'

Before getting out of the car, Victoria secretly put the amber into the small drawer next to the seat, pretending nothing happened, and still ignored Ethan.

However, Ethan kindly saw her to her door and even petted Flora before leaving.

Back in her room, Victoria was about to message Ethan to tell him she returned the amber.

Unexpectedly, Flora brought a small item and placed it at her feet.

Victoria paused her typing, picked up the amber in disbelief.

She shouted, "Flora!"

Ethan was really cunning; he had noticed her little trick long ago and pretended to pet Flora, actually hiding the amber under her belly!

Flora looked at her innocently with its round eyes. Flora was still a baby leopard, what did it know?

Victoria sighed helplessly.

During this time, besides attending classes, Victoria had been busy with the design and renovation of her dessert shop.

She personally designed the concept drawings, hired a top designer to perfect them, and the construction team was also the best.

She also distributed many flyers. After Eric found out, he got a few people from the snooker club to help her distribute them.

The news spread quickly.

Victoria rushed to check the progress and determine what needed to be modified every day after school.

One time, Lila went to buy snacks off-campus and accidentally saw Victoria entering Sweet Haven Corner. She observed for several days and found that Victoria went there every day.

She immediately told Ella about it, realizing that the dessert shop advertisements recently distributed by the snooker club were related to Victoria.

Ella paused and was immediately certain. "She must be working at the dessert shop!"

Lila said, "Working? But isn't she very rich?"

Natalia said, "She's probably pretending. Last time at the mall, she pretended to be rich, but it must have been a loan. Now she can't pay it back, so she has to work."

Ella looked worried. "Yeah, Victoria never used our family's money. Where did she get so much money?"

After the embarrassment at the mall, Ella called home and made a fuss. 

Brian and Joan repeatedly assured her they didn't give Victoria any money and even increased her allowance by $500,000 a month.

Lila asked, "Doesn't Eric give her money?"

Eric was so rich, and it was said he was very generous to his girlfriends. Lila was extremely envious!

Natalia rolled her eyes. "They say Eric's interest in women only lasts a month. Victoria must have been dumped."

Ella nodded in agreement. Victoria must have been dumped, had no money, so she had to work!

Since Eric was tired of her, the Charming Four wouldn't stand up for her anymore.

Whatever she said would go. Ella thought, 'Victoria, who is so poor she has to work, how could she compete with me, a true heiress! Just wait!'

"What's the name of the shop?" Ella asked.

Lila took out a flyer. "It's called 'Sweet Haven Corner,' opening on the 8th of next month, with a 25% discount!"

Ella took it, smiling sweetly but with eyes full of mockery. "Victoria has fallen so low she has to work, how can I not help her? I'll invite you all to the opening day to help her business, let her earn a bit more. Victoria is really clueless, can't even afford to eat, and won't apologize to my parents!"

Lila said, "Ella, you're so kind. Victoria has never been nice to you, yet you still want to help her."

"No choice, she's my older sister after all," Ella replied.

On the opening day, Victoria's excellent advertising and substantial discounts, including 25% off and a lottery for free orders, drew everyone in for the excitement.

A long line formed in front of Sweet Haven Corner. The bright windows and the exquisite decor inside made people reluctant to leave even if they had to wait.

Victoria used a trendy theme design at the time, an ice and snow world, blooming flowers. The shop was mainly decorated in white and ice blue, with many flowers as accents.

Even the cake samples in the display were shaped like animals, flowers, and snowflakes, making people want to buy them at first sight!