Chapter 67
Victor thought, ‘The more I interact with Skylar, the more I realize she isn’t like the person Freya described/’
But what she did to Freya was like a tiny thorn in his heart. No matter how hard Victor tried, he just couldn’t pull it out.
This left Victor feeling deeply conflicted.
“Don’t mention it. That’s what family is for,” Skylar said. After being hurt by the Stone family, she rarely spoke this way anymore.
The Lambert family truly made her feel at home. Now that she was back, maybe she should try opening up and giving them a chance.
If things went south, she could always pull back. It was not like she’d be losing anything.
Besides, Victor didn’t seem like the type who couldn’t tell right from wrong.
Both lost in their own thoughts, they spent the journey in silence.
Upon arrival, Victor first helped Skylar out of the car and then went to get her suitcase from the trunk.
Skylar asked, “Is this where we’re staying?”
The house before them stood old and dilapidated, with a haphazardly thatched roof. Its walls were built of yellow clay, coated in a layer of dust.
This place didn’t even look fit for human habitation.
The houses were assigned based on game rankings. Thanks to Freya’s screw–up last time, their team finished dead last. So naturally, they didn’t get a good place.
Victor had expected her to dislike it. After all, when Freya moved in, she wouldn’t stop grumbling about the place.
Victor was just about to offer some comforting words when Skylar had already walked right in.
The place was tiny. There was just enough space for sleeping, with no kitchen at all.
To ensure they’d have meals, Victor consulted the villagers and built,a makeshift stove outside.
Victor gave Skylar a quick rundown of the house’s layout and its sparse furnishings.
Skylar’s gaze fell on the window, patched with just a single layer of tattered paper.
Victor said, “Sorry, we can’t get new windows installed right now. Just bear with it for now. I’ll try my best to get a better ranking in the next round of the show, and then we can move to a better place.”
Skylar said, rolling up her sleeves. “It’s okay. Looks like it might rain in the next couple of days. The thatched roof will leak, so we’ll need to cut some fresh thatch to cover it.
“We can add a few more layers of paper to the window, drape some fabric over it, and seal it with duct tape. That way, the drafts won’t get in, and we won’t have to worry about rain soaking the bedding.”
Victor was taken aback. He had expected Skylar to throw a fit, but she was completely unfazed.
He looked at her and said, “I thought you’d hate this place.”
Skylar said, “This house is already pretty good.” She had certainly lived in worse places than this.
In prison, several of them were crammed into a single cell. After being bullied, she’d be shoved into a corner, forced to huddle there to sleep without even
a blanket.
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Chapter 67
At least there was a bed and blankets here. That was more than enough.
Victor felt a pang at her words, thinking, ‘How could she consider this shabby house pretty good? She must have endured tremendous hardships before returning home.‘
Snapping out of her thoughts, Skylar looked at Victor. “Victor, don’t just stand there. Let’s get this done. Once we’re finished, the place will feel a lot more comfortable.”
Victor froze. ‘Did she just call me Victor? Did I hear that right?‘
“Victor?” Skylar called again, seeing him still frozen in place.
Victor snapped out of it, a smile tugging at his lips. “You just got off the plane. Why don’t you sit down and rest? Let me handle it.”
“Two pairs of hands work faster. Let’s go,” Skylar said. She bent down to grab the sickle from the ground, slung the worn–out woven basket over her shoulders, and strode ahead without hesitation.
Victor quickly grabbed a knife, caught up to her in a few steps, and took the worn basket off Skylar’s shoulders, slinging it onto his own back.
Since Skylar had just arrived, the production team decided to give her the night off to rest, so they didn’t schedule any filming that evening.
