Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria)

Chapter 359

After Victoria went back to her room, everything finally settled down. She had

even taken a nap while waiting for Alaric, but now that he was fine, she

couldn’t find any peace within herself. Instead of sleeping, Victoria’s mind

was consumed by thoughts of the events that had happened earlier on as

she lay on the bed.

It was apparent that Alaric didn’t want anything to happen between him and

Claudia when he came to Victoria’s place after falling into Claudia’s trap. In

the past, Victoria wouldn’t have believed this because he had previously

asked for a divorce for Claudia’s sake, even though their marriage was a

sham. However, his favoritism toward her had been evident back then.

But why didn’t anything happen between him and Claudia? Victoria would

think of it this way because if there was something between him and

Claudia, Claudia wouldn’t have resorted to such drastic measures against

him.

Originally, Victoria wanted to sort out their relationship, but the more she

thought about it, the more she realized that she didn’t understand Alaric.

Logically speaking, he liked Claudia at the time, and she was his savior, but

both of them didn’t sleep together, which made it seem strange. On the other

hand… even though they both claimed it was a fake marriage, the two of

them…

Victoria turned over and got more confused the more she thought about it. It

was ridiculous. Could it be that Alaric mistook his gratitude toward Claudia as

love when he was young? But how could he not distinguish between mere

liking and genuine emotions? Unable to find an answer, Victoria finally sat up

and gazed quietly at the pitch–black scenery outside her window.

Perhaps… She thought that this would be a good time to call Summer. With

this thought in mind, Victoria took out her phone and dialed Summer’s

number. Due to the time difference, it was daytime where Summer was.

Summer was quite surprised when she received Victoria’s call. “This is the first

time you’re calling me during the day. What’s up? It should be late at night

over there. Haven’t you slept yet?”

“I…” Victoria sounded hesitant.

Being Victoria’s longtime best friend, Summer could sense that something

was wrong and asked sensitively, “What happened?”

“Well…” Victoria nodded and told Summer about the recent events and

everything that had happened tonight.

At that, Summer sighed. “Well, what can I say? You two are really destined to

have an ill–fated relationship. It’s been five years, and he still hasn’t given up

on you. Don’t tell me he liked you before?”

Liked me? Those words made Victoria’s heart skip a beat, and she

instinctively denied it. “That’s impossible.”

As her best friend, Summer could easily detect that something was off from

her words. She said with a smile, “Why are you so quick to deny it? I’m not

saying you like him. I’m just saying he likes you.”

“Isn’t it normal for me to deny it? If he liked me, why did he want a divorce

back then, and why did he make me have an abortion?” Victoria replied.

“Wasn’t he unaware of your pregnancy? Wasn’t the abortion a

misunderstanding?”

Victoria bit her lip after hearing that. “Even if it was a misunderstanding, this

wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t given his phone to Claudia.”

Summer fell silent upon hearing that. She sighed and asked, “So, what do you

think about it?”

“I haven’t thought about it.”

“Why are you calling me in the middle of the night when you haven’t thought

about it?” Victoria was speechless after hearing that.

Seeing that Victoria was silent, Summer directly hit the mark and said, “You

still like him, don’t you?” This question made Victoria frown, and she was

about to respond when Summer continued, “Don’t be too hasty to deny it. If

you truly didn’t harbor any feelings for him, you wouldn’t be torn, and you

wouldn’t have allowed him in.”

“I…” Victoria muttered.

“Are you trying to say that the reason you let him in was because he’s the

father of your children?”

Victoria was speechless for a moment. She didn’t expect Summer to guess

what she was about to say, so she pursed her lips and didn’t respond.

“Does your silence imply agreement? If it’s just because he’s the father of

your children, that’s all the more reason you shouldn’t help him. Weren’t your

always afraid that he would take your children away from you? If he falls for

Claudia’s trap tonight, then he and Claudia will get together. Once Claudia

has a child, Alaric and her will have their own children. By that time, do you

think that they will still fight for your kids‘ custody?”

Victoria remained silent because she realized that Summer was right. If Alaric

fell into Claudia’s trap tonight, then he and Claudia… When they had their own

child, they probably wouldn’t care about Nicole and Nathan anymore.

Why she chose to help Alaric was beyond her because she had shut him out

but regretted her actions and caved in by letting him in, and then…

Victoria rubbed her forehead at the thought of it. Opening the door for the

first time was fine, but doing it the second time… That was her problem. If

Alaric misunderstood her actions because of that, then she could only blame

herself.

“Are you speechless?” Summer chuckled lightly. “So, you still like him?

Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been that harsh toward Bane.”

“I just wanted to vent to you, not have you speculate whether I like him or

not,” Victoria responded. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Well, I’m just casually analyzing it for you. I should at least do this for my best

friend so that you won’t regret it in the future.”

“What is there to regret? I won’t regret it.”

“Is that so? If you’re not going to regret it, you should kick him out now. You

still have a chance to cut off his thoughts.”

“Do you think that it will happen just because I did something?”

“That’s true.” Summer sighed. “But he’s still so devoted to you after all these

years. If he had known, why bother in the first place? Also, I never expected

that you would inform him about your pregnancy through a text message.”

Victoria’s intention was for Summer to help her solve her problems, but she

ended up discussing Victoria’s feelings for Alaric which troubled her even

more. “I’m going to hang up now. I need to get some rest.”

“You’re annoyed because I hit the nail on the head about your feelings.”

Summer giggled.

“Alright, let’s talk another day.” Victoria straight away hung up on Summer’s

call and laid down.

Still liking him? I must be out of my mind to continue liking him. Hadn’t he hurt

me enough five years ago? As she contemplated, there was a sudden knock

on the door. She was startled and quickly sat up from the bed.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.” Alaric’s deep voice came from outside the door.

Hearing that, Victoria hesitated for a few seconds, then got up to open the

door. After opening the door, Alaric saw Victoria standing in front of him with

a grim expression.

“What do you want?”

Alaric pursed his lips and said, “It’s cold outside. Do you have another

blanket? Or… can I sleep in your room?”