Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 102

Chapter 102 

As the car was filled with silence, Bane shifted his attention to his 

surroundings without continuing their conversation. Instead, he asked 

what she would like to eat. Nevertheless, Victoria didn’t have an appetite 

for anything else besides congee. However, since she already had congee 

with Bane that night, she didn’t think it would be appropriate for her to 

suggest having congee again. Thus, she said, “Your call.” 

Bane paused, feeling stunned about Victoria’s decision. 

“Are you sure about that? I haven’t lived around here for years.” 

“No worries,” Victoria calmly replied, thinking she wouldn’t eat much 

anyway. Then, something crossed her mind as she added, “Pick anything 

you’re craving for. It’s on me.” 

“Really?” Bane pursed his lips. “In that case, I’m going to take my pick 

carefully.” 

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In the end, Bane picked a Western restaurant. Upon arrival, Victoria 

stepped out of the car and immediately noticed the restaurant’s high–end 

interior. Before the Selwyn Family went bankrupt, Victoria always came to 

places like that with her best friends, but after that, everyone else left her, 

except Summer. Back then, Victoria was the one who took Summer to 

high–class restaurants, but after she went bankrupt, their positions were 

reversed, though they frequented less luxurious restaurants. 

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The first time they went to one, Summer looked at Victoria cautiously and 

said, “Victoria, I can only afford to treat you to meals like this, but don’t 

worry, once I get rich one day, I’ll treat you to a fancy one.” Victoria couldn’t 

help but chuckle with joy when she recalled that. Although she hadn’t 

been to any other high–class establishments since going bankrupt, she 

felt a lot more fulfilled on the inside than ever before. Furthermore, she 

was happy that she got to see the grim reality when she was at her 

lowest, deeming it part of her growth. 

“What’s on your mind?” Bane’s voice pulled Victoria out of her train of 

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Chapter 102 Talent Poaching 

thought. 

Victoria snapped out of her trance and smiled. “Nothing. I was just 

recalling something interesting.” 

“What’s interesting?” He raised an eyebrow. 

She responded with silence and gave Bane a glimpse without showing 

any intention of sharing the matter with him. On the other hand, Bane was 

a man who knew his boundaries well, so he didn’t press on with his 

questions or pry into the details. 

As the two of them sat down and ordered their food, Bane passed the 

menu directly to Victoria and asked, “Take a look and see what you’d like 

to eat.” 

Victoria was about to say she was fine with anything, but she quickly 

changed her mind; she didn’t think it would be appropriate for her to do 

that. After all, she was supposed to show Bane some sincerity for the 

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farewell party that didn’t go as smoothly as expected. Therefore, she went 

on to pick a few dishes and placed her orders before giving the menu 

back to Bane. 

When Bane took a look at their order, he couldn’t help but give the lady a 

strange gaze. “You seem to prefer bland food now, huh? Why has your diet 

changed so much?” 

“I’ve been practicing a bland diet lately because of my health,” Victoria 

said without any change in her facial expression. 

Bane smiled and looked at Victoria silently, but Victoria was able to 

recognize the look in his eyes right away. If we weren’t childhood friends, I 

would be scratching my head while trying to figure out what he is up to, 

not knowing him well enough. 

“If you’d like, I can take you to the doctor after our meal,” he asked a few 

moments later. 

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“No thanks. I’ve already been there.” 

“Ah, it looks like someone’s already grown up, always turning me down.” 

Bane then went on to tick a few other boxes on the ordering slip before 

giving it to the waiter. After that, something crossed his mind as he added, 

“Could you please get a glass of juice for this lady?” 

“Sure, sir.” 

Victoria was stunned when she heard that. “How did you know?” 

“I can’t exactly remember, but you drank two glasses of juice during the 

farewell party that night, didn’t you? Anyway, one glass should be enough, 

right?” 

Before Victoria came, she wasn’t planning to order herself a glass of juice. 

Thus, she didn’t pay attention to the menu, but Bane observed her closely. 

“Thanks.” 

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“You don’t have to thank me. You’re the one who’s going to foot the bill, 

after all.” 

Victoria was speechless at once, finally remembering her purpose of 

treating Bane to the meal, Goodness, dining in a restaurant like this is 

probably going to cost me a fortune. With the amount of pay she was 

receiving, she could afford to foot the bill, but once her baby was born, her 

burden would most likely increase. After all, she would have to worry about 

putting food on the table for herself and her baby, as well as affording her 

child’s education. Because of that, she reckoned it was important to start 

saving. 

Nevertheless, the thought of that was enough to give Victoria a headache, 

for she had no intention of marrying another man again. Therefore, she 

would be forced to raise the child alone, which meant she would have to 

look for more sources of income besides her current job. 

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you regret treating me to an expensive meal 

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right here,” Bane said in a probing manner when he saw her preoccupied 

look. 

When Victoria snapped out of her trance, the first thing she saw was 

Bane’s ambiguously smiling eyes. 

“Judging from the pay you’re getting at Cadogan Group, I doubt it’d 

trouble you to treat me to lunch.” 

“No way.” Victoria was amused by Bane’s words. 

He picked up his glass from the table and took a sip, casually saying, “For 

old times‘ sake, I don’t mind hiring you if the Cadogan Group doesn’t pay 

you enough.” 

“Are you trying to poach talents for your company?” 

“Me, poaching talents?” Bane was slightly stunned when he heard 

Victoria’s words, but deep down, he knew Victoria was right about what he 

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