Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 148

Chapter 148
“If I remember correctly, didn’t you mention before that you’ll divorce
Alaric when Old Mrs. Cadogan undergoes surgery?” Claudia gazed
contemptuously at Victoria and asked in a sarcastic tone.
“It has been so long since Old Mrs. Cadogan’s surgery. So, why aren’t you
divorced yet? Victoria Selwyn, are you coveting the position of Mrs.
Cadogan? Is that why you breach our agreement and choose to not
divorce?”
She is trying to give me hell just because she can’t locate Alaric, huh?
Victoria thought.
She would have already gone off at Claudia if it wasn’t for the fact that
Claudia helped her before. Instead, she m***lly rolled her eyes while
asking nonchalantly, “Speaking of this, I’d also like to ask you, Miss
Johnson, when will you have Alaric divorce me?”
Claudia’s expression changed at that. “What did you say? Me having Alaric
divorce you?”
“Duh.” Victoria raised an eyebrow. “I’m looking for him because of this, but
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Chapter 148 Neither Enemies Nor Friends
he’s avoiding me. Since you are close with Alaric, maybe you can help me
persuade him, Miss Johnson.”
Claudia understood then that she had been fooled by Victoria when she
heard that.
Her expression became an angry one. She had no faith in herself, to begin
with, and Victoria’s words now only further provoked her.
“What do you mean? Don’t tell me that Alaric doesn’t want to divorce you.
That’s impossible.”
The corners of Victoria’s lips were raised. “You can ask him if you really
want to know.”
Such words coincidentally stabbed Claudia’s already bl**dy heart. She
wanted nothing more than to call Alaric and ask him right away. However,
he had been saying that he had matters to attend to since yesterday and
that she should call him again later. And yet, he refused to answer her calls
by the time she called him again.
Never once in all these years had she been as flustered as she was today.
She had a feeling that she was about to lose whatever she had!
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Chapter 148 Neither Enemies Nor Friends
At the thought of this, Claudia balled her fists as she gritted her teeth and
glared at Victoria. “Are you showing off to your savior?”
When Victoria heard that, her expression turned into a calmer one. She
then looked at Claudia and repeated, “Savior?”
“Am I not? Don’t forget that I helped you out before!” Claudia emphasized.
“Do you think you would still have your house after that incident that
happened to your family if I didn’t help you? Victoria, you are not an
ungrateful person, are you?”
“Miss Johnson, if I am ungrateful, I wouldn’t be here, wasting my time
having this conversation with you. I wouldn’t have agreed to your
nonsensical requests either. You haven’t forgotten how many favors you
have asked of me, right? And I agreed to every one of them.”
“So what? Do you think that is enough to make up for it?”
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“We did mention this when we made our agreement. However, you
admitted that you want me to repay you for what happened, right? Since
you have asked me to return the favor, we no longer owe each other
anything. Of course, I’m not an ungrateful person. So, please tell me if you
need any help in the future. I’ll do my best to help you…as long as you aren’t
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asking me to hurt anyone.”
Claudia couldn’t help sneering after hearing that last sentence. “You seem
sure that I will ask you to hurt someone.”
Victoria remained calm despite the mockery. “It’s hard to say, considering
that you have done it before.”
Claudia immediately blew her top upon hearing Victoria’s words. Through
her gritting teeth, she warned, “Stop bringing that up. You know it is not the
same thing.”
“What’s the difference? It’s still a person’s life.”
“A person’s life? It was just a fetus!”
“Oh? Have you never been a fetus before, Miss Johnson?” Victoria threw a
curveball at Claudia with that question.
It felt impossible to continue the conversation at this point.
As if she sensed something, she found herself narrowing her eyes and
glaring at Victoria. “Why are you being hostile to me? What the hell? I don’t
remember us being enemies before this.”
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“You have misunderstood, Miss Johnson. I have never treated you like an
enemy.” Victoria paused for a second before she continued, “But we were
never friends either, were we?”
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Claudia had to agree to this. She had never regarded Victoria as her friend,
not even for a second.
Even though she knew that Victoria was Alaric’s friend, she wouldn’t
truthfully treat Victoria as a friend. Claudia had always thought that this
childhood friend of Alaric’s was troublesome. Victoria was also someone
whose existence bothered Claudia a great deal.
Noticing that Claudia was silent, Victoria grinned and added, “Looks like we
share the same thought.”
Claudia didn’t deny it. She simply sat across from Victoria while holding
her purse. “Spill. What is up between you two? Why aren’t you guys
divorced yet?”
“How am I to divorce someone I can’t find?”
Victoria’s answer put a frown on Claudia’s face. She can’t find him? She is
not trying to say that Alaric is the one refusing to get a divorce, is she? Then
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again, there is no other way to explain Alaric not being there when Victoria
is already waiting for him in the office.
However, Claudia wouldn’t do something as shameful as agreeing with
Victoria that Alaric was the one who refused to sign the divorce papers. She
could only force a smile as she uttered, “Looks like Al has been busy with
work then. Wait for a little longer. I’ll contact him in a bit.”
Sitting across from Claudia, Victoria could guess what was happening from
Claudia’s current behavior and the way she rushed into the office earlier.
It was evident that Claudia couldn’t get in contact with Alaric either. She
wouldn’t have barged into his office and insisted on meeting Alaric
otherwise.
Victoria looked down and pursed her lips. Have I really misunderstood
Alaric? Could he really be swamped with work lately? But why did he admit
that he didn’t want a divorce? Forget it, she eventually told herself. It is not
like I’ll have an answer no matter how hard I think about it.
She then rose to her full height. “Alright then. Please contact him. I’ll make
a move now.”
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At that, she left the office.
As Claudia watched Victoria leave, she angrily threw her purse on the
couch. “Piece of sh*t!”
Her resentment was written all over her face as she cursed softly.
She listened to her mother’s advice and came over to look for Alaric. Since
he mentioned that he was busy with work, she came over to see whether he
was telling the truth or not. If he turned out to be lying, she would take the
opportunity to cry and complain while throwing herself into his embrace.
Claudia had suppressed herself in the past because she was afraid that
Alaric would think her an immodest and dissolute woman if she took the
initiative to approach him.
However, she would really lose him if she didn’t start doing something.
She would never allow herself to lose just like that.
She didn’t care if he thought she was a debauched woman or anything
along the line in the end. She only wanted him.
Alaric can only be mine!
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Unbeknownst to both Claudia, who was fuming, and Victoria, who already
left the office, the surveillance cameras in the office had recorded their
every word and action.