Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 149

Chapter 149
After leaving Cadogan Group, Victoria had only arrived on the ground floor
when she received Bane’s call.
“Why did you come to the office today?”
His question stunned Victoria, who then replied, “How did you know….”
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She had only spoken halfway when she thought of something and looked at
the vehicle parked ahead.
As expected, she saw a familiar-looking car there.
“Why are you here?”
“What a coincidence.” Bane, who was on the line with her, chuckled. “I’m
here to settle the final bits of a contract negotiation from last time.”
Victoria did not suspect anything when he mentioned the contract
negotiation.
Even if Bane hadn’t mentioned about last time, she wouldn’t have
suspected anything either. After all, she hadn’t come to Cadogan Group
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Chapter 149 Afraid That You’ll Owe Me?
lately. There was no way that he would be here to keep an eye on her.
He can’t be here spying on me every day, can he?
And since they ran into each other, she started to make her way toward
him.
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She hadn’t even taken a step when Bane instructed, “Stay where you are. I’ll
tell the driver to drive to you.”
“It’s okay. It’s just a short distance. I can walk over.”
To her surprise, he suddenly asked, “You want to get a divorce, no?”
Victoria stopped in her tracks at that. “Does that have anything to do with
me walking to you?”
“Of course.”
Victoria was speechless.
She couldn’t figure out what Bane was up to. What does my walking over
and his car coming to me have to do with my divorce?
Chapter 149 Alaid That Youll Owe Me?
As she was still dwelling over it, the vehicle was already moving in her
direction.
Victoria had no choice but to wait at the curb instead.
When she waited for his car, she saw the familiar employees of Cadogan
Group walking in and out of the building. Many of them even approached
her when they saw her and greeted her as “Miss Selwyn”.
It was also because of this that Victoria finally understood why Bane said
that his car coming over to her had everything to do with her divorce.
She stood still while she waited for his car to stop in front of her.
As expected, the car window did not wind down. Instead, Bane opened the
car door and invited her to hop in.
“Get in.” He smilingly added, “Now that we ran into each other, can we at
least have lunch together?”
It seemed that both Bane and Victoria had unknowingly grown closer ever
since Bane discovered Victoria’s secret.
Sure enough, many gossipy people stopped to have a look at them.
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Chapter 149 Afraid That You’ll Owe Me?
A
Victoria could feel their enthusiastic gazes. She could also imagine what
would happen in the company chat groups once she entered Bane’s car.
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Her head was telling her that she should be mindful of her status and not
enter the vehicle. However, she no longer hesitated when she recalled how
Alaric flaunted Claudia at the company. Not only that, the public kept
talking about Victoria’s relationship with Alaric and Claudia, and Victoria
ended up being the butt of the joke.
She nodded before entering the car. “Thank you.”
Like a gentleman, Bane closed the door and entered from the other side.
After he got into the car, his lips curled as he commented, “I thought you
wouldn’t get in.”
Victoria calmly replied, “Why won’t I when there is a free meal and free
ride?”
“Sounds like you don’t intend to pick up the tab for lunch?”
“Bingo.” She glanced at him. “Why would I offer to pay when you’ll pay for
anyway?”
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Chapter 149 Afraid That You’ll Owe Me?
“Fine. What do you want to eat?”
If it had been like before, Victoria would have said that she was okay with
any cuisine. But now that Bane was aware of her secret, she would be
pretentious if she didn’t satisfy her food cravings.
At the thought of this, she immediately rattled out a few food items she
liked.
Bane couldn’t help chuckling when he heard her description. “Whoa, you
are really going all out.”
“Yup, I have a voracious appetite now. There’s still time for you to regret.”
He thought about it before responding, “I can afford the bill.”
What he wanted to say was that he could afford to take care of her, but
considering the situation, it seemed like it was an inappropriate thing to
say. She might even run for the hills!
I have to approach her bit by bit.
They were on the way to the restaurant when Bane asked her about her
relationship with Alaric.
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Chapter 149 Afraid That You’ll Owe Me?
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Bane was slightly taken aback when he learned that Alaric avoided Victoria
because he refused to divorce her. The shock in Ben’s eyes was hidden by
his glasses, and his gaze quickly returned to normal as the corners of his
lips curled upward.
He wasn’t expecting Alaric to make this decision.
He then glanced at Victoria, who was seated next to him, and casually
asked, “So, what are you thinking?”
“Huh?”
“Would you continue to be Mrs. Cadogan if he refuses to divorce?”
Continue to be Mrs. Cadogan? Obviously not, she quietly answered the
question.
It didn’t matter what caused Alaric to suddenly decide against divorcing
her. As long as Claudia remained his savior, he would not completely cut
contact with her.
And Victoria wasn’t all that eager to be a homewrecker. She knew that there
was no place for a third person in a relationship.
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Furthermore, he had decided to divorce Victoria a long time ago. This
meant that she was not his first choice.
She never told Bane all these, though. She merely smiled at him without
saying anything.
Bane was someone who knew his boundaries.
He cared, but he didn’t care that much. He wouldn’t insist on hearing an
answer if she was reluctant to answer his question after he asked once.
However, Bane suddenly thought of something interesting as he turned to
Victoria and asked, “Say, how long do you think it will take Alaric to know
that I picked you up from the company?”
Victoria paused. Alaric is avoiding me. It doesn’t matter if he knows.
“How about we make a bet?”
“What kind of bet?”
“We’ll bet on whether Alaric will look for you as soon as he finds out that I
have picked you up in my car.”
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Chapter 149 Afraid That You’ll Owe Me?
Victoria was stunned into silence. After a while, she finally answered, “I’m
surprised even you have your childish moments, Bane.”
Bane laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re not interested to know? I could tell that
he minded it when you stayed with me last time.”
Upon hearing this, Victoria thought to herself, It’s just his stu**id dignity as
a man that is acting up.
Still, she asked, “What is the bet?”
“Tsk. I can’t hide anything from you. Let’s bet on whether or not he will
come over and look for you.”
“What happens if he does?”
“If Alaric really comes, you will let me help you.”
“Huh?”
“Help you with your divorce.”
Victoria fell silent at those words.
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Chapter 149 Afraid That You’ll Owe Me?
When Bane asked whether she needed his help, she never responded
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because she felt that it was a personal matter and she shouldn’t owe anyone
a favor.
She already owed too many favors to return them.
When he noticed her silence, he put on a faint smile and asked, “Why are
you silent? Are you afraid that you’ll owe me a favor?”
Victoria came back to her senses upon hearing his question and gave a
small nod.
The man proceeded to flick her forehead before he added helplessly, “It’s
just a bet. Even if you lose, you just have to agree to the terms of the bet.
Why would it be you owing me a favor? I didn’t even say anything about
that, did I?”
“I…”
His action made Victoria frown. She wanted to say something, but she
ended up not doing that when she thought about how he had grown up with
her and Alaric.
“Are you in or not? My bet is he will show up at the restaurant not long after
we get there.”