Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18 

Victoria felt a little at a loss seeing Alaric’s gaze like this. And wasn’t he with 

Claudia when I went out for lunch? Why isn’t she in the office now? 

Just as she was lost in her thoughts, Noel asked her something, which 

promptly pulled her back to reality before answering. 

After the work report was finished, Noel was ready to leave. In response, 

Alaric nodded indifferently. 

As soon as he walked away, Alaric’s gaze fell entirely on Victoria, She had 

been standing behind Noel earlier, which had shielded her somewhat, but 

now, there was no avoiding his gaze at all. 

Noel, who was about to walk toward the door, turned around to look at her. 

“Victoria, should I come to pick you up again tomorrow at noon?” 

Hearing this, she was stunned instantly. At the same time, Alaric also 

realized something was going on and arched an eyebrow. 

“Do you mind if I talk to Miss Selwyn for a moment, Mr. Cadogan?” 

At that moment, she knitted her brows. What is he up to? 

However, before she could react, Alaric had already parted his lips and 

said in a cold voice, “It’s better not to. It’s working hours after all.” 

“Oh?” Noel seemed a little surprised by the response, but he did not argue. 

“In that case, I’ll look for her after work.” He left directly after saying that. 

In an instant, the office fell silent, so silent that even the sound of a pin 

dropping could be heard. 

Once Noel was gone, Alaric’s gaze became even sharper as it landed on 

Victoria’s face. It seemingly carried a hint of displeasure. “You went out 

with him at noon?” 

She nodded since there was no point in denying it, for she and Noel were 

completely innocent. 

Seeing her nod, Alaric furrowed his brows. “What did you guys do?” 

“We had lunch and discussed yesterday’s work.” 

At the mention of lunch, his frown deepened, but the moment he heard 

her say ‘discussed work, his furrowed brows slightly relaxed. 

Right, they both work for my company now, so it’s normal for them to talk 

about work. 

However, he still felt some displeasure. After pressing his lips together, he 

said, “If someone saw you talking about work during lunch, they might 

think I’m bullying you.” 

Instinctively, she responded, “You think you haven’t?” 

As soon as she said that, both of them were stunned at the same time. 

The urge to bite off her tongue came into her mind again at that moment, 

indicating her frustration. 

It was probably because she grew up alongside him, so she would say 

anything on her mind and would not hide her true self when she was with 

him. It might also be because he had seen her ugliest, worst, and most 

childish side when she was young. 

As she was thinking, he suddenly stood up and approached her. Although 

he was tall and thin, he exuded a strong sense of oppression, presumably 

due to his aura as a long–term dominant figure. 

Instinctively, she took a few steps backward, 

Seeing that, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the cold 

wall. With one arm blocking her way, he wrapped his other hand around 

her to trap her. 

“What are you doing?” She was confused, and her breathing became 

uneven. Although she wanted to escape, the back of her neck was held by 

his big palm. Then, his hot breath approached and landed on her face. 

“Tell me. What did I do to you?” His voice was hoarse and deep. When he 

spoke slowly, his voice was extremely seductive. 

At the same time, his hand lightly pinched the back of her neck over and 

over again. She felt as though his fingertips were on fire. 

With confusion flashing in her beautiful eyes, she thought, What is he 

doing? 

She thought their relationship should have reached its freezing point after 

his absence of text and return home last night. Or at least, it should be 

awkward and not so presumptuous. He’s acting as if he didn’t receive that 

text at all. Or is he pretending that nothing happened? 

“Why are you not saying anything?” Alaric pinched her chin, obviously 

feeling her distraction. While narrowing his eyes, he asked, “What’s wrong?” 

As Victoria looked at this familiar, handsome face in front of her, her pink 

lips parted and closed, hesitating to speak. She wanted to say something, 

to ask something, but only when the words came to the tip of her throat 

did she realize how powerless she was… Not even a word could come out 

of her mouth. 

What if he suddenly darkens his face and asks me, ‘I just wanted to leave 

you some dignity, so I pretended not to know. Why are you so senseless, 

Victoria?‘? What am I going to do if he says that? It’s better if things stay 

this way, maintaining our dignity. I can handle it myself. 

14:01 Sun, 18 Jun 

Chapter 18 Part Ways with Dignity 

“Nothing.” She shook her head. 

When he heard her answer, his gaze turned serious. She’s acting like that 

again. 

Recently, he felt that she was acting strangely and was suddenly 

distancing herself from him, not willing to tell him anything. 

At that thought, the temptation that arose a few moments ago dissipated 

instantly. He let go of his hand on her chin and took a few steps backward 

away from her. 

While enduring the dryness in her throat, she said, “I should get back to 

work.” 

When she turned around, she heard him say, “Wait.” 

“Yes?” 

Chapter 18 Part Ways with Dignity 

“You haven’t applied for any annual leave this year, right?” 

Hearing that, she was startled for a moment before nodding. “Yes.” 

“You should start taking your annual leave tomorrow.” 

“Tomorrow?” 

“Yes. You’ve been feeling sick lately. Use up your annual leave to rest for a 

while. You can take the time to boost your mood as well.” 

He was saying this because he realized she was in a bad mood these 

days, plus the high fever, so he decided to let her rest early. 

However, it was a different story in Victoria’s ears since she essentially 

would not take any annual leave at this time of the year. He knew that as