Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 197

Chapter 197
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Although Claudia had already brought it up, Alaric didn’t bother explaining himself
gently as he used to the moment she was aggrieved. Instead, he remained rooted to
the spot, nonchalantly staring at her with unwavering, empty eyes until she felt so
uncomfortable that she just had to turn to a different topic. “I’m just kidding. Why
won’t
you pick up my calls, right? Oh, by the way, where’s Norwood? He told me that
you were drunk when I called you last night. Are you okay? Does your head hurt?”
After all that, Alaric merely mumbled, “I’m fine.” Then, he went into the bedroom to
dress up.
Claudia didn’t move a muscle as she stared at his retreating figure and felt her heart.
wrench. Five years ago, Alaric successfully divorced Victoria, and the latter left the
country without a word, disappearing from their lives ever since. While Claudia was
surprised that Victoria actually kept her word, she was also looking forward to the
day when Alaric would marry her as quickly as possible after the divorce. Yet, before.
she could rejoice, Alaric had changed his mind.
He asked her and simply said, “Sorry, I’m afraid I can’t fulfill my promise.”
Claudia gaped at him in stunned silence for a long while before forcing out a smile.
“Why? Is it because of the kidnapping case? Are you still suspicious that I was
behind it? Al, I have to admit that for a tutte envious that Victoria was by your ande,
but Fm grateful to her for taking ca
for taking care of you in m
“She’s not your substitute.”
“What?”
“Claudia, she’s not taking care of me in your place. We were not dating back then.”
When Claudia heard that, blood drained from her face, and her body swayed along
as she felt her blood freeze in her veins. “I’ll forever remember that you risked your
life to save me, Claudia, and if you run into any difficulties in the future, Fil
Before he could finish, she couldn’t stop herself from cutting him off angrily, hissing,
“Al, what do you mean by this? Are you dumping me? Didn’t we already agree that
we’ll get together after your divorce? How could you do this to me
Yet, it didn’t matter how hysterical she was acting as Alaric remained calm
throughout her tirade. Whether it was the look in his eyes or his expression, they
were as still as a lake. There wasn’t even a hint of discomfort from his body
language. In fact, he was utterly apathetic to her cries. In the end, he just left her a
simple ‘sorry’ before departing
In the end, she utterly lost it and kept pestering him about this matter, Sill,
G
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Chapter 197 Im Willing to Wait
whenever she brought up their relationship, he wouldn’t even consider meeting her
or he would just stand up and leave without another word. So, she eventually
figured that things couldn’t go on like this, especially after receiving such cold
treatment from him. Thus, she decided to change her approach.
“I was wrong in the past and know that you haven’t sorted out your feelings. Don’t
worry, Al. I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait for the day you’re willing to accept me.”
Back then, she meant every single word she said. After all, she assumed that Alaric.
was only unable to accept the fact that Victoria had left. Therefore, he had merely
gotten his feelings tangled. Given a little time, he would walk out of it and decide to
return to her. Thus, she was willing to wait, but she never imagined that this wait
would last five years.
Five years… It may seem like just a number but it’s five years of my life. She could
only watch helplessly as her youth seemed to be slipping away. To make matters.
worse, even her suitors, who were pursuing her, had moved on and had families of
their own. Yet, she was still waiting for her happy ending..
She did think of giving up, but after waiting for so many years, she was unwilling to
give up just like that. Furthermore, the thing that gave her the biggest hope was,
Alaric didn’t have any other women by his side. So, it didn’t matter even though he
wasn’t dating her. As long as she was willing to wait-in addition to her role as his
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Chapter 197 Im Willing to Wait
savior as the buffer-he would be moved by her feelings for him sooner or later.
All these years, even his parents were touched by her patience. At first, they were.
unwilling and didn’t want to accept her. They only felt gratitude toward her, and she
couldn’t even get a shard of any other intimate emotions from them. As time
passed, she had made an impression on his parents, instead of Alaric, who was her
prime target. Take the auction this time for instance, it just so happened that his
mother had her eyes on one of the auction items. So, she deliberately got two
invitations so they could attend this event together.
Claudia knew that it was Mary’s way to create an opportunity for them. With this
thought in mind, she stepped forward and knocked on the bedroom door. “Al, are.
you going to the auction tonight?” she asked, not daring to go in.
An expressionless Alaric slipped into a white shirt and paused at her question. He
had no interest whatsoever to attend the auction, but when he remembered that his
mother wanted that item, he finally decided to play the part of a good son despite
his impatience at the idea.
“I got it,” he answered coldly.
Claudia sighed in relief upon hearing his agreement. Thank G***d. It’s great that he’s
going to the auction. “Okay, see you later. I’m going to prepare the dress for tonight.”
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Chapter 197 Im Willing to Wait
“Okay.”
Finally, a sweet smile spread across her face at the fact that they were going to the
auction with her. Indeed, it pays to persevere. As long as he’s willing to go to the
auction with me, it means that I still have a chance.
Back home, she immediately called the stylists to have them design the most
elegant, stunning look for her, and in the evening, she went to look for Alaric in
six-inch stilettos.
The charity auction tonight was organized by Villower Group. To secure his position,
Jordan had put a lot of effort into this, and this auction was one of his tactics. After
the word got out, several members of the upper-class society specially came to
attend. The grand finale item for tonight was a secret surprise, and it even brought
many big names in the archeological field to the scene.
When Claudia got out of the car, she almost lost her balance due to her stilettos.
Hence, she stood on the spot to wait for Alaric, planning to hold onto his arm. In the
end, she didn’t know whether it was intentional on Alaric’s part, but the way he
walked forward just so happened to avoid her touch and she almost fell.
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Claudia heard people giggling softly around her. She could barely maintain the polite.
smile on her face as she turned to the source of the schadenfreude whispers. When
Chapter 197 I’m Willing to Wait
she finally found the origins of those noises, she found that they came from a
gaggle of young ladies of wealthy families, and she was usually in contact with
them, but their friendship was, frankly, plastic. Claudia bit her lower lip as she was.
aware of what they were sniggering about; they were making fun of her for clinging.
on to Alaric like a leech.
Damn it, if this had happened in the past… I won’t have to go through this.
embarrassment, she cursed. Sadly, she was very humble in Alaric’s presence and
didn’t have the nerve to ask him for anything at all, so she could only sulkily trudge.
after him.
After a while, she suddenly regretted wearing such high heels because she was just
making things difficult for herself. While she was brooding over this, the person in
front of her came to a stop, and she approached him in confusion. “Al?”
He looked at her stoically. “Now that you know you can’t walk in such high heels, your
shouldn’t pick such shoes next time.”
Claudia smiled awkwardly at that. “The stylist picked it for me. I didn’t have a say in
their decision process.”
“Are you still able to walk?” he inquired.
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She contemplated before saying, “It’s a little tough.” Actually, what she wanted to
say was, Will you hold me?
Unexpectedly, he answered, “If you can’t, then you should ask the driver to drive you
home or you could change into a different pair of shoes.”