Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 281

Chapter 281
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Victoria was obviously rejecting him. After a long period of silence, Bane eventually
spoke again, his tone as gentle as ever. “What’s going on, Victoria? If you don’t want me
to come along, do you want Ethan to join you instead? He knows a little more about
these things. It wouldn’t be nice if the salespeople end up scamming you while you’re
picking out a car-”
However, before Bane could finish his words, Victoria interrupted him with a hint of
annoyance in her voice. “Do I look dumb to you? Am I dumb enough to be fooled by
some salesperson?” she grumbled.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“If that wasn’t what you meant, then why do you keep insisting on getting Ethan to
come along? I told you that I don’t need anyone. Don’t you understand what I’m saying?”
she hissed. The man was silent on the other end of the line, and Victoria regretted her
words right after they slipped out of her mouth. After all, the man had been
unconditionally sweet to her for the past five years. However, she also knew that she
would only cause more hurt to him if she were to be nice to him then. I should cut
things off instead of dragging this on any longer.
The line was silent on the other end, and Victoria assumed that Bane was too furious to
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speak to her. Why isn’t he ending the call if he’s mad? she wondered. Eventually, she
hung up on her end of the phone before she stood in her spot and let out a long sigh.
Let’s just leave it like that. What I said was really hurtful, but this is the best way forward
for both of us. Before getting onto the train, Victoria checked her conversation with
Silent Night once more. He still hadn’t responded to her texts or phoned her. It seems
like he’s occupied with other matters, Victoria figured.
Victoria didn’t have much to do in the evening, so she headed to the kids’ school a little
earlier and waited around to pick them up. She was 30 minutes early, so the school got
her to go in and have a seat. The kids were still in class, so Victoria waited on one of the
benches outside without disrupting them. She pulled her phone out to scroll through
her feed before calling Summer to tell Summer about what had happened that day.
Victoria and Summer had been best friends since they were young. Even though
Victoria was now the mother of two kids, she still spoke like a teenager whenever she
ranted to Summer about her problems. Being the best friend that Summer was, she
sneakily chatted on the phone with Victoria even though she was at work. “Don’t worry,
Victoria. Of course, it’d be hard to reject a person who has been so nice to you. It’s not
as if you were ever greedy for his kindness, though. He’s just too nice, and you probably
feel a lot of guilt and sorrow because of the harsh, rejecting words you uttered earlier.
You need to remember not to succumb to your emotions, especially in relationships!
Chapter 281 No Turning Back
You’re doing the right thing now, so you shouldn’t regret and go against your actions,”
Summer said.
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Upon hearing Summer’s words, Victoria narrowed her eyes a little as she spread her lips.
into a smile. “The old you wouldn’t have said such words of wisdom. Why are you being
so serious this time?”
www
Summer’s tone seemed especially confident after that. “Oh, I witnessed something a
couple of days ago. That heartless superior of mine rejected a gorgeous woman’s
confession right in front of my eyes! That woman used to be his classmate, and she
was especially sweet toward him during their school years. She showed a lot of interest
in my superior. She’s smart, pretty, she has a nice figure, and on top of that, she’s a
dancer! But my superior was really harsh with his rejection-he told her to stop
bothering him and even threatened to cut all contact with her. The woman bawled her
eyes out, and I spoke to my superior after the woman left. He told me what I just told
you,” she explained.
Victoria had met Summer’s superior once. Erik Ludson was a stern and calm man with
sharp and flawless features. He gave off a really strong aura, and he rarely spoke, even
when prompted to. This was Victoria’s first impression of him, but after hearing all of
Summer’s stories, Victoria naturally assumed that Erik was a workaholic. The advice
that he had given Summer sounded like what a workaholic would say as well.
Chapter 281 No Turning Back
“So, you just learned and passed his wisdom to me, huh?” Victoria chuckled.
“Of course,” Summer replied with a grin.
“I thought you used to say that your superior was really problematic. Don’t you find him
problematic anymore?” Victoria asked.
“He’s still problematic, but that doesn’t stop me from using his words to offer you some
comfort. Don’t you think that his words made a lot of sense?” Summer asked in return.
“Well, yeah,” Victoria agreed while chuckling. Even though Summer would often talk
badly about Erik, Summer still chose to use Erik’s words to comfort and advice Victoria.
This led Victoria to a sudden realization. It seems like Summer has a lot of trust in this
superior of hers. She didn’t hesitate to share his words of wisdom with me. I actually
with his views. He’s right-being direct, firm, and stern about everything should
agree
be the way to go.
Victoria ended the call with Summer and put her phone away when she noticed that it
was about time for school to end. When the two kids ran out of class, they charged
over to her and jumped into her arms. “What are you doing here, Mom?” That was their
first question. Victoria ruffled both her children’s hair fondly. “I came in to wait for you
guys since I ended work early today,” she explained.
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“Oh…” Nicole glanced at her surroundings for a while before she spoke in her adorable
voice. “I thought you would do what Mr. Night did, Mommy. He came in just to speak to
us.” Victoria froze for a moment before she returned to her senses and pressed her
palms against Nicole’s cheeks. “What did you just say, Nicole?” Victoria stared at her
daughter intently, and Nicole widened her large, watery eyes to give her mother a
puzzled look.
“I’m talking about Mr. Night! What is it, Mommy?”
“Are you talking about that guy who always shows up during your live stream sessions?
That Mr. Night?” Victoria asked.
Nicole nodded, and Victoria immediately turned to look at Nathan. “Nathan? Is your
sister telling the truth?”
Nathan pressed his lips together for a while before speaking. “Yes, Mommy. It seems
like Mr. Night’s kid studies here, too,” he stated.
Does Silent Night have a kid? Victoria was shocked to hear this. She hadn’t expected
the man to have his own kids. She had always assumed that someone like him-
someone who enjoyed watching kids’ live streams and giving gifts online-was only
generous with his money because he didn’t have his own family. But isn’t this a little too
coincidental?
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Alarm bells rang loud in Victoria’s head. After all, Silent Night had been showing up a
little too frequently in her life. First, he contacted her and failed to show up in the end.
Now, the kids seemed to have bumped into him. Victoria’s expression hardened as she
considered the situation.
“How many times did you guys meet each other? What did Mr. Night say?” Victoria
asked.
“Actually… Mommy!” Nicole tugged on Victoria’s sleeve and crawled up higher so that
she was practically hanging onto Victoria’s body. “I bumped into Mr. Night once when
we were on the plane back home,” Nicole explained.
Victoria was shocked once more. “What?!”
Nathan nodded agreeably. “She’s right, Mommy. I saw Mr. Night while we were in the
airport’s washroom, but he didn’t know who I was then.”
“You guys…” Victoria knitted her brows. “You guys saw him even before coming back to
Jasea?”