Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 317

Chapter 317
It was supposed to be gossip about Victoria’s love life, but when the children were
mentioned, Henry instantly shifted his focus.
“Miss Selwyn, are your twins both boys or girls?”
Victoria looked at him expressionlessly. “It was one of my friends.”
Henry said, “Yes, yes, your friend. Did your friend give birth to twin boys or girls?”
“Is that important at all?”
“Yes, because I’m curious.”
“… Both. It’s a pigeon pair.”
“Wow, so if Mr. Cadogan managed to get them, he’ll have both a son and a daughter.”
Victoria corrected, “My friend’s ex-husband.”
“Yes, yes, your friend’s ex-husband. That was a slip of the tongue.”
“But Mr. Cado- Your friend, why would she think that her ex-husband was trying to
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s***ing the kids together? What sort of joke is this? That’s impossible.”
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“There has to be a reason, right? Why is that impossible?” Henry raised an eyebrow as
he analyzed, “Your ex- I mean, your friend’s ex-husband is a remarkable man, right? He
has the resources and enjoys a high status in society, so if he helps to raise the
children, it would be very beneficial for the children’s future.”
“It’s impossible for him to help raise the kids. He only knows how to s*h, a**nd that’s
the only thing he will do.” Victoria even repeated the last two phrases stubbornly. “He
already has someone he likes, so raising the kids together or helping to raise them are
all lies. He just wants the children.”
“He has someone he likes?”
When Henry heard that, he felt like he finally saw the crucial point.
He asked smilingly, “Miss Selwyn, you mean to say you feel that Mr. Cadogan has a
significant other already, so you’re afraid that he’ll s*h th**e children from you, right?”
Victoria stared at him. Even though she didn’t answer, the look in her eyes and the
expression on her face were affirmative. Also, she didn’t realize that Henry had stopped
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correcting the characters to ‘your friend’ and ‘your friend’s ex-husband.”
In the next second, Victoria heard Henry laughing.
“Miss Selwyn, if you’re simply worried about this, then let me tell you something-you
don’t have to be worried anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
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“I’m not trying to speak on Mr. Cadogan’s behalf, but in the five years you were gone, Mr.
Cadogan never approached any woman. He didn’t even date his benefactor, Claudia,
whom everyone was rooting for.”
When Victoria heard that, her eyes glinted.
They weren’t together? How was that possible?
When he asked to divorce back then, even abandoning the children in the process,
wasn’t he thinking of getting together with Claudia as soon as possible?
But now, Henry was telling her that Alaric and Claudia weren’t dating yet.
Why?
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“Surprising, right?” Henry smiled, rubbing his chin as he said, “Then I’ll tell
you
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something even more shocking. Back then, not long after you left Cadogan Group,
there were rumors everywhere that Mr. Cadogan would be engaged to the young lady
of the Johnson Family. Back then, it was known in their social circle that Miss Johnson
had saved Mr. Cadogan’s life, after all, so it was normal for the two to be engaged.
Hence, many people thought that Mr. Cadogan married you just to help the Selwyns get
through their difficulties, and when Miss Johnson came back, the spot next to Mr.
Cadogan would be hers.”
With that, Henry stole a glance at Victoria, trying to glean some information from her
expression.
However, Victoria remained indifferent as if she didn’t care about it one bit.
Henry couldn’t get any reactions, so he continued, “That’s what everyone thought,
including me back then. If not, why would they be engaged at that time? However,
something happened afterward…”
Noticing his pause, Victoria looked at him.
“What was it?”
Henry said, “Heh, I thought you didn’t care, Miss Selwyn. Guess you’re listening, after
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all.”
Victoria fell silent.
She had tried to be patient all along, but in the end, she couldn’t take it anymore. She
said to Henry, “Mr. Poole, are you trying to get yourself fired?”
“No, please don’t do it. I was just joking to lighten the mood. Also, I’ll only know that
you’re listening if you respond.”
Seeing that Victoria’s expression was turning even darker, Henry could only say, “Okay,
okay, I’ll continue.”
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“Back then, everyone thought that they would be engaged soon, because even the date
was set, and some people were showing off invitations they received to attend the
engagement ceremony.”
Victoria frowned slightly when she heard that. “So?”
“Be patient, Miss Selwyn, and listen till the end.”
Victoria was speechless.
She wasn’t in a hurry.
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“Later on, even more people received invitations, and there were even photos of the
venue where the engagement ceremony would be held. Back then, rumors were
spreading in the entire Gandra that the two would be engaged soon, and they were just
waiting for the day. There were even reporters who flocked to the entrance of Cadogan
Group, trying to ask about the engagement. But guess what? Cadogan Group replied
that it didn’t exist.”
When Victoria heard that, she narrowed her eyes. “It didn’t exist?”
“Yes. Even though Mr. Cadogan didn’t respond personally, Cadogan Group answered
that they didn’t know about this and that it was just a rumor.”
Henry touched his chin. “But the rumors were spreading so quickly that no one believed
it. Also, after Cadogan Group’s reply, the rumors spread even more, and more photos
were leaked of the engagement ceremony behind the scenes. Also, Miss Johnson’s
friend shared her conversation history with Miss Johnson, saying that the latter
admitted to the engagement. Do you know what I felt when I saw that?”
Victoria didn’t answer. Instead, she just looked quietly at Henry.
“Think about it. Cadogan Group denied this incident, but why were rumors of the
engagement spreading like wildfire? It gave me the impression that she was forcing Mr.
Cadogan to marry her. In other words, she had announced to the public that they would
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be engaged, so if Mr. Cadogan didn’t show up on the day itself, she would be utterly
disgraced. If her reputation were to be protected, Mr. Cadogan would have to be
engaged to her, right, Miss Selwyn?”
At this point, Victoria couldn’t help but chuckle.
“It looks like a forced marriage, but who gave her that confidence?”
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Wasn’t it Alaric himself? He didn’t step forward to deny it personally, and even though it
meant that he didn’t want things to look too bad for her, this gesture also gave Claudia
hope.
Claudia tested the waters and found that Alaric was nicer to her because of what she
did for him, so she took it up a notch and announced the engagement publicly, trying to
force him to show up on the day of the engagement ceremony.
If he went, she would be the winner.
Of course, she might also lose horribly.
Henry scratched his head. “You have a point, but the tough part here is that Mr.
Cadogan owed her a favor, and unfortunately, all the Cadogans were decent people.
The Johnsons rose in status for the past few years because of this, and it was true that
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people do go places by riding on someone else’s coattails.”
In the end, Henry clicked his tongue while touching his chin.
“One is always obliged to repay a favor, and even more so when one’s life is saved. If I
were Mr. Cadogan, I might be in a dilemma, and I might just go to the engagement
ceremony. However, Mr. Cadogan was a better man. He didn’t go.”
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Even though Victoria already guessed the answer, when she heard Henry say that Alaric
didn’t go, she still felt her heart skip a beat.
Chapter 318 Not Your Child