Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 319

Chapter 319
1/5
After Alaric took the kids back home, he told the chef to make them some good food
and his men to get them a lot of toys. Since he had no idea what the kids liked and this
was the first time he was getting them toys, he bought a mountain of it. Of course,
there were toys for girls and boys.
The kids had never seen so many toys before in their lives, so they were shocked. Both
turned to Alaric, and Nicole asked softly, “Are these for me and Nathan, Mr. Night?”
“Yep.” Alaric nodded. “All so I can become your dad. This is just the start. Do you like it?”
He put his hand on the children’s backs and pushed them ahead gently.
The kids went into the room and exchanged a look, then Nicole asked Nathan softly,
“Can we really have these, Nathan?”
Nathan knew his sister couldn’t hold herself back anymore. Even he was tempted to try
out these toys. He mused over it and answered, “We’ll just look. Don’t touch.”
“What?” Nicole looked confused. “But Mr. Night bought these for us, didn’t he?”
“I know, but he’s still not our dad yet.”
Chapter 319 Chance Encounter
2/5
“But…” I can’t even touch these. That’s sad. She puckered her lips and decided to ignore
Nathan’s advice. She went ahead and unwrapped one of the toys. Nathan couldn’t stop
her in time, and when he got to her, she was already holding the toy. “Look, Nathan!”
“Nicole…” Nathan scrunched up his nose. He was about to say something when Alaric
came in, so he swallowed his words.
Alaric crouched before Nicole, looking at the model airplane she was holding. “You like
this?” This is surprising. His men bought some dolls and plushies because he thought
Nicole might like them, but he didn’t expect her to pick a model airplane right away.
Nicole nodded. “Yeah. I want to be a pilot when I grow up.”
Alaric c***d his eyebrow. “That’s cool.” It was surprising. Nicole was a sweet little ball
of happiness, so he didn’t expect her to want to be a pilot. But it’s normal for kids to
have a lot of dreams. Unbeknownst to her, Nicole did grow up to be a cool and dashing
pilot, though that was a story for another time.
Seeing her dreams being recognized made Nicole puff her chest out in pride. She was
then reminded of something, and she got deflated. “But they say it’s hard for a girl to be
a pilot.”
“Who says girls can’t be pilots?” Alaric patted the back of Nicole’s head. “Don’t listen to
Chapter 319 Chance Encounter
them. If you want to be a pilot, do your best to become one. I’m sure you’ll be a fine
one.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Yay! I’m going to work hard for it!”
“I’ll get you more model airplanes in the future.”
“Thank you, Mr. Night!” Nicole cheered happily as she was delighted about the
recognition, then she continued unwrapping the other model airplanes.
After she left, Alaric looked at the quiet and reserved Nathan. “What about you,
Nathan?”
“S-Sorry?” Nathan was nervous about being called.
3/5
“She wants to be a pilot when she grows up. What about you?” This was the first time
Alaric was so patient with children. He even asked them about their dreams. The old
him wouldn’t even spend a second listening to children, but now he wanted all the time
in the world to get to know his kids. He had missed out on their lives for five
years,
after
all.
Chapter 319 Chance Encounter
Nathan looked away and said quietly, “I haven’t made up my mind.”
4/5
Alaric looked at Nathan’s hands. The boy was tugging on the hem of his shirt, and
Alaric got that cryptic look in his eyes. “Is that so? I have a feeling you just don’t want to
tell me. Still on guard around me, are you?”
“No,” Nathan denied it, but Alaric knew he was trying to be distant, judging from his little
movements.
The boy was observant. Even though Victoria tried her best not to let the animosity
show, Nathan must have realized something, or he wouldn’t be so distant. What can I
do to salvage my image? Just then, someone rang the doorbell.
Alaric froze for a moment, then he said, “Must be your mother. I’ll take the door.” Before
he got up, he said, “And don’t call me Mr. Night. I have a name. Call me Mr. Alaric.” Then
he went downstairs.
The doorbell kept ringing, and Alaric frowned. She came into my house right away
yesterday. She should know the passcode, so why is she ringing the bell? Maybe she’s
just venting her frustration because I took her kids over. Well, I can understand that. He
smirked. Still as feisty as ever.
He unlocked the door and opened it. Lovingly, he said, “You have the passcode, don’t
Chapter 319 Chance Encounter
you? Why-” He froze, staring at the people standing outside.
“Alaric!” Standing outside were Claudia, Norwood, and West.
An excited Claudia tried to hug Alaric, but something fierce glinted in his eyes and he
moved back before she could touch him.
Claudia froze, looking a little hurt. “Alaric…”
Alaric looked at her and turned his attention to the men behind her, then he looked at
Norwood. “Why are you guys here?” Everyone else I can understand, but even you,
Norwood?
5/5
“Hey, what’s the meaning of that? You came all the way to Jasea without telling us. Of
course, we would come and see you,” blurted West as he tried to come to Claudia’s
defense.