Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 359

Chapter 359 

After Victoria went back to her room, everything finally settled down. She had 

even taken a nap while waiting for Alaric, but now that he was fine, she 

couldn’t find any peace within herself. Instead of sleeping, Victoria’s mind 

was consumed by thoughts of the events that had happened earlier on as 

she lay on the bed. 

It was apparent that Alaric didn’t want anything to happen between him and 

Claudia when he came to Victoria’s place after falling into Claudia’s trap. In 

the past, Victoria wouldn’t have believed this because he had previously 

asked for a divorce for Claudia’s sake, even though their marriage was a 

sham. However, his favoritism toward her had been evident back then. 

But why didn’t anything happen between him and Claudia? Victoria would 

think of it this way because if there was something between him and 

Claudia, Claudia wouldn’t have resorted to such drastic measures against 

him. 

Originally, Victoria wanted to sort out their relationship, but the more she 

thought about it, the more she realized that she didn’t understand Alaric. 

Logically speaking, he liked Claudia at the time, and she was his savior, but 

both of them didn’t sleep together, which made it seem strange. On the other 

hand… even though they both claimed it was a fake marriage, the two of 

them… 

Victoria turned over and got more confused the more she thought about it. It 

was ridiculous. Could it be that Alaric mistook his gratitude toward Claudia as 

love when he was young? But how could he not distinguish between mere 

liking and genuine emotions? Unable to find an answer, Victoria finally sat up 

and gazed quietly at the pitch–black scenery outside her window. 

Perhaps… She thought that this would be a good time to call Summer. With 

this thought in mind, Victoria took out her phone and dialed Summer’s 

number. Due to the time difference, it was daytime where Summer was. 

Summer was quite surprised when she received Victoria’s call. “This is the first 

time you’re calling me during the day. What’s up? It should be late at night 

over there. Haven’t you slept yet?” 

“I…” Victoria sounded hesitant. 

Being Victoria’s longtime best friend, Summer could sense that something 

was wrong and asked sensitively, “What happened?” 

“Well…” Victoria nodded and told Summer about the recent events and 

everything that had happened tonight. 

At that, Summer sighed. “Well, what can I say? You two are really destined to 

have an ill–fated relationship. It’s been five years, and he still hasn’t given up 

on you. Don’t tell me he liked you before?” 

Liked me? Those words made Victoria’s heart skip a beat, and she 

instinctively denied it. “That’s impossible.” 

As her best friend, Summer could easily detect that something was off from 

her words. She said with a smile, “Why are you so quick to deny it? I’m not 

saying you like him. I’m just saying he likes you.” 

“Isn’t it normal for me to deny it? If he liked me, why did he want a divorce 

back then, and why did he make me have an abortion?” Victoria replied. 

“Wasn’t he unaware of your pregnancy? Wasn’t the abortion a 

misunderstanding?” 

Victoria bit her lip after hearing that. “Even if it was a misunderstanding, this 

wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t given his phone to Claudia.” 

Summer fell silent upon hearing that. She sighed and asked, “So, what do you 

think about it?” 

“I haven’t thought about it.” 

“Why are you calling me in the middle of the night when you haven’t thought 

about it?” Victoria was speechless after hearing that. 

Seeing that Victoria was silent, Summer directly hit the mark and said, “You 

still like him, don’t you?” This question made Victoria frown, and she was 

about to respond when Summer continued, “Don’t be too hasty to deny it. If 

you truly didn’t harbor any feelings for him, you wouldn’t be torn, and you 

wouldn’t have allowed him in.” 

“I…” Victoria muttered. 

“Are you trying to say that the reason you let him in was because he’s the 

father of your children?” 

Victoria was speechless for a moment. She didn’t expect Summer to guess 

what she was about to say, so she pursed her lips and didn’t respond. 

“Does your silence imply agreement? If it’s just because he’s the father of 

your children, that’s all the more reason you shouldn’t help him. Weren’t your 

always afraid that he would take your children away from you? If he falls for 

Claudia’s trap tonight, then he and Claudia will get together. Once Claudia 

has a child, Alaric and her will have their own children. By that time, do you 

think that they will still fight for your kids‘ custody?” 

Victoria remained silent because she realized that Summer was right. If Alaric 

fell into Claudia’s trap tonight, then he and Claudia… When they had their own 

child, they probably wouldn’t care about Nicole and Nathan anymore. 

Why she chose to help Alaric was beyond her because she had shut him out 

but regretted her actions and caved in by letting him in, and then… 

Victoria rubbed her forehead at the thought of it. Opening the door for the 

first time was fine, but doing it the second time… That was her problem. If 

Alaric misunderstood her actions because of that, then she could only blame 

herself. 

“Are you speechless?” Summer chuckled lightly. “So, you still like him? 

Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been that harsh toward Bane.” 

“I just wanted to vent to you, not have you speculate whether I like him or 

not,” Victoria responded.