Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 371

Chapter 371
She felt his lips pressing against hers, and her breathing stopped for a moment. She
tried to move back, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his
embrace, then deepened the kiss.
When she realized what was going on, Victoria shoved him away. “Hey, I was in the
middle of talking. What was that?”
Alaric looked at her, still thirsting for more. He said h***ly, “You looked a bit jealous,
so I wanted to kiss you.”
“I’m not jealous,” denied Victoria.
Alaric smirked, much to her annoyance. This is serious, and yet he’s making it into a
joke. Why? Is he trying to distract me from the fact that he doesn’t trust me? She asked,
“You were trying to distract me, weren’t you?”
“Huh? What are you talking about? I trust you.” He pinched her cheek, but then the look
on his face turned solemn. “But what is this all about? I thought she was the one who
saved me. Why didn’t you tell me that was not the case?”
Oh, he’s finally getting serious about this. He wasn’t kidding. Victoria got serious as
Chapter 371 As Long As I Wish It
well. “Because I used up all my strength to save you, and the river washed me away.”
Alaric froze for a moment.
“After that, I hauled myself back up onto dry land. I blacked out and got a fever, then I
forgot everything.” Victoria looked at him. “You know I was badly ill back then, don’t
you?”
Alaric said nothing. He was trying his best to remember that event. After he regained
consciousness, everyone told him that Claudia hurt herself just to save him. Since she
was the only one with him before he fell, he thought it was Claudia who saved him.
Before he fainted, he saw a silhouette jumping into the river, but he wasn’t conscious
enough to see who it was. He knew it was a girl, but he didn’t see her face. Still, it
looked like Claudia, so he didn’t suspect anything.
He then heard about someone getting admitted to the hospital and went to see who it
was. It turned out to be Victoria. For some reason, Victoria had fallen into the river as
well during the trip and caught a fever that kept her unconscious for some time. When
she woke up, everyone asked her what happened before she fainted, but she couldn’t
remember.
Victoria said, “I had forgotten about that, but for some reason, the memories came
flooding back. Probably because I knocked my head on the vase.”
2/6
Chapter 371 As Long As I Wish it
3/6
Oh, right. That incident. The timeline checks out. She fell into the river and had a fever,
so she might lose some memories, and then she knocked her head on a vase, and
which might help her regain some memories. Alaric narrowed his eyes and hissed, “So
she has been taking credit for someone else’s work all these years?”
Victoria pursed her lips. “Yeah, I guess you can say that.” She then shot him a mocking
look. “And you can’t even recognize your savior.”
It riled up some guilt in Alaric. “Sorry. I wasn’t fully conscious, so…” If he had been
conscious, he wouldn’t have been fooled for so many years. Claudia kept using that
favor to make him do her bidding, including that request.
“Forget it.” Victoria turned around. “It’s been a long time. If I hadn’t remembered it,
would’ve thought she was the one who saved you too.”
He looked at her and pursed his lips. “Don’t worry. I won’t let her get away with this.”
Victoria sneered. “Like that’s going to help. Everyone thinks she’s the one who saved
you, and it’s been years since then. Now you’re going to tell everyone I was the one who
saved you instead of her? Do you have proof?”
“No.”
1227 Thu, 6 Jul on G
Chapter 371 As Long As I Wish It
“Then…”
4/6
She felt something weighing down on her shoulder. Alaric turned her around and pulled
her closer. “If evidence is what we need, then the evidence is what I’ll find.”
“What?”
other Alaric said calmly, “I was just going to cut all ties with her without taking any
action because she saved my life after all, or so I thought. Now that I know she lied
through her teeth all this time, she can only wish I had only cut ties with her.”
Victoria looked at him and turned away. “And what’s that got to do with me?”
The light from the porch shone down on Alaric, shrouding his face in the darkness, and
he muttered, “Snowball.”
It had been a long time since she heard that nickname.
“I’m going to find the evidence, and our families will meet up tomorrow to cut all ties
with her. After that, can you give me a chance to court you?” He huddled closer.
Before he could get too close, she pushed his hand away and took a few steps back.
Her hurried response made Alaric chuckle sweetly. “It’s fine if you don’t have the answer
right now. I’ll come back once I’m done with this matter.”
Victoria said nothing. Silence fell between them, and he looked at her. “I have to go.”
Of course, he had to. It had been a while since he came, and it was already late. “I see.”
She put her hands in her pockets. I’m going to see him off just like this.
“Can I hug you before I leave?”
Huh? She was about to say no, but he went ahead and pulled her into his embrace. She
couldn’t pull her hands out of her pockets in time to refuse, so she fell into his chest.
The air around her was filled with his scent, and she felt like he wanted to pull her
whole being into himself.
It was just a hug, but Victoria was turning red. It’s not even a kiss. Even though the
shirt, she could feel his warmth, and the thought of pushing him away slowly left her
mind. She let him hold her.
Eventually, time passed. Alaric only wanted to hug her for a bit and cure a bit of his
longing, but he gained a bit more than that. He got a kiss and a hug, though she pushed
him away before the kiss could get any further. That’s why I asked for a hug. She
wouldn’t say no to that.
However, the longer he hugged her, the more he wanted to stay. He tightened his hug
and buried his head in her neck, taking in her scent greedily. But I have business
tomorrow. He eventually let her go, though reluctantly. “Wait for me. Call me if you need
anything.”
Victoria hung her head low so he wouldn’t see her blush. Coolly, she said, “Just go.”
The light in Alaric’s eyes dimmed a little, but he smiled. “Wait for me.”