Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 378

Chapter 378 

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Bane’s warm fingertips grazed across the cool skin of Victoria’s face. Her soft, fair skin 

felt pleasant to the touch. 

Ethan watched as Bane’s fingers danced tenderly across Victoria’s face. After stroking 

her eyes and nose, they eventually fell on her ruby–red lips. 

All at once, Ethan averted his eyes in a panic. He dared not look any closer. 

Bane’s fingers rested on Victoria’s lips. The plumpness of her lips reminded him of 

freshly made pudding. Though he had never touched pudding with his hands before, he 

knew it had to feel the same. 

Ever since he was a teenager, he desired her. 

He wanted her eyes on him, so he kept doing things to get her attention, even if it 

meant angering her. 

He kept doing it anyway. 

Thus, she detested him for a very long time and would turn away immediately if she 

spotted him in the distance. 

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Chapter 378 A Kina 

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Bane was dismayed by this for a time, but he never regretted it because he was the one 

she paid the most attention to, apart from Alaric. 

He preferred her hatred over her indifference. At the very least, hatred meant that he 

had made a lasting impression on her and he succeeded. 

Later on, there was the entire situation with Alaric and Claudia. Claudia saved Alaric, 

and thanks to Bane’s influence, Alaric thought his feelings of gratitude were of a 

romantic kind instead. 

The night when Victoria came of age, Bane knew she was hiding behind the tree 

because he spotted the edge of a familiar dress. However, she was too afraid to step 

out, so he purposely tricked Alaric into saying those things. 

He figured that was enough for her to give up on Alaric. 

Due to his family issues, he had to leave the country for a very long time. He couldn’t 

predict what would happen, but since Claudia had gotten Alaric’s promise and Victoria 

was aware of it, then he knew that even if he left for a few years to deal with his family’s 

problems, it was unlikely that anything would happen between Victoria and Alaric. 

It never occurred to him that the Selwyns would face a crisis of their own, and that this 

matter would cause the relationship between the two to accelerate so quickly. By the 

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Chapter 378 A Kiss 

time he found out, it was too late. 

Nevertheless, Bane didn’t give up. He still had matters to attend to at the time, but 

eventually, he still managed to find the chance to take Victoria away from Alaric. 

Claudia had proven to be an incredibly useful pawn. 

Unfortunately, she was also a very foolish one, and now, she was a useless one. 

Most importantly, Claudia wasn’t the one who saved him. It was Victoria. 

In that case… What was the point of keeping Claudia around? 

Initially, Bane thought he could simply stand on the side and watch. After all, Alaric 

would have gone back to Claudia because she was his savior. Alas… What now? 

It wasn’t Claudia who saved his life. It was Victoria. 

In reality, it made sense. After he had been rescued, she too had fallen into the water, 

became seriously ill, and subsequently lost her memory. 

As she had lost her memory, Claudia stole the credit. 

Of course, you would, Claudia. Bane sneered to himself. How did the truth come out? 

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Chapter 378 A Kiss 

Did Claudia foolishly expose herself or has Victoria regained her memories? 

477 

Bane drew himself out of his thoughts. His fingers slowly moved away from Victoria’s 

lips. After tucking the blanket around her, he bent down and kissed her forehead. “Don’t 

be mad at me, Victoria.” 

By the time he returned to his seat, his expression had returned to normal. 

Ethan brought Nicole over to Bane. “Mr. Morison.” 

Bane carefully took Nicole into his arms and made sure she was lying down 

comfortably. As he tended to the children, he asked, “How much longer before we 

arrive?” 

“In approximately twenty minutes. The helicopter will take us to the departure point. It 

should take a little over an hour in total.” 

Ethan cast a hesitant glance at Victoria and her children. “Will Miss Selwyn and the 

children wake up halfway?” 

“Most likely not,” Bane responded with an indifferent expression. “Even if they do, 

nothing will change.” 

Ethan looked at Victoria one more time before continuing tentatively, “Mr. Morison, 

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Chapter 378 A Kiss 

everything is set up for the picnic…” 

Bane’s only reaction was to hum in acknowledgment. 

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“What I mean is… We can still make it there in time. Miss Selwyn and the children won’t suspect a thing when they wake up. They’ll just think they fell asleep out of exhaustion.” 

At last, Bane turned to look at Ethan. “What are you trying to say, Ethan?” 

Ethan sighed and said, “I’m afraid you’ll regret this, Mr. Morison. In Miss Selwyn’s eyes, 

you’ve always been there to help her. You’re like a brother to her. You’re someone she 

can trust and rely on. If she finds out… She’ll despise you.” 

“So what?” Bane smirked mockingly. “What I’ll truly regret is allowing her to end up with 

another man.” 

Ethan got the message. Bane’s mind was made up. Ethan wasn’t going to be able to 

talk him out of it. 

He sighed to himself and stayed silent. Nevertheless, he knew this wasn’t going to end