Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 521

Chapter 521 It Will Get Better Tomorrow 

Alaric kept holding Victoria’s hand on their way back. 

The situation gave her butterflies. 

After all, she could feel the chemistry between them earlier. Besides, his words gave her ideas. 

Therefore, she was expecting something more intimate to happen between them. To her surprise, he only kissed her on the forehead and took her hand to leave. 

It’s totally different from what I’m expecting! Even though she didn’t get her hopes up too high, the turn of events still left an empty feeling within her. 

Victoria put a hand on her chest. It’s strange. I’m strange. 

4 

“What’s wrong?” She heard Alaric’s voice coming from the side. “Is it heartburn?” 

His question snapped her out of her thoughts. She shyly avoided looking at the concerned look on his face and whispered, “It’s nothing.” 

She’s probably hiding something. However, he decided to let it slip as Victoria clearly didn’t want to talk about it. 

Since she seemed fine and wasn’t bothered by the matter, he didn’t it. 

press 

It was around 8.00PM when they returned. 

Aquilo walked over upon catching sight of them. “You’re back from the walk. How does it feel? How 

your first day in the countryside? How are you settling in?” 

is 

“Don’t worry about us. The air is fresh, and we are doing just great.” 

He chuckled. “That’s good to hear. Remember to keep the window shut when you’re sleeping, or else the mosquitoes will get into the room.” 

“All right.” 

“By the way, your grandmother said it’s very late already, so we’ll continue the work tomorrow. Otherwise, eating too much for dinner will cause a digestion problem and further cause a sleeping problem.” 

Victoria was surprised to hear that. 

“It’s getting late. You should wash up and get some rest. The farmers‘ markets are opening tomorrow. You should go with us.” 

Both she and Alaric nodded. 

After the two returned to the room, Victoria began, “It’s good to know I made the right choice to come back early.” 

Alaric agreed with a soft hum. Her smile was contagious, and he couldn’t help but pinch her ivory cheeks. However, the sensation triggered a pang of sadness within him. He used to do the same to her, and back then, he could feel the softness of her cheeks between his fingers, but now, he was almost touching the bone. 

14:22 Mon, 17 Jul 

He decided to look after her until she recovered to her healthy self. 

Meanwhile, Victoria had zero ideas about his thoughts. All she knew was Alaric pinched her face, so she swatted his hand away before asking, “Where are Nicole and Nathan? Aren’t they supposed to sleep with us tonight?” 

She didn’t see the children around when she came back. I wonder where they are. 

“I asked after them a while ago. They’re sharing a room with Mom tonight.” 

With Mom, huh? Victoria cast her eyes to the ground and was lost in her thoughts. 

With just a glance, Alaric was able to tell what she was thinking. Therefore, he prompted, “What is it? Do you want to sleep with them? You can join them if you want.” 

At that, she immediately raised her chin to meet his eyes. “Can I really join them?” 

“Nope, you can’t.” 

Feeling speechless, she stared at him in annoyance. “Are you messing with me, Alaric?” 

Alaric couldn’t help the smile on his face. “I’m not. But I saw the room. The bed is large enough for three people but not for more. There’s no more space for you if you want to join them.” 

Victoria tilted her and glanced at the bed behind him. 

The bed wasn’t large enough either. It barely fit both of them. If she was the only person taking the bed, there was no problem having the children share a bed with her. 

The problem was Alaric. The tall man took up a lot of space when he lay on the bed. There wasn’t any extra space for the kids. 

Therefore, bringing the children over to share a room with her was an impossible goal. 

“Whatever. Forget about it.” Victoria shook the thought out of her mind before turning to Alaric. “Let me tend to your wounds. Where did you put your medicine?” 

At that, she reached for his suitcase. 

“Allow me.” Alaric set the suitcase on the ground and searched for his medicine and bandage. 

She noticed his attempt, so she took the medicine and bandage and went to the side of the bed. “Let’s do it here.” 

Alaric glanced at the couch on the side. Then, he walked over to the bed and took a seat without saying a word. 

He had removed his coat, revealing the gray sweater and a white dress shirt he wore. 

“You should take off your sweater. Are you able to do it?” 

“Yeah.” 

Alaric removed his sweater with one swift movement, acting much unlike an injured person. It if wasn’t for the blood stain on his dress shirt, Victoria would have thought that he was in his best state after watching him remove his sweater. 

It wasn’t until she saw the blood–stained shirt that she realized even though he seemed fine during the stroll, he was only acting tough the whole time. 

After catching sight of the blood stain, she began to see things she didn’t notice earlier. When she looked at Alaric again, she felt like he looked paler than usual. I’m so careless! Why didn’t I think of it earlier? I should’ve let him rest. 

Once the thought was formed in her mind, she couldn’t hide the urgency in her movements. She bent down to unbutton his shirt. 

She did it with a thoughtful expression on her face, never giving a thought to anything else. Therefore, she did not notice Alaric’s expression when she was unbuttoning his shirt.