Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 525

Chapter 525 Not a Dream 

While the place was so quiet that they could hear each other’s heartbeat, Victoria slept in a lower position, resting her head on Alaric’s chest. Thus, she could clearly hear his rhythmic heartbeat. Nonetheless, she was soon overwhelmed by her sleepiness a few moments later, dozing off with her head still on Alaric’s chest. 

Noting Victoria’s steady breathing, Alaric knew that she had just fallen asleep. Then, he gently let out a sigh and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him so that he could fill the void that was inside of him. Although he had managed to save her from the incident earlier and always made sure she was by his side, he still couldn’t help but feel anxious and worried about her safety. Whenever Victoria was asleep, he would stay awake so that he could protect her. 

Deep down, Alaric was afraid that having Victoria back was just a dream that would end when he awakened. Therefore, he had been suffering from insomnia lately. Even with her in his arms, he could clearly feel her warm breath wafting toward his chest and even hear her heartbeat. While everything felt real, Alaric was still scared that it would turn out to be just a dream because he still couldn’t believe it was so easy for him to have her back by his side. At the thought of that, Alaric couldn’t help but feel lost, not knowing what he should do to make himself feel at ease. 

After silently looking at Victoria for a few moments, Alaric suddenly felt movements in his arms. He then heard a soft murmur and looked down, thinking there could be something going on in his embrace. However, it soon turned out that Victoria was just turning and tossing around in his arms before she hugged his waist even tighter. After that, she buried herself deeper in his arms and continued her sleep. 

Then, Alaric realized Victoria was probably just sleep–talking as she hadn’t woken up. Nevertheless, the fact that she hugged him even tighter during her sleep made him smile. After all, Victoria often. gave their two children more attention during the daytime, making Alaric jealous of them. Because of that, he was satisfied and happy for Victoria to wrap her arms around him tightly. 

No matter what happens, Victoria and the kids will always be the most important people. As the thought of that filled his mind with euphoria and joy, Alaric closed his eyes in satisfaction, happily falling asleep for the first time after having suffered many sleepless nights. Not knowing how long it had been, Alaric woke up and saw the light brightening the surroundings of the room, realizing he had fallen asleep. When he turned his attention to the window, the first thing that came into his view was the sunlight that shone through the clouds at the crack of dawn. 

Victoria… As that name flashed across his mind, Alaric looked down and saw Victoria still in his arms, only feeling relieved at the sight of that. Phew! She is still right by my side. She is still with me. With his eyes fixed upon Victoria’s restful look, Alaric felt as if the voidness in his heart filled. Hugging the woman he loved in his arms, he leaned closer to her and planted a kiss on her forehead. 

Meanwhile, Victoria vaguely felt someone’s lips on her forehead during her sleep, as if there was a feather gently grazing her skin. Although she was still sleepy at that time, she somehow opened her eyes when she felt that. After that, the first thing that came into view was Alaric’s chiseled chin and his thin lips. At that moment, Alaric happened to back away as their gaze met. It was then that she realized he planted a kiss on her forehead. 

“You…” 

“Are you up?” Alaric asked with a hoarse voice, gulping in his throat. “Did I wake you up? Sorry 

about that. I should have been a little gentler, baby. Now, if you’re tired, go back to sleep, would you?” 

Victoria gently blinked, thinking she was not sleepy at all. “No, I’m not tired. I slept pretty early last night.” She shook her head. After all, she went to bed with Alaric around 10.00PM the night before. As the crack of dawn suggested that it was approximately 6.00AM, she believed the two of them had about 8 hours of sleep. Furthermore, she was excited and curious to find out how it would be to visit the bazaar with Mary later. 

At the thought of that, Victoria sat up straight on the bed and looked at Alaric, asking, “Shouldn’t we have to wake up early to get to the bazaar? Do you think it’s a little too late for us to wake up at this hour?” 

Just when Alaric was about to answer that question, they were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. “Alaric, Victoria, are you two up yet?” Mary asked. 

“Yes, we are, Mom,” Victoria responded subconsciously. 

“Great then. In that case, would you want to come with us to the bazaar? If you’re interested in tagging along, you’re going to have to wake up early.” 

“Sure.” Victoria gave an affirmative reply without hesitating at all. 

“Alright, I’ll tell the rest about it while you get ready.” 

After it went silent out there, Victoria removed the blanket and got off the bed. Upon seeing that, Alaric followed right behind her and was able to tell that she was especially interested in visiting the bazaar when she quickly put on her clothes. Helpless, he put on his own clothes and entered the bathroom as well. Soon, when Alaric got into the bathroom, Victoria was already done with her morning ablutions, whereupon she stepped aside and left some space for him to stand. 

As soon as Alaric stood aside, something came to Victoria’s mind. She then turned around and looked at him. “You’re hurt. You can’t come with us.”