Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 80

Chapter 80 

Alaric and Victoria sat in silence on the way home. Alaric’s expression was 

dark. He clutched the steering wheel so tightly that one feared he would 

accidentally pull it out. 

He was troubled by what Victoria said to him earlier. The idea that she 

would leave one day never crossed his mind, but he sensed that 

something was brewing when she purposely brought it up. 

He stole a glance at Victoria. After getting in the car, she closed her eyes 

and curled up into a ball on the passenger seat, as though she wanted to 

shut out the whole world. 

After all these years of living together, he witnessed her hard work and her 

ambition to prove herself, but today, she ran into a wall, 

On the way to Victoria, he heard about the incident today from Yasmin. In 

the end, Yasmin was stammering and hesitating. Seeing that, he quickly 

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forced her to tell him more. As Victoria’s right–hand woman, Yasmin 

grabbed the chance to help Victoria air her grievances. “Well, Mr. 

Cadogan, I hope you won’t blame me for telling the truth. And don’t tell 

Miss Victoria that it was me who told you.” 

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“Cut the nonsense.” He frowned. 

“Okay. Here we go!” She took a deep breath and said loudly over the 

phone, “Mr. Burke said that Miss Victoria doesn’t need to work too hard 

because Mr. Cadogan has brought his mistress into the company. Mr. 

Burke also told Miss Victoria that she was going to be abandoned soon, 

and since the Selwyns are bankrupt, she’ll be bullied by others. Mr. 

Cadogan will never help her anyway.” 

Alaric’s veins were throbbing. “What did you say?” 

Yasmin emphasized, “Mr. Cadogan, I didn’t say that! I was just 

paraphrasing!” 

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He rubbed his temples and grunted. When he gathered himself, he felt a 

headache creeping up. 

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Half an hour later, he parked the car in the underground garage of 

Cadogan Residence. Victoria was still curled up in a ball as she finally 

opened her eyes and happened to meet Alaric’s gaze. 

He gestured at her to leave with his chin. “You should go up first. 

Grandma’s probably staying up for you.” She understood what he meant 

and nodded at him. “Sure, I’ll greet her.” Then, she unbuckled her seatbelt 

to get out of the car. 

“Wait.” 

Victoria turned around with a confused look to see Alaric leaning over, 

surrounding her with his crisp alpine scent. His good–looking face was only 

inches away, and she could see the cracks in his lips. Shocked, she 

widened her eyes and leaned backward. 

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He paused for a moment, and his eyes turned cold when he realized what 

she had done. “Why? Do you dislike me this much? Did you think I was 

going to kiss you?” 

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Staring at his mildly enraged face, she realized that she must have 

misunderstood his intention. She pursed her lips and turned her face away 

from him. She had wanted to explain herself, but any explanation seemed 

unnecessary at this point. She gave up and asked, “Why did you suddenly 

come closer to me?” 

He scoffed but didn’t answer. Instead, he went back to his seat with a long 

face. “You should go. Don’t forget to get rid of the smell of alcohol before 

you meet Grandma.” 

She finally understood his action just now. He was checking if she smelled 

like alcohol. She wanted to say something to diffuse the awkwardness, but 

in the end, she left without a word. 

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Silence returned to the car after Victoria got out. He pulled out the car key, 

got out of the car as well, and leaned against it while using his phone. He 

said coldly to someone, “Look into the recent acquisitions for me.’ 

Since Victoria did not drink, she only needed to change out from the outfit 

that stank of alcohol from the bar. After that, she washed her face and 

greeted Griselda. The old lady had not gone to bed–she sighed in relief 

when she saw Victoria safe and sound. 

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“You’re safe. Everything’s good.” Griselda patted Victoria’s hand and 

advised her earnestly, “I don’t even know if I will survive the surgery. I might 

not have a chance to see you again if the surgery fails. I don’t wish for 

much, except for the health and safety of my children and grandchildren 

at this age.” 

Victoria’s expression changed. “Grandma, what are you talking about? The 

surgery will be á success, and you’ll be with us for a long time! Don’t say 

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that again or you’ll make me angry!” 

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