Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 425

Chapter 425 

Alaric pursed his lips as upset simmered on his face. He did not seem to like what 

Victoria just said to him. 

She had no choice but to forcefully tug her hand away. 

His eyes immediately shimmered with distress and pain. 

That rendered her speechless. 

As she tried to free her hand from his grip, Erik spoke up. “Mr. Cadogan, Miss Selwyn, 

we have to leave for our flight now. Farewell.” 

He then turned his hand to lock his fingers around Summer’s fingers before leading her 

away. 

“H–Hey!” 

Summer had not expected to be dragged away so suddenly. When she eventually 

snapped out of her shock, she called out to Victoria, “I’ll see you back home! Once I’m 

done with my tasks, I’ll visit you.” 

Victoria waved at her. “Okay. See you back home.” 

Chapter 125 Are You Mad 

Now, Alaric and Victoria were the only ones left in the room. 

After a few minutes of silence, Victoria blurted out, “They’re gone. When are you going 

to let go?” 

2/8 

He looked down at their linked hands and happily smiled. “Why let go? Can we only hold 

hands when others are around?” 

She stared down at their joined hands in silence. Then, she said, “It was just a polite 

handshake. Did you need to do this?” 

“Yes.” 

Alaric turned to stare into her eyes. “I don’t like it when other men touch you.” 

“He was not touching me. It was going to be a handshake. You wouldn’t call that a 

touch,” she emphatically said. 

To her surprise, he retorted, “That won’t do either. Even if you’re only shaking his hand, 

you 

would still have come in contact with his skin.” 

Victoria silently stared at him. 

Forget it. She was too exhausted to argue any longer. 

With eyes trained on her face, Alaric abruptly said, “Terrance told me you were asking 

12:05 Sat, 8 Jul 

1. GO. 

Chapter 425 Are You Mad 

about Bane.” 

She froze. If I had known Terrance would tell him about this, I wouldn’t have asked 

about Bane. Gosh. 

Now, Alaric was questioning her over the conversation. 

It did not happen that long ago either. 

“I shouldn’t have asked him. I didn’t think he would tell you so soon. Yes, I asked him 

about Bane. What about it?” 

Was he going to lecture her about that? 

Victoria saw him purse his lips. 

A few moments later, Alaric solemnly asked, “Is your impression of me that bad?” 

“What?” For a moment, she did not understand what he was trying to say. 

“Are you saying that I’m not worthy of your trust? Is that why you direct your questions 

at other people instead of just asking me?” 

She had thought he was interrogating her. To her surprise, his only concern was about 

trust. He thought that if she did not ask him those questions, it meant she did not trust 

him. 

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Chapter 425 Are You Mad 

4/8 

At that, she instinctively opened her mouth to explain herself. “It’s not like that. I just…” 

“Perhaps you think I might do something to him?” he interrupted. 

She silently stared at him in response. 

The lack of a proper answer both vexed and worried him. “Speak!” 

“What do you want me to say?” 

Alaric frowned. 

“I didn’t ask you because I was afraid you would react like this. That’s why I asked 

Terrance. Since he is unable to do as I ask, then I decided to put it out of my mind. I 

would never talk about this to your face.” 

Despite her explanation, he did not feel reassured at all. “Is he more important to you 

than me?” 

Victoria was at a loss for words. 

“If I had kidnapped you instead of him, would you have chosen to stay by his side 

instead?” he asked. 

The question shocked her to the core. 

Chapter 425 Are You Mad 

She had never thought it was possible for Alaric to kidnap her. After all, when he 

bothered her in the past, he merely acted like a reckless fool at times. She never 

thought he would ever kidnap her. 

However, she had also not expected Bane to kidnap her out of the blue. 

Now that Alaric mentioned the possibility, she was snapped out of her dense mindset. 

She soon calmed down, however. 

Wait, no. She could not let herself get carried away. “That never happened, so the 

example you used means nothing.” 

5/8 

Alaric’s eyes darkened when he heard her reply. “Is it because of the example or 

because you have no answer for me? Perhaps you’re trying to say that your answer will 

be exactly what I had expected.” 

Victoria pursed her lips. She tried to imagine a world where Alaric had kidnapped her 

and forced her to live an isolated life with him and their children. 

No way. She could not accept a life like that, even with him. 

No matter who it was or how close they were, she was unable to accept a man who 

committed a crime like that. 

With that in mind, she blurted out a frank answer, ignoring the possibility that she might 

Chapter 425 Are You Mad 

hurt his feelings. 

“You’re right. If you had kidnapped me, I would not have stayed by your side.” 

There was a gloomy look in his eyes. 

“Similarly, leaving your side doesn’t automatically mean I would be by his side. If I am 

with you, it is because I consented to it. No one could have forced me to do it.” 

She had made her stance as clear as possible. As for what he would think of it, that 

was up to him. 

Victoria then turned around and walked out of the room, leaving him alone and frozen 

in place. 

Alaric only snapped back to reality several long minutes after her departure. What had 

he just said on impulse? 

He frowned as remorse crept through his veins. 

He had misspoken when he carved into his impulses. 

She was right. It was her choice who she wanted to be with. No one could force her to 

do anything. 

At that thought, he raced after her. 

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7/8 

Victoria had not walked that far away though, so he soon caught up to her. He grabbed 

her by the wrist and pulled her into an embrace. 

“I’m sorry. I was too brash just now. Don’t be angry at me, please,” Alaric pleaded. 

She shoved at him in response, but as she had accidentally shoved at his injuries, he let 

out a muffled groan of pain. 

In her anger, she had forgotten about his wounds. She promptly pulled away and 

glanced up at his face. 

“Are you okay?” 

Alaric’s dark eyes shone down at her. “I’m fine. Even if I’m not, I asked for it. I have to 

suffer the consequences. What I said was wrong. You are free to hit my wounds to vent 

your anger.” 

He then grabbed her hands and placed them on his wounds. 

Victoria’s face twisted in fright. The minute her skin touched the spot where his injuries 

were, she pulled her hand out of his grip. Still, the brief touch caused him so much pain 

that he broke out in a fit of cold sweat. 

After her hands were free to move as she pleased, she frantically admonished, “Are you 

mad?” 

Chapter 425 Are You Mad 

She helped him back to the room they had just left. Then, she unbuttoned his shirt to 

check on his wounds. 

8/8 

Just as she expected, the bandages wrapped around his torso were heavily soaked in 

bright red blood. The contrast of the blood against the bleached fabric made her heart 

skip in fear. 

It was only a few glances down at the stained bandages, yet she could feel her head 

start to spin. What did it say about the pain he was dealing with? 

She pulled out her phone to call the doctor, but he snatched it before she could do it. “I 

misspoke, so this is my punishment,” he said. “Don’t call the doctor.”