Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria)

Chapter 30

84

“Who do you think she is?” Norwood asked him back. Their gazes

intertwined in midair, and they stared into each other’s eyes before he

suddenly asked, “What’s the matter? Are you disappointed that it wasn’t

her?”

As for who that ‘her‘ was, both knew precisely whom they were talking

about.

After a moment of silence, Alaric snorted. “Who’s disappointed? What’s

there to be disappointed about? She can come as she wishes.”

“Really?” Norwood raised an eyebrow. “Since you don’t care about this, I

won’t say anything more.” He kept his word.

Alaric’s eyebrows were scrunched tightly as he looked at him unhappily.

“Just say whatever it is that you know. Why do you have to be so

mysterious?”

Chapter 30 Raising a Child Is Fun

“Me being mysterious?” Norwood put on a shocked expression. “I thought

you didn’t want to know and that you’re tired of listening to matters about

her, so I stopped talking. What’s that? Do you want to know now?”

Alaric was speechless. F*ck. Why am I friends with him?

Not feeling like talking to Norwood anymore, he removed the covers to

wear his shoes and get out of bed. His actions were rough, and he was

pulling a long face.

When he was done tidying up his attire, the door was pushed open, and

West entered the room. Seeing that Alaric was awake, West immediately

greeted him before telling him how worried Claudia was when she rushed

over last night.

Alaric’s expression became gentler upon hearing her name.

“Al, Claudia just called to ask about your condition. She said to tell her

once you’re awake because she’s worried about you.”

Chapter 30 Raising a Child Is Fun

“Sure.” Then, Alaric took out his phone, but when he looked through his call

log, he discovered there were calls with Victoria. His pupils contracted

slightly as he asked in a raspy voice, “Did you guys call her? Or was it she

who called?”

“Who are you asking about?” West peeked at the screen of Alaric’s phone

and understood what he was asking about when he saw the name. “Oh,

Victoria. It was Norwood who called and told her you were drunk.”

Hearing that, Alaric glanced at Norwood, who shrugged and smiled

without saying anything.

West and Norwood had different personalities; West was the type to blurt

everything out without being asked to. Hence, without waiting for Alaric’s

questions, he started telling him what he needed to know.

“Al, I don’t mean to sow discord between you two, but Victoria has gone

overboard. You were so drunk, and Norwood had called her, yet she never

Chapter 30 Raising a Child Is Fun

appeared. Claudia, on the other hand, was anxious after I called to tell her

about your condition and rushed over immediately.”

At first, West thought Alaric would be happy to hear that, but his thin lips

were pressed into a straight line, indicating his bad mood. “W–What’s the

matter?”

Alaric suddenly laughed self–deprecatingly. “Nothing.”

“Oh.” West scratched the back of his head in confusion. “I bought

breakfast. Would you guys like some?”

“You can have it.” At that point, Alaric had no appetite because he was

filled with frustration over Victoria’s behavior.

Following that, West asked Norwood and received the same answer, so he

left with a dumbfounded expression. He also commented before closing

the door, “Why are they acting strangely so early in the morning?”

Chapter 30 Raising a Child Is Fun

Once the room returned to silence, it made Alaric feel even more

frustrated, so he tugged on his already messed–up tie and took it off.

Meanwhile, Norwood stared at him while he stood on the side and finally

spoke up after a while, “Although it’s just a guess, I’d still like to help

someone defend her case.”

When Alaric heard that, he looked at him. “What?”

“Victoria.”

Norwood replied with a name before explaining clearly, “Though she didn’t

show up last night, her reaction seemed strange after I called her again

later.” Then, he told Alaric what happened last night, and Alaric fell silent.

Watching his quiet state, Norwood continued, “Could there be a possibility

that she did come over but bumped into Claudia and us outside the hotel

and decided it wasn’t appropriate for her to show up?” Content is property of NôvelDrama.Org.

Chapter 30 Raising a Child Is Fun

That explanation went straight into Alaric’s heart, and he slightly narrowed

his eyes before denying it. “That’s impossible.”

With a raised eyebrow, Norwood asked, “Why?”

“She and Claudia have no grudges, so why would she retreat after seeing

her?” When talking about that, Alaric laughed self–deprecatingly. “She just

doesn’t want to see or care about me.”

Norwood stopped talking and pursed his lips while falling into deep

thought.

The two were quiet for a long time. Subsequently, Alaric’s phone rang from

a call by Claudia. As Norwood was standing beside him, he saw it too.

The moment before Alaric went out to answer the call, Norwood sighed

and asked, “Up until now, are you still unclear about what you want?”

Once he said those words, Alaric stopped walking abruptly. When he

Chapter 30 Raising a Child Is Fun

turned around, Norwood had already gone outside, leaving him alone

inside the room while still holding his ringing phone.

“Have you made up your mind?” Summer was still worried about Victoria

last night but did not expect to receive such good news today.

“Yes.” Victoria was smiling faintly.

Now, it felt like she was experiencing the rainbow after the storm. As one

would say, the path became clearer when you made a decision.

While she was lost, she felt like her future was a never–ending blank

canvas. Now that she had made up her mind, she discovered things had

suddenly turned clear. For example, she now knew what she should do

next and what to strive for in the future because she had a goal she could

work hard to achieve.

Chapter 30 Raising a Child Is Fun

“That’s great.” Summer smiled while holding Victoria’s hand. “Victoria, I’m

happy for you. So, have you thought of a name for your baby?”

Hearing that, Victoria felt her lips twitch. “Woah. We’re thinking this far

ahead already?”

“How is that far ahead? If you come up with names first, you can just

choose one after giving birth. Also, you have to buy a house to raise your

child, right?”

“Yes, I’m planning on buying a new house after getting divorced, but…

that’s just my initial plan. I still have to find a way to break it to my family.

They’re all staying abroad, so if they’re willing to accept my child, I can

move in with them, but…”

She had thought about it. If her family could not accept the newcomer,

she would find a city without Alaric and buy a new house so she could

start a new life with her baby.

Chapter 30 Raising a Child Is Fun

Before, she had never imagined what it was like to have a child, and there

were even more instances where she thought she had not grown up yet

because there were still many things she could not understand. Yet, now,

she had begun imagining her life with her child.

The baby inside her might be a boy or a girl. There was a huge difference

between both sexes and varying methods of raising them, so she had to

research and devise a plan.

“Don’t worry. Mr. Selwyn loves you dearly, so I’m sure he’ll agree with your

decision. Plus, raising a child is fun, isn’t it?”

08