Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria)

Chapter 59

It was rare for Claudia to throw a tantrum. She was typically gentle and

easygoing with others, and people often saw her as the ‘it girl‘ because of

how pretty and kind she was. Her friends were, therefore, stunned to see

her lose her temper, and they all stared at her puzzledly. The air around

them felt especially still, and Claudia only returned to her senses after she

realized how silent her surroundings were. She realized what she had just

done after she noticed how everyone was staring at her.

Claudia parted her red lips and hesitated for a while before she managed

to explain herself. “I’m sorry. I lost my temper as I was in a bad mood

earlier. My apologies.” Claudia had no choice but to keep apologizing to

maintain their good impression of her. Tears started to form in her eyes

before they trickled down her cheeks. Tears started to form in her eyes

before they trickled down her cheeks. Her friends had been shocked by

her sudden outburst of anger earlier, but they immediately felt sorry for

her when she started apologizing and crying.

Chapter 59 She Wants to Be the Mistress

“What happened, Claudia? Don’t cry.”

“Tell us what happened. We’re all here to help.”

“Yeah, Claudia. Weren’t you on the phone with Alaric earlier?” All her friends

started comforting her and handing her tissues. It took them a while

before they finally managed to calm her down. Claudia was a gorgeous

young lady, and she looked especially delicate and vulnerable when she

cried. She ran her fair fingers across her eyes to dry her tears. “Yeah, we

spoke on the phone earlier. They’re not getting a divorce for now,” she

muttered dejectedly.

Griselda’s surgery was delayed after she fainted, which meant that Alaric

and Victoria’s divorce would have to be delayed as well. Even though

Claudia felt rather embarrassed, she knew that she couldn’t hide the truth

from others. “What? Are they not getting a divorce yet? Why not?” one of

Claudia’s friends asked.

Chapter 59 She Wants to Be the Mistress

“Yeah. Didn’t they say that they would get the divorce after Old Mrs.

Cadogan’s surgery was done? Why are they changing their plans?”

“I know! That b*tch, Victoria, must have shamelessly clung onto Alaric. She

didn’t want to get the divorce, did she?” Claudia parted her lips to explain

herself after hearing her friends‘ words. Right then, another one of her

friends spoke up. “I always knew that Victoria was up to something. Do you

guys remember how she looked when we last went to look for her? Does

she really think that she gets to hold on to the title of being Mrs. Cadogan

just because she has been with Alaric for two years?”

“Don’t worry, Claudia. If she tries to snatch Alaric away from you, we’ll

make sure to teach her a lesson.”

“We have to give her a taste of her own medicine.”

Initially, Claudia figured that she would have no choice but to wait until

Griselda was done with her surgery. However, after hearing how her

Chapter 59 She Wants to Be the Mistress

friends wanted to teach Victoria a lesson, Claudia was reminded of the

child in Victoria’s belly. If… If I can use my friends to get rid of the baby in

Victoria’s belly… How would that turn out? Alaric might find out about this if

things ever get exposed, but even in that case, Victoria will no longer be a

threat since she no longer has the kid. Furthermore, I won’t have to bear

any responsibility as long as I’m not the one who hurt Victoria. I’ll still be

Alaric’s savior.

Despite having these thoughts, Claudia still put on a good act. “You guys

shouldn’t talk about such things. I’m sure Victoria has her reasons,” she

uttered in a gentle tone.

“What reason could she have? How could one have a reason for clinging

onto someone else’s boyfriend for such a long time? I bet she just wants

to be the third wheel in your relationship. Perhaps she just doesn’t want to

return Alaric to you. She’s such a shameless b*tch,” one of Claudia’s

friends hissed.

Chapter 59 She Wants to Be the Mistress

“Yeah. Why would she give up on her role as Mrs. Cadogan when she

receives so many benefits from it? You’re just too kind, Claudia. Why didn’t

you speak up when Al wanted to have a fake marriage with her?” another

friend asked.

Why didn’t I speak up? I wanted to speak up, but… Claudia lowered her

gaze without saying much. “Stop questioning Claudia. Don’t you guys

know how kind Claudia is? Claudia probably felt sorry for Victoria when

she saw how poor Victoria’s family was. Victoria is simply trying to seem

pitiful by exaggerating the state of poverty that her family is in. I’ve never

seen someone as shameless as her,” one friend uttered.

“Don’t worry, Claudia. We’ll make sure to do you justice this time.”

“Stop it, guys.,.” Claudia glanced at her friends with her teary eyes. “I know

you mean well, but Victoria has been taking care of Al’s grandmother in

the hospital. She’s a thoughtful girl,” Claudia said.

Chapter 59 She Wants to Be the Mistress

“Is that so? Well, then, we can teach her a lesson after she’s done caring

for his grandmother. We have to stand up for you,” one of the friends said

after everyone heard Claudia’s explanation.

“I don’t want you guys to do anything silly. I’ll talk to her after this,” Claudia

said with a helpless look on her face. Then, she dried her tears before

giving her friends a forced smile. “Alright. Let’s finish up this dinner that I

prepared. I’m glad I bought more food. I’ll get someone to send more food

over if this isn’t enough,” she added.

“Claudia…”

“Let’s stop talking about that matter. We should all get drunk tonight so

that we can forget about all our sorrows.” Claudia opened a bottle of wine

before she walked over to the cupboard to get more glasses. A few of her

friends looked at Claudia before exchanging glances among themselves.

They came to a decision there and then.

Chapter 59 She Wants to Be the Mistress

Both Victoria and Alaric took care of Griselda for the whole day. Victoria

didn’t have much of an appetite that day, so she leaned against the edge

of the bed with a sickly look on her face. She looked like she was the

patient in the room. Later on, Alaric helped her up to have some food. “You

need to eat something,” he said.

Victoria frowned. “I don’t have an appetite.”

“Do you think you’re some higher power who doesn’t need food to

survive?” Alaric muttered after a moment of silence. She didn’t have an

appetite throughout the day, so she hadn’t eaten anything at all. Alaric

noticed how Victoria had lost a lot of weight, but he wasn’t sure if it was

just his imagination. Victoria didn’t protest after that, so Alaric handed her

a bowl of porridge. “You should eat some, even if you just have a few

mouthfuls of it.”

Victoria knitted her brows together at the sight of the porridge. She

wanted to reject his offer at first, but she hesitated for a moment before

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taking the bowl from him. She picked the spoon up and forced a few

mouthfuls of food into her mouth. She genuinely didn’t feel hungry, nor did

she have any appetite. However, she couldn’t do as she pleased because

she now had a baby in her belly. This baby was about to be part of her

family in the future. She knew that it was her duty as a mother to take care

of her baby.

Upon realizing that, Victoria found her appetite. She no longer struggled to

finish her food, and she took a second bowl of porridge after finishing the

first bowl. Alaric raised his eyebrow when he saw her having more food-

he was surprised by her sudden change in demeanor. However, he didn’t

comment much about it since the change was good for her. Both of them

finished their meals quietly. Alaric didn’t have much of an appetite himself

-he typically ate double the amount of what Victoria did, but he only

consumed the same amount of food as her that day.

Alaric cleaned up after they were done, while Victoria simply sat on the

couch and watched him. She was used to this–they had known each

Chapter 59 She Wants to Be the Mistress

other since they were children, and Victoria would often urge Alaric to

clean things up even when they weren’t dating. Alaric was usually

compliant with her requests, and after that, he would do it before Victoria

even told him to. Their interactions followed a regular pattern of Alaric

taking care of her and giving in to her needs.

All along, Victoria had been enjoying receiving his care and didn’t think too

much of it. She even developed a stronger emotional attachment toward

him after seeing the way he treated her throughout their fake marriage.

However, at this point in time, Victoria observed their interactions without

thinking about their marriage, and she realized that their interactions were

pretty much the same with or without them being married.