Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria)

Chapter 46

As long as it’s within his means…

Claudia nearly blurted out her request, but she managed to stop herself.

I can’t bring it up now. I need to keep my cool.

Thus, she asked about Griselda instead. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“I haven’t had a chance to visit her yet ever since I got back. I want to visit

her a few days from now. Is that okay?”

Alaric frowned and opposed the idea.

“Wait a little longer first. I’m worried that it might affect Grandma’s

condition.”

Claudia’s smile grew faint. Things were still the same. For some reason,

Chapter 46 Thoughtful and Attentive

Griselda didn’t seem fond of her.

However, as she saved Alaric before, Griselda did treat her with courtesy,

but that was all. Griselda was pleasant and polite to her solely because

she was Alaric’s savior.

Yet, Griselda treated Victoria as if the latter was her own granddaughter.

This was something that Claudia could not accept.

In the end, Claudia nodded obligingly.

“Alright. I’ll do as you say.”

It wouldn’t be for much longer anyway. She just needed to be patient.

Victoria came back to the office after her break.

She had taken her annual leave in a rush, so even though she did her best

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to hand off her work before going on her break, the person who took over

from her wasn’t skillful enough to handle everything. When she got back,

she realized a lot of things had been overlooked.

Thus, she was swamped with work as soon as she got back to the office.

A whole pile of work was waiting for her.

It was only at noon did Victoria finally have the time to take a break.

Throughout the morning, Yasmin came in a few times to bring some

drinks for her. At first, Yasmin brought her coffee and Victoria had

absentmindedly taken a sip, but the moment the bitterness hit her

tongue, she was reminded of something and set the cup down again

without drinking anymore.

When Yasmin came in again, she saw that the coffee hadn’t been drunk

yet and had gotten cold.

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“I’ll get you a new cup of coffee, Miss Victoria,” Yasmin said.

Victoria looked up from her work and said, “From now on, bring me water

instead of coffee, Yasmin.”

“Huh?” Yasmin thought she had misheard Victoria. “Y–You’re not drinking

coffee anymore?”

“Yeah. I’m not drinking it anymore.”

Yasmin was a chatterbox, and when she heard Victoria’s reply, she

naturally asked, “But why, Miss Victoria? Water won’t help you stay alert.”

Victoria didn’t answer. She simply looked at Yasmin with a smile.

Yasmin realized belatedly that she was prying, so she scratched her head

awkwardly. “Sorry about that, Miss Victoria. I’ll get you water from now on.”

“Thanks.”

Victoria buried herself in work again.

Now that she thought about it, she knew she couldn’t be drinking coffee

anymore, and tea wasn’t an option either. Her workload was heavy and if

she did have any caffeine, she might end up consuming quite a lot

throughout the day. Her best choice was to stick to water.

At last, when Victoria finally had time to take a break, she leaned back on

her chair and closed her eyes in exhaustion.

A few moments later, her phone started ringing.

Victoria glanced at the screen and saw that it was Alaric calling.

She answered the phone. “What is it? If it has to do with work, you can just

use my office landline.”

There was a short pause on the other end of the line as if her words

stopped him in his tracks.

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Then, the cool voice rang out. “It’s not work. Have you eaten lunch yet? If

you haven’t, then come over.”

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He spoke quickly and curtly.

Victoria didn’t expect him to invite her over for lunch. She glanced at the

looming pile of work on her desk and was just about to decline when she

heard another voice coming through the phone.

“You should use a gentler tone, Al. I made lunch for you too, Victoria. We’re

waiting for you.”

Victoria’s gaze hardened, but her voice sounded the same. “That won’t be

necessary. You two can go ahead. I still have work to do, so don’t wait for

me.”

She ended the call immediately after.

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asked, “Are you going out for lunch, Yasmin?”

“Yes, Miss Victoria. Do you want to come along?”

“Sure. Let’s go together.”

Victoria got her phone and purse before following Yasmin to the office

cafeteria.

Yasmin felt rather flattered as she walked beside Victoria. It was her first

time having lunch with Victoria at the office cafeteria.

She was thrilled and kept striking up a conversation with Victoria.

“Are you sure you’ll like the food at the cafeteria, Miss Victoria? We can go

out and eat too if you prefer.”

“It’s fine.” Victoria smiled. “The cafeteria’s the closest so it’s most

convenient. We can head right back to work after eating.”

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“Oh…” Now that work was brought up, Yasmin felt guilty. “I’m sorry. It’s all my

fault. If I’d been able to do a better job, work wouldn’t have piled up so

much.”

Victoria eyed Yasmin and didn’t try to comfort her.

She was bound to resign once the divorce happened, and the only person

under her supervision was Yasmin, so when she left, Yasmin would be

promoted to replace her.

In the past, Victoria had been quite lenient with Yasmin. She handled most

of the work herself and allowed Yasmin to slowly learn on the job.

However, that was no longer possible now.

“If you feel bad about it, then you should put more effort into learning this

afternoon,” Victoria replied shortly.

11 13 Mon, 19 Jun

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“I will. I’ll do my best to ease your burden, Miss Victoria.”

The two of them lined up to get their food.

* 377%#

While waiting in line, the crowd around them began whispering among

themselves when they saw Victoria.

Once she sat down, they began making comments loudly without regard

for her presence.

“My, my. The wife of the president is having lunch at the cafeteria with

everyone else. Does she think she’s being so humble for coming down

from her pedestal?”

“Humble? Oh, please. Don’t even call her the wife of the president. Have

you ever seen the wife of the president working as a secretary? The future

wife of the president is currently in Mr. Cadogan’s office, okay?”

They didn’t bother keeping it quiet. It was as if they assumed that Victoria

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had fallen from grace and were purposely demeaning her in front of her.

“You’re talking about Miss Claudia Johnson from the Johnsons, right? I saw

her yesterday. She brought lunch for Mr. Cadogan yesterday and she

came over today too. She’s so thoughtful and attentive.”

“I heard that she’s the one that Mr. Cadogan actually wants to marry. Not

only does she come from a good family, but she’s also so beautiful, and

most importantly, she saved Mr. Cadogan’s life before.”

“As for that other person? She has nothing. Not only has her family gone

bankrupt, but she even had to rely on Mr. Cadogan to get a job as a

secretary here at Cadogan Group. She can’t do anything for Mr. Cadogan.”

Victoria quietly listened to the fervent discussion going on around her.

She even agreed with the last thing she heard.

It was true that her family wasn’t of any help to Alaric when it came to the

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business.

Clang!

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Yasmin, who was sitting opposite Victoria, couldn’t take it anymore. She

slammed her cutlery down and declared, “They’ve gone too far! I’m going

to confront them!”

She stood up in a huff.

However, Victoria commanded coolly, “You’re not allowed to go.”

“Miss Victoria!”

Victoria’s tone was indifferent but firm all the same. “Sit down.”