Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria)

Chapter 58

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Victoria instinctively looked up and glanced at him after hearing what he

said. She felt rather self–conscious when she gazed directly into his deep,

dark eyes–she felt as if he could read her mind then. She hastily looked NôvelDrama.Org copyrighted © content.

away before responding in a nonchalant tone. “Yeah.”

“Is that so?” Alaric narrowed his eyes before looking at the area under her

eyes, which she tried to cover up with her glasses. “Why do you have dark

circles, then?” Alaric seemed to realize something the moment he finished

his sentence. “That explains why you’re wearing your glasses today.”

Victoria didn’t know what to say. She pulled her hand away before

shooting him a disdainful look. “I’m done cleaning up for you, but you have

a cut on your lip. You should get some medication for it later. Come on,

let’s go look for Grandma.” Victoria turned to walk after finishing her

sentence, while Alaric hesitated for a while more before going after her.

“You have bloodshot eyes, which shows that your eyes are tired. Did you

Chapter 58 That’s Enough, Alaric

not sleep last night?” he asked. Victoria finally turned around to snap at

him. “That’s enough, Alaric.” Then, she hastened her footsteps, her high

heels clicking on the ground.

After speaking to the doctor, they found out that Griselda fainted because

she had been too anxious. Her vital signs were all fine, and she didn’t show

any other significant problems after arriving at the hospital. The three of

them heaved sighs of relief after hearing the news. Thankfully, she only

fainted because she was nervous! I’m glad there’s no other issue, Victoria

thought.

“I wouldn’t recommend for her to get surgery with the current mental state

that she’s in,” the doctor uttered with a frown. “Mental illnesses can lead to

more severe problems as well. She’s physically prepared for the surgery,

but her weak mental state might lead to other issues,” the doctor advised.

“What should we do now, then? Do you have any ways to fix this, Doctor?”

Chapter 58 That’s Enough, Alaric

her down for now, but we may also need her family to be around for some

counseling sessions with a psychologist,” the doctor said. Victoria

understood the situation then–Griselda’s issue was still more of a

psychological one than a physical one. Victoria pressed her red lips.

together to form a glum look on her face.

Alaric walked over to give her a hug. “We understand. We’ll do our best to

support her treatment. We’ll excuse ourselves for now,” he said in a calm

voice. “Sure. You guys should pay Old Mrs. Cadogan a visit now,” the

doctor replied. Alaric led Victoria–who felt like she was floating around in

a daydream–out of the office and toward Griselda’s ward.

There were two nurses keeping watch in Griselda’s ward, and they got to

their feet to greet Victoria and Alaric when they walked in. “Old Mrs.

Cadogan is still asleep for now, but she’s doing fine. You guys don’t have

to worry,” one of the nurses said.

Victoria nodded with a heavy feeling in her chest. “Thanks. We can keep an

Chapter 58 That’s Enough, Alaric

eye on her now, so you guys can go on with your other jobs,” Victoria

offered. Then, she took a seat by the side of Griselda’s bed. Her

movements were gentle and careful, and she seemed as light as a

feather even when she sat down on the chair. She didn’t make any noise

at all.

Griselda, who was still fast asleep, had a peaceful look on her face. She

still had the same elegant aura despite all the time she spent in the

nursing home. One could tell that she was a special lady even just by

looking at the way she lay silently on the bed. Both Victoria and Alaric were

silent as they stayed in the room.

Nearly half an hour had passed when the sound of a phone ringing filled

the air. Victoria instinctively glanced in Alaric’s direction, and he hastily

pulled his phone out to put it on silent. Since both Alaric and Victoria were

sitting by the old lady’s bed, Victoria was close enough to see the caller ID

on Alaric’s phone–it was a call from Claudia. Victoria met Alaric’s gaze for

a moment before she looked away. “You should go out to pick up the call,”

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Chapter 58 That’s Enough, Alaric

she whispered.

Alaric was silent for a while before he walked out to pick up the call. After

he went out, a rather disheartened look flashed in Victoria’s gaze. Why is

Claudia calling him at this time? Did he tell her that we’re getting a divorce

today? Is Claudia calling to ask if we’ve successfully gotten a divorce?

Meanwhile, Alaric made sure to walk a distance away from the room

before he picked up Claudia’s call. “Al?” Claudia’s voice came from the

other end of the line. Even though Alaric wasn’t in a good mood, he still

tried his best to sound pleasant. “Yeah. Why are you up so early?”

Claudia sounded worried. “I’ve been awake for a while, actually. I didn’t get

much sleep last night as I was worried about Old Mrs. Cadogan. How is

she now? Al, I know this might not be a good time to make such a request,

but I’m really worried about Old Mrs. Cadogan, so… Can I drop by to visit

her? Don’t worry–I’ll make sure that she doesn’t see me. I’ll just stay

Chapter 58 That’s Enough, Alaric

outside, and I’ll leave when she wakes up. I won’t go in at all,” Claudia

uttered.

Alaric raised his eyebrow when he heard how meek she sounded. She was

his savior, and she didn’t deserve such treatment. Alaric was tempted to

agree to the suggestion, but he eventually decided against it when he

considered Griselda’s condition. “Grandma hasn’t gone for the surgery,

Claudia.”

Claudia paused for a while after hearing his words. “Is that so? Was the

surgery delayed, or…?”

“Yeah. The surgery was delayed because Grandma got too nervous and

fainted.” Alaric glanced in the direction of his grandmother’s room as he

spoke. “The surgery will be delayed for quite a while.”

“What? It’s… It’s going to be delayed?” Claudia froze as she glanced at the

red wine and steak that she had prepared. She had even placed some

scented candles on the table. She hadn’t expected such a situation to

Chapter 58 That’s Enough, Alaric

arise at this point.

“Yeah. We’re not sure how much longer it’ll take until Grandma gets the

surgery. She’s still asleep for now, so I’ll contact you later on.” Alaric ended

the call and walked back to the room after that.

Beep, beep. Claudia froze when she realized that Alaric had ended her

call. One of her friends walked out from the room next door, and the friend

walked over to tease her when she saw that Claudia had placed her

phone down on the table. “How is it going, Claudia? Did you make the

call?”

Claudia nodded. However, her friend didn’t seem to realize how low her

spirits were. “Woah. Congratulations, then! Is Alaric coming over later? Can

we stay back to celebrate with you guys?” the friend asked excitedly.

“Yeah, Claudia. Your precious Al is finally free of that woman. You’ll officially

become Mrs. Cadogan after this, won’t you?”

Chapter 58 That’s Enough, Alaric

“Oh, Mrs. Cadogan, please don’t forget us after you become all wealthy

and powerful!”

“You’ll have to share some of your wealth with us once that happens. I’m

expecting to get a VIP seat at your wedding, you know?”

“Me too, me too! I want to be at the front of the hall! By the way, can you

throw the bouquet of flowers in my direction during your wedding,

Claudia? I’m hoping to marry my boyfriend by the end of this year!” one

friend added.

“Really? Are you planning to get married too? Congratulations,” another

friend replied. The few friends chatted happily among themselves, and

they didn’t realize the gloomy look on Claudia’s face. The friends seemed

to get more and more excited as they spoke.

After a while, Claudia couldn’t take it any longer. She looked up and

snapped at them. “Can you all stop talking?”

Chapter 58 That’s Enough, Alaric

Her friends were stunned as they didn’t understand why she was throwing

a tantrum. “Claudia…”

“You didn’t even try to understand the full situation and are making your

own assumptions. None of you even care about how I feel. Don’t you think

you guys are a bit too much?”