Departed With A Belly {1}

Be Good

At this time, Victoria had already changed into her pajamas and was about to fall asleep.

She didn't let her dark mood interfere with her daily routine. She would face a difficult battle if she chose to keep her child. As such, she had to keep her energy levels high to prepare for the battle.

She would lie in bed to rest even if she couldn't sleep.

However, her cell phone rang at this time. She glanced at the screen and saw that the call had come from Alaric. Victoria was perplexed when she saw the name on the screen. She had a heated argument with him earlier.

When he rushed out, Victoria assumed he was going to find Claudia. That was why Victoria was surprised when Alaric called her. She was about to answer the call but remembered the previous call he had asked Claudia to make.

Mavbe he will inform me of the same thing again. Victoria didn't want to pick it up because of that.

However, she accepted the call as the phone kept ringing. Then, she heard a male voice she didn't recognize. After a while, she eventually got out of bed and resignedly changed out of her pajamas to go outside. The temperature had dropped after dark.

As a result, she shrank back subconsciously as soon as she walked out.

Everyone was asleep by then, so Victoria didn't bother calling the driver. Instead, she went to the garage with the keys.

Norwood's words rang in her head as she drove away."Alaric doesn't appear to be in good shape. Please come over here as
soon as possible."

Why is Alaric not in good shape? Will his possessiveness turn him odd? Victoria did not imagine that Alaric would want to get drunk.

More importantly, she resumed her erratic thinking.Could Alaric have been acting strangely because he is jealous? No, he loves Claudia, so how can he be jealous because of me?

He must believe that his masculinity has been attacked, which is why he's acting strangely. As Victoria was thinking, a beam of light appeared ahead of her. She
came to her senses and hurriedly swerved to one side before slowing down and stopping on the side of the road.

She then leaned on the steering wheel while gasping in surprise. That was dangerous...

She would have collided with that car if she didn't react quickly enough.

After adjusting her breathing, she resumed her journey.

To ensure her safety, she stopped her thoughts from running wild and drove seriously for the rest of her journey.

She soon arrived at the bar Norwood had mentioned.

Although it was already dark, many couples hugged and kissed each
other outside the bar.

Victoria could only find a parking space and rush to the bar because the establishment did not allow vehicles to park at the entrance.

However, as she was about to enter, she noticed a familiar figure running
from the street.

Victoria fixed her gaze on the figure. It was Claudia.

Claudia had missed Victoria. She dashed into the bar while clutching her
bag.

It was apparent why Claudia was
there.

What am I doing here? To make a joke about myself?

Even so, Victoria couldn't move and stood motionless. After an unknown time, a few familiar figures emerged from the entrance.

Victoria instinctively hid in the shadows the moment she saw them.

"What's the problem? Why did you suddenly start drinking so much? Why
didn't you stop Alaric from drinking,
West?"

Claudia and West helped Alaric out of the bar, followed by Norwood, who maintained a calm demeanor.

West was upset as Claudia blamed him. He went on to say, "I tried to stop him, but you know he never listens to us. If you were present and stopped him, he might comply."

Claudia let out a sigh. "Alaric, you're an adult already. Why do you continue to consume so much alcohol?"

They collaborated to get Alaric into the car.

Victoria stood in the shadows and watched quietly.

Suddenly, the inebriated Alaric sensed something. Grabbing Claudia's thin wrist, he babbled, "D-Don't g-go."

Claudia was taken aback but she returned to her senses to lightly pat him on the shoulder. "Alright, alright. I'm not going. Please be good."

Victoria couldn't take another look at them at that point. She gritted her teeth, regretting coming to the bar late at night.
I should not have answered the phone.

Instead of rushing here to humiliate myself, I should have laid in bed. I don't know why I'm doing this. Do I have to let others break my heart to give up Alaric?

In the end, Victoria walked away with an indifferent expression.

She didn't care about them any longer, so she didn't notice Alaric shaking Claudia's hand away after the woman told him to be good.

It was a powerful push.

Claudia stumbled after being thrown and nearly fell to the ground. West rushed to her aid because he was nearby. "Are you okay, Claudia?"

Claudia was dazed because she had not recovered from the shock. Did Alaric just shove me away? she grumbled to herself.

No, he shook me off. Is this an unintentional action on his part?

Claudia regained her footing and returned her gaze to Aldric, whose eyes
were tightly closed.

A frown on his face indicated his discomfort. He also reeked of alcohol.

Despite the fact that Claudia was embarrassed in front of West and
Norwood and looked like a mess, she
calmly brushed her hair aside and forced a smile.

"I believe he drank too much. He has no idea who anyone is."

But as soon as she said that, they heard Alaric growl, "Norwood, send me
back!"

For a brief moment, it was deafeningly silent.

Claudia had previously assumed Alaric shook her away because he was too drunk to recognize anyone. As a result, she couldn't hide her embarrassment after Alaric's words.

West had not anticipated this. He could only comfort Claudia in a low

voice when he saw how sad she was.
"Don't overthink it, Claudia. Al had too much to drink and can't recognize you, but he must recognize your name."

At that point, Alaric exclaimed, "Norwood Oaks!"

Norwood took a step forward and said to West, "I'll take care of him. You should send Claudia back."West turned to face Norwood and said, "Alaric is drunk. Can you handle him on your own?"

Before Norwood could say anything, Claudia suggested, "You can send him to my place."

When they heard that, the two men paused and looked at her. Claudia looked both of them in the eye and smiled lightly.

"He's too drunk to care for himself, so someone else must do it. I'll take care of him, so you can send him to my house."
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Published on: October 16, 2023
Word count: 1146 words