Departed With A Belly {1}

It Doesn't Matter

"Yeah. Let's stop fighting." Victoria nodded lightly. "Can we act like we used to before?"

Act like we used to? Alaric's heart almost leaped in joy due to her words. He didn't even realize he was stuttering. "D-Do you mean..."

She glanced at him before lowering her eyes and uttering in a serious tone, "I thought about it carefully on the way home. Grandma's mood might seem stable now, and our minor changes might not pose an issue, but after all, the operation will be done in two weeks. We shouldn't be quarreling during this period in case she discovers some clues and risks
affecting her health."

When he heard that, he realized something. "Do you mean..."

"Do you still not understand? It's a very critical period for Grandma now. We must cooperate with each other. Two weeks later, you are free to do whatever you want. Nobody and nothing can stop you then."

Victoria felt that she had expressed her idea very clearly. "You are clever. You should understand what I mean." His lips twitched in response. She was right. How could he not understand her?

She wasn't proposing reconciliation with him nor was she no longer upset. She only agreed to a truce for the sake of Griselda, but what could he possibly say? She was doing everything for the sake of his grandmother.

Alaric snickered sadly in his heart. At the end of the day, he was just shooting himself in the foot. "Okay," he answered in a deep voice.

Seeing his current expression, Victoria wavered. She almost brought up the idea that she was going to keep that child with him, but on second thought, she decided against it.

Since Claudia already knew about her decision, she would have definitely told him about it. The reason he wasn't bringing it up could be a silent agreement.

At least he has a conscience. Victoria then lifted the blanket and said to him, "Now that we've come to an agreement, let's get some rest."

After saying that, she suddenly thought of something. Quickly, she got out of bed, opened the cabinet, and looked at the bolster lying in the corner.

That bolster was initially placed between her and Alaric on the bed as their boundary for a long time. One day, however, it suddenly vanished, indicating that their relationship had taken a step further.

Now, however, it seemed that it was time for it to play its role again. Victoria pulled it out and placed it in the middle of the bed.

When Alaric saw that, his expression darkened. What else did he expect of
her? From the moment she offered to call it a truce, he thought that their relationship could return to normal.

After she was done, Victoria turned around and noticed how Alaric was still standing on the spot with a twisted expression. She was no longer bothered to read his mind at this point.

"Are you not going to sleep? If that's the case, I'll go to sleep first. Turn off the lights when vou're ready to go to bed."

Without waiting for his reply, she lay in bed, covered herself in the blanket, and shut her eyes in front of him. Alaric was completely speechless by her actions.

Staring at the bolster in the middle of the bed, he sneered before walking over with a gloomy expression and lying down stiffly like a corpse.

Once the lights were switched off, the room plunged into darkness. At the
same time, his senses were infinitely magnified. Alaric breathed heavily, unable to feel the pull of sleep.

Before long, however, the sound of even breathing could be heard from the person lying next to him. He couldn't help turning over to look in Victoria's direction in the dark. He stared at her for so long that he couldn't even fathom what he was
thinking.

After the couple agreed to reconcile, they no longer ignored each other at home.

As usual, after getting out of bed, Victoria washed up. Seeing Alaric getting dressed, she even helped him with his tie. There were dark circles under his eyes. While Victoria slept soundly beside him last night, he hardly slept a wink. It was only when the sun rose that he felt drowsy.

After falling into a slumber, he heard Victoria getting up beside him. Since he had no intention of sleeping anymore, he decided to get up. Due to the lack of sleep in his system coupled with her reaction that triggered his anger with nowhere to vent, he got dressed in a rough way. He was even more impatient when he had to wear his tie.

At that moment, he didn't expect that Victoria would walk up to him and offer to help him. "Allow me," she uttered softly.

At that, Alaric lowered his eyes and stared at her.

Victoria deliberately avoided his sharp gaze and added, "Bend over, or I can't do it properly." Alaric's lips were pursed into a thin line. As if contemplating, he stood in the spot without bending over.

His actions made Victoria look him in the eye. "Are you finally willing to look at me?" He smirked.

Victoria was at a loss for words. What's up with him? Didn't we have a good chat last night? What is he up to now?

Alaric didn't know what was going on with himself either. Recently, he started behaving strangely and became easily irritable.

He wanted to see her but he didn't want to see her: he wanted her to take the initiative to she approached him.

"Don't be like this, Alaric. Didn't we agree to cooperate with each other for the next two weeks?"Alaric frowned upon hearing that, took a step back, and pursed his lips.

"Forget it. You don't have to put up an act when there are no maids around us."
With that, he strode off, leaving Victoria standing on the spot, dumbfounded. After a while, she sneered. He's being absolutely unreasonable!

Without waiting for him, she went downstairs to have breakfast while Alaric came down shortly after.

Due to the incident with his tie before, Victoria carried the anger in her heart and ignored him after noticing his presence. Watching him coming down the stairs, the maids hurriedly returned to their rooms as they were afraid of him.

They gathered at the door and gossiped with each other as they watched him striding over and taking a seat beside his wife. His action surprised them. "Has Mr. and Mrs. Cadogan reconciled?"

"They never ate breakfast together before this. I can't believe Mr. Cadogan
would take the initiative to sit beside her today."

"Have you heard that a lover's quarrel is quickly resolved? They've always been close. Besides, they even shared a bed every night. They'd make up eventually!"

On the other hand, Alaric sat beside Victoria with a long face. As soon as he took a seat, she could sense the icy, cold aura he exuded.

Without having to turn her head, she could feel how reluctant he was as he sat next to her.

However, the discomfort she felt was quickly suppressed. Two weeks. I just have to endure him for two weeks. After two weeks, she would be able to leave this place.

All she had to do now was to endure the hardships for the sake of Griselda, her baby, and herself.

She mentally prepared herself before pouring a glass of milk for Alaric with
a gentle expression. She even smiled at him when he looked at her.

"Good morning, honey."

Alaric was rendered speechless as he clenched his teeth hard. It doesn't matter to her, does it?
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Published on: December 12, 2023
Time: 5:59
Word count: 1295 words