Departed With A Belly {1}

I Don't Owe You Anymore

Victoria remained silent. On the other hand, Claudia's heart was pounding. She pretended to be calm but wasn't sure if her words could intimidate Victoria. Claudia didn't know much about Victoria, except that she had a very high opinion of herself.

So, Claudia decided to take a gamble and
approach the situation from that angle. When Victoria didn't respond, Claudia's hands started to sweat under the table. She forced a smile and asked, "What, you don't agree?"

Victoria looked at her lightly and said,
"You seem nervous. Why is that?"

"No, I'm not nervous. I just..."Claudia almost revealed her true feelings but quickly stopped and continued, "Fine. Take your time to think about it."

Just as Victoria mentioned earlier,Claudia really wanted Victoria to make a quick decision. However, Victoria fell into deep thought. Truth was, whether she signed the agreement or not didn't matter much to her.

Even if she didn't sign it, everything in the agreement, except for the first condition of going abroad and not returning for five years, was something she wanted to do.

As for the first condition, she hadn't decided where she would settle down yet, but it would definitely be far away from Alaric.

"What do you think?" Although Claudia had asked Victoria to take her time, Claudia had been waiting for a while and couldn't help but ask.

Victoria didn't know if Claudia was being deliberate, but she couldn't help saying, "I thought you were not nervous. Why are you in such a hurry? Is there something wrong with the agreement?"

Claudia was speechless. She tried her best to maintain a smile before Victoria signed the agreement. "Okay, then take your time to check it out. Indeed, I've been rushing you. Sorry."

Victoria glanced at her and calmed down. She then asked, "Okay, as long as we follow the conditions in the agreement, we'll be even?"

Claudia nodded immediately and said,
"Yes."

"Okay," Victoria said.

When Claudia heard this, she handed her a pen and said, "Then, sign it."

Victoria stared at the pen for a moment before taking it. But instead of signing with it, she played with it in her hand. She spun the pen in various patterns.

Seeing that, Claudia was getting more and more anxious until Victoria finally smiled and said, "I won't sign this agreement."

At that moment, Claudia's eyes widened. "What do you mean? You won't sign it?"

Victoria put down the pen with a snap on the table and leaned back calmly. "No, I won't sign this kind of private agreement."

Without legal protection and without a lawyer by her side, Victoria couldn't sign such an ambiguous agreement.

Did she owe Claudia a favor? Yes, but that did not mean she would need to sell herself out just to repay it. Claudia was visibly upset. "Victoria, what's your deal? Are you trying to play me?"

"No," Victoria replied seriously as she shook her head. "Although I won't sign
the agreement. I will still fulfill all the requirements you mentioned."

She paused and continued slowly, "If you didn't make this agreement to trick me, then it shouldn't matter whether I sign it or not."

Claudia restrained her anger, but her smile was anything but pleasant.

"Victoria, are you overthinking things?
How could I possibly trick you? If I wanted to, I wouldn't have helped you in the first place. Don't misunderstand me, okay?" Victoria smiled and asked, "Is that so? Then, what are you afraid of?"

Claudia didn't understand what she meant. "Afraid of what?"

"You're his savior, right? You must lack confidence in yourself to ask me to sign this agreement."

Hearing this caused a trace of viciousness to flash across Claudia's face. When she heard Victoria mention the matter, she felt wretched and afraid that those fragmented memories of Victoria's would suddenly return.

Claudia wasn't sure if it was because she was suppressing her anger, but her usually beautiful features were twisted. "If you didn't insist on keeping this child, would I need to prepare this agreement?"

After saying that, she quickly regained her gentle demeanor and said to Victoria, "Just trust me. I won't trick you."

Victoria didn't expect to see such a quick change in attitude. She hadn't seen it before, and she couldn't help but marvel at Claudia's ability to turn on a dime.

Thinking of this, she curled her lips and said, "Then, please trust me too. Even if I don't sign this agreement, I will still do everything you mentioned."

"You!" Claudia didn't expect her to be so sure she wouldn't sign. "If you don't sign, how do I know you won't change your mind?"

"Even if I do sign, how do you know I won't change my mind? If I really want
to do something, do you think the small amount of penalty on the contract will stop me?"

Claudia stared at her. "What exactly do you want? You don't want to terminate the pregnancy, and I agreed. Can't you just sign the agreement to ease my mind?"

Victoria furrowed her brow. "Miss Johnson, I hope you understand one thing. What happens to the child is up to me, not you. To put it bluntly, Alaric and I are legally married, and others don't have the right to interfere.

As for you..."

Claudia's face turned pale. "What do you want?"

"I don't want anything. It's just a matter of goodwill. I will fulfill all the requirements you mentioned.

"That's not good enough. I don't trust you. How do I know you won't change
your mind later on?"

"Well, then there's nothing I can do." Victoria shrugged, looking indifferent. "If you can't trust me, then you shouldn't have helped me in the first place or asked me for any favors, right?"

After hearing this, Claudia finally calmed down a bit. She initially thought that Victoria was easy to deceive. All she had to do was present Victoria with impossible conditions, and after Victoria refused, Claudia would produce the agreement.

When that time came, Victoria would sign her name when her guard was down. Who knew that Victoria would be so vigilant?! I really miscalculated things.

Claudia gritted her teeth as she looked at Victoria. "Are you sure you can keep your promise?"

Victoria smiled. "It's a simple matter. If I can't keep my promise, I wouldn't have come out today. And if I've already made up my mind, why would I waste time sitting here with you?"

"Okay, that's what you said." There was no other way. Victoria refused to sign the agreement, and Claudia couldn't force her to sign it.

Her main task was to keep Victoria
from speaking nonsense in front of Alaric anyway. That conversation just now should be useful to prevent that.

She stretched out a hand toward Victoria, restored her smile, and said,"I hope you will always keep your promise. Let's have a pleasant cooperation."

Victoria stared at her hand but didn't move. She just said calmly, "From now on, I won't owe you any favors."
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Published on: December 17, 2023
Time: 6:48
Word count: 1186 words