Departed With A Belly {1}

Is It Guilt?

Even though there weren't many people in the queue, the pair still had to wait for their turn. Victoria was extremely tired due to lack of sleep last night, so she found herself a place to sit.

Alaric followed her with a gloomy expression on his face. He didn't sit down
next to her after he approached her.
At this point, she was surprisingly calm.
She raised her head to cast a glance at him before asking, "Why don't you
take a seat?"

"There's no need for that," he replied in a flat tone that betrayed no emotion. He did not even spare her a glance. Victoria understood what was going on. He wants nothing to do with me.

That's right. Once we divorce, he can get together with Claudia, so what's the point of giving me attention? Fortunately, Victoria never got her hopes up about staying friends with Alaric after they divorced.

At first, their lack of interaction didn't bother them. However, as the pair waited longer, whispers began to reach them from their surroundings. "Look at them. They must be here to divorce."

"Divorce? Are you sure? The both of them look like the perfect match and yet, they still end up getting divorced?"

"I don't understand. Do they think they could find someone with a prettier face than their ex-partners? What's the point of divorcing? I feel bad to see them separate."

It was human nature to learn about something they didn't understand,
especially from somebody who was that eye-catching. Taking Alaric and Victoria as an example, their appearance simply gave the crowd the impression of high compatibility, so it was even more worth
discussing.

The whispers reached Victoria from all directions.

If she could hear them, Alaric, who was standing next to her, would have no problem hearing them too. However, he kept a distant look on his face all the time and didn't visibly react to the words.

"By the way, they look so young. Do you think they have children?" Victoria's heart skipped a beat at the mention of children.

And she had to refrain from rolling her eyes after she calmed down. How did the topic sidetrack all its way to the discussion about children?

"They have such good genes. It would be a shame if they didn't have any children."

Upon hearing the innocent comment, Victoria involuntarily stole a glance at Alaric. As expected, his expression darkened. Ever since she got the message and the implication to take a year's leave from him last time, he never asked her about this matter.

She thought that Claudia must have approached him and dealt with it on
their own, so he didn't ask her about it.
After all, he hinted at her getting an abortion so knowing him, he wouldn't
confront her about it.

Little did he know, Victoria didn't get an abortion.

Please just drop it, she pleaded. However, the crowd was immersed in their non-stop gossip. They didn't even mind the subject's feelings as their conversation turned into a heated discussion.

"They must have children. If I were them, I would like to have more children since I have such good genes. Therefore, even if I get a divorce one day, my children's pretty faces can heal my wounds. Don't you think it's a big accomplishment?"

"I second that. Or else, I won't get anything in the end after the divorce.
Besides, time changes everything. Even a pretty woman will end up being an old lady. However, as long as my children's pretty faces are shown, they can prove that I was also that good-looking in the past, don't you think so?"

Children had now become the subject of their discussion.

Victoria almost passed out at that. Just when she reached her limit and readied to get up and leave, Alaric asked in a low voice, "Are you hungry?"