Departed With A Belly {1}

It's Our Turn

After taking the bag from him, Victoria found that what Alaric had purchased was all fast food, which she had no appetite for. Hence, she merely took a look and put the bag away.

Alaric, who was standing nearby, noticed her actions. "Does none of them appeal to you?" She shook her head when she heard that. "No. I just don't feel like eating
right now."

He did not say anything in response and sat down next to her a few seconds later.
Possibly because he did not have many layers on or because he had just returned from the outside, Victoria found her surrounding temperature dropping the moment Alaric sat down.

And the next second, she noticed that he still wore nothing but that thin dress shirt. She moved her lips as if to say something, but nothing came out. The two of them then sat silently. Despite being physically close, they somehow felt disconnected from one another.

Victoria noticed the other women who had been gossiping with her earlier going in with their respective boyfriends, then coming out with marriage certificates one by one.

When each couple left, the man's arm was
wrapped around the woman's waist, or the woman was holding the man's arm, and both had blissful smiles on their faces. Looking at them, she remembered the day Alaric and she came to the state government.

That was a lovely memory to her, in stark contrast to how things were now. While Victoria was in a daze, she heard someone calling Alaric and her names. Hearing that, she regained her senses, but she didn't move an inch and simply said, "It's our turn."

Alaric remained silent as well. Nobody knew what was going through his head.
He did not stand up as well. It wasn't until the staff inside called out their names again that Victoria took a deep breath and finally stood up. "Let's go," she said to Alaric.

Then, she started walking. "Wait!" Alaric said subconsciously, motioning her to stop.

Victoria came to a halt when she heard that, and she bit her lower lip to restrain herself from turning her head back. Her entire mouth was filled with the taste of blood and the pain she was feeling made her more clear-headed than she had ever been.

The next second, she heard herself asking, "What's wrong?"

She didn't even turn her head to face him. Seeing such an attitude from her, Alaric furrowed his brows. Just as he moved his lips and was about to say something, his phone rang. As if the call was the savor she had been waiting for, he quickly said, "Answer your phone call first. I'll wait for you there." She continued to walk forward immediately after her words.

However, she only managed to take one step before Alaric grabbed her wrist.

"Wait a moment for me." Alaric held on to her wrist with one hand and took his phone out with the other. When he saw the screen showing who the caller was, he frowned. "It's from the nursing home."

At that, she turned around and stopped wiggling her wrist away from his grip. "Has something happened to Grandma? Quickly pick up the call!" Victoria urged, her hands clutching Alaric's tightly.

Alaric did not think much about the fact that their hands were clasped and quickly picked up the call. When he answered the call, Victoria was extremely anxious.

She had no idea why but when Alaric said the call was from the nursing home, she had a bad feeling in her heart.

She noticed Alaric's expression darkening as he spoke, and she couldn't help but furrow her brows as well. When he hung up the phone, Victoria's heart was filled with fear.

She clutched his hand even tighter and asked, "What happened?" Alaric quickly stood up in response, his actions revealing his anxiety. "Something happened to Grandma." Victoria was immediately at a loss for words.

One minute later, both of them were no longer in the state government building. The employee in charge, who had been calling their names earlier, couldn't help but lament their absence before calling those further down the line.

When they were on their way to the nursing home, Victoria was so anxious that she couldn't stop herself from biting her lower lip. Her fingers were tangled together, her heart was pounding, and her mind was jumbled.

I was wrong. I shouldn't have gone to the state government first. I should have gone to the nursing home the first thing after I woke up. No... I shouldn't have even come back last night. I ought to have stayed in the nursing home to accompany Grandma.

I know she will be having her surgery today, so why am I such a fool to leave her alone just because she turned me down once? Victoria closed her eyes and leaned back, reprimanding herself incessantly.

Her mind was swirling and chaotic; images, both clear and vague, kept
flashing through her mind.

Alaric was driving fast, but he made sure to adhere to all the traffic laws. He obediently stopped the car when they arrived at a traffic light, but his brows remained tightly furrowed.

While waiting at the traffic light, he felt something was wrong with Victoria, so he turned his head to look at her. The next moment, he saw blood stains on her lips.
"What happened to you?" he asked, his frown still on his face.

However, he did not get any response.
With a pale face, Victoria had her brows furrowed. Her eyelashes were trembling, and her lips were pursed tightly. She looked as if she didn't hear his voice at all.

Alaric was taken aback by this and quickly held her chin, wanting to separate her lips, but all of his efforts were tutile.
Victoria was biting her lip hard and a faint trickle of blood began to flow

from her mouth as she resisted Alaric's force.

"What are you doing, Victoria? Open your mouth!" Alaric wanted to exert more force, but he was afraid of hurting her. Hence, he could only yell at her, hoping she came to her senses. However, she appeared to be so engulfed in a nightmare that no amount of yelling could bring her back to reality.

Suddenly, he recalled something at this precise moment. Victoria had been raised without her mother since she was a child.

Her father adored and even spoiled her and to outsiders, she appeared perfect, as if nothing could irritate her. However, if someone made a joke about or mentioned her mother, she would explode. This showed that she still cared about her mother, who was never by her side.

Subsequently, she went to the Cadogan Family. Griselda doted on Victoria as if she were her granddaughter. With this, Victoria not only received love and care other than from her father but also realized and felt the difference in parental love between a man and a woman.

She told Griselda a lot of her secrets as well. This was something Alaric discovered by accident when he was young. Victoria frequently visited the Cadogan Family when she was younger.

At first, she came to look for Alaric but as time passed, the person she looked for was Griselda. There was once when Alaric returned home and was told that Victoria was with Griselda in the garden, and he went over as well.

He overheard a young Victoria telling Griselda about her menstruation.

Victoria complained that she had a heavy flow and that her stomach hurt, and she wished for a warm hug from Griselda.

Then, he also overheard her complaining about how her menstruation had stained her favorite white dress and how she felt sorry for not being able to wash it clean.

She told Griselda everything, including those she would never tell anyone else.
Alaric had originally intended to look for Victoria at that time. When he heard what she was complaining about, he became embarrassed and stood there motionless.

Naturally, he did not approach them in the end. Returning his thoughts to the present, he could see that Victoria had a
different and deeper feeling toward Griselda based on how she was now.

She appeared to have devoted all of her feelings for her mother to Griselda. After calming himself down, Alaric calmly tapped Victoria's fair cheeks. "Wake up, Victoria. Grandma is fine."
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Edited on: February 19, 2024
Time: 11:32 am
Word count: 1417 words