Departed With A Belly {1}

That's Between Me and Her

Alaric was indeed quickly won over by his mother's gentle words. "Alright. Victoria and I will bring her back home tonight. Don't bother going to the nursing home. Just come home."
"You're bringing your grandma back home?" Kathryn seemed somewhat surprised at this news and asked, "Is Victoria there with you?"

He didn't answer whether she was or not, but he just glanced at Victoria, signaling with his eyes. Since the call was on speaker, she could hear it
herself.

So, Victoria called out to Kathryn, "Hi, Mom."
Hearing that, Kathryn immediately let out a gentle chuckle. "Oh, you're there too. You've worked hard taking care of Grandma."

"It's no big deal. Thank you, Mom, for your concern."

Although Kathryn didn't show the same kindness toward her as Griselda did, she still maintained the appropriate manners. She had never scolded
her, and when she learned that they were getting married, she was only slightly surprised, saying, "I didn't expect you two to be together so soon. I
thought it would take a long time for someone to understand his feelings."

And then she agreed. However, at that time, Victoria didn't quite understand the meaning of her words. What did she mean by understanding his feelings?

She thought that Kathryn probably misunderstood that Alaric had feelings for her, which was why she said that. But because she and Alaric were onlv pretending to be married, she didn't dwell on it any further.

"Alright, since Grandma has you two to take care of her, your dad and I will be relieved, It's already late today, so we won't go there now to cause a
disturbance. Let's have a meal together tomorrow."

"Okay." Victoria agreed. After that, Kathryn exchanged a few more words with Alaric before
hanging up the phone. Both Alaric and Victoria were quiet on the way back. It wasn't until the car
was close to its destination that she turned her head to the left.

"You're going to be disappointed." Caught off guard by her sudden statement, Alaric was confused. She then calmly said, "Since Grandma's surgery has been postponed, the
divorce date will also be pushed back."

At her words, his hands gripping the steering wheel froze for a moment. He pressed his lips together and said in a bitter tone, "It wasn't supposed to be at this time anyway, according to the original plan."

Griselda's health condition was good, so the surgery was rescheduled half a month earlier, and their divorce date was also brought forward by half a month. Now that she couldn't undergo surgery, the date could only be pushed back, which didn't deviate much from his original plan.

Besides, he had long prepared for various contingencies, considering Griselda's
condition. Victoria acknowledged with an 'Oh', and then asked, "Is that okay? How are you going to explain it to Claudia?"

"That's between me and her," he replied with a frown.

At this moment, a wry smile tugged on her lips. "True, you're right." When the car arrived at its destination, before he could even park properly, she got out of the car and slammed the door shut with a loud thud, leaving him speechless.

Hector, who had heard that they were bringing Griselda back, came out happily to welcome them when he heard the noise. However, what he saw
was Victoria walking past expressionlessly, followed by Alaric with a gloomy face.

It took him a while to snap out of his daze, and he rubbed his forehead in confusion. "What's happening again Meanwhile, Victoria went straight to the room on the ground floor where
Griselda would stay.

The maids were efficient, as they had already
changed the bedsheets after she made the phone call. Since the house was already cleaned on regular days, apart from changing the bedsheets,
there was no need to do anything else.

"Mrs. Cadogan, the room for Old Mrs.
Cadogan is almost done. Please have a look and let us know if there's anything else you'd like to arrange."

Victoria looked around and was quite satisfied. "Bring in some potted plants, change the curtains to a more elegant color, and add some soothing scented candles."

The maid nodded and went to fulfill the requests.
Over an hour later, the two of them set off to the nursing home to pick up?"

Griselda. During the two hours of waiting, as her grandson and granddaughter-in-law told her that they were coming to take her home, Griselda's emotions were a mix of joy and complexity.

She was joyful because she could finally leave the nursing home, but it was complex because going back home seemed to be causing trouble for them due to her current condition. After all, no matter how well-prepared the house was, it was not a nursing home, and they would undoubtedly devote more attention to taking care of her.

However, before she could dwell on it for long, she heard the voice of a caregiver. "Old Mrs. Cadogan, Mr. and Mrs. Cadogan are here to pick you up."

Upon hearing that, Griselda became slightly nervous. On the contrary, the two caregivers were very happy, with smiles on their faces as they said, "We've packed up your belongings for you, Old Mrs.Cadogan."

Griselda didn't have much, and everything was packed into two suitcases. Worried, she wanted to speak up but was interrupted as Victoria and
Alaric walked in through the door. "Grandma?"

Seeing that the caregivers had already packed the luggage, Victoria instinctively said to Alaric, "Go and carry Grandma's luggage."

Alaric raised an eyebrow but didn't refuse. He walked over and took the luggage in his hands. Meanwhile, she approached the wheelchair. "Grandma, the room you'll be staying in has been cleaned up by the maids. You can rest once we get there. Did you take a shower just now after we left?"

Griselda shook her head, for she was too anxious to even take a shower.

"It's alright. We'll shower you once we're back home," Victoria said, not giving Griselda a chance to think about anything else. She pushed the wheelchair and walked outside, signaling Alaric with her eyes.

While standing in place, Alaric looked at her series of actions, and he couldn't help but smile before he picked up the luggage and followed. Amidst the night, Griselda and Victoria sat in the backseat of the car.

Although it was late and it was time for Griselda to rest, her gaze was lively as she looked out at the receding city scenery. From the side, Victoria saw the anticipation on her face. Indeed, no matter how luxurious the nursing home is, staying there for a long time will eventually make her fearful and bored.

At this thought, she held Griselda's arm and gently leaned on her shoulder before whispering, "I'll take you to the mall in a few days."

Griselda was pleasantly surprised. "Can
1?"

"We'll ask the doctor beforehand, but going for one or two hours should be fine."Griselda didn't say anything more, but everyone could feel her mood improving. With that, the atmosphere in the car became much better.

Victoria originally thought that the pleasant atmosphere could last for a while, but little did she know that as the car approached the gate of the Cadogan Residence, she saw a familiar and slender figure from a distance.

Even in the middle of the night, that person insisted on wearing a white dress, standing at the gate while communicating with the security guard. Then it seemed like the security guard noticed something and pointed in their direction.

Following his finger, the slender figure turned around and looked over. At this moment, the car's headlights shone on Claudia's beautiful face,
making her features clearly visible. When Victoria thought of Griselda beside her, her heart skipped a beat.

"Who is that young girl? She looks... quite
familiar."

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Edited on: May 19th, 2024
Time: 10:30 pm
Word count: 1323 words