Departed With A Belly {1}

What Are You Guys Doing?

Alaric frowned when he heard her words. At that moment, a cold glint flashed across his eyes as he gave off an intimidating aura. Just as Victoria thought he would do something to her, the latter turned around and left. Victoria breathed a sigh of relief and smiled mockingly at the same time.

On the other hand, Claudia gripped her fingers nervously as she waited by the door. If I heard it correctly, Alaric seems to be irritated. It was as if he was being interrupted while doing something important. Claudia felt unsettled by his reaction.

Moreover, she started panicking when Alaric
didn't open the door after stating who she was. What is he doing there? Why isn't he opening the door? Claudia was in a nerve-wracking mess.

When the door finally opened, she immediately
raised her head and eyed Alaric up and down.
His clothes are still the same as before. Although he hasn't taken off his jacket, it seems wrinkly.

Claudia soon reassured herself that having a bit of wrinkle on one's clothes was normal. Then, just as she raised her head and looked at Alaric,
she noticed a small slit on his lips. At that moment, she felt her blood run cold. Since the color of the cut was light, she wouldn't have noticed it if she hadn't been close to him.

Alaric didn't notice her odd expression and asked faintly, "Why are you here?" At that moment, Claudia snapped back to her senses and smiled
awkwardly. "I don't have any suitable clothes. I was thinking about asking Victoria to lend me some."

She is here to ask for clothes? Looking at her reaction, Alaric pursed his lips and seemed to be unhappy. Sensing that Alaric would get mad, Claudia said, "Don't be angry, Al. It's normal that they didn't prepare any clothes for me beforehand since this was my first time staying over. I'll just borrow some clothes from Victoria if she is willing to."

As Alaric heard her words, he frowned and recalled how fierce she was. I don't think she will be willing to do it. Even if she lends Claudia some
clothes, she will surely provoke me once Claudia leaves, he thought.

As he thought about what to do, he heard Victoria's voice from behind. "I'd be happy to oblige. Come on in." In that split second, Alaric turned his head around.

Victoria stood there and smiled at Claudia. She had already tidied herself, combed her hair, and straightened her clothes. She looked the same as before. However, as a woman, Claudia could tell that Victoria had lipstick on before going up the stairs.

Currently, her lip was bare, and there was a cut on Alaric's lips... It took much force from Claudia to remain smiling as she followed Victoria into the room.

"Follow me." As Claudia entered the room, she began looking around. The bedroom was huge and the bathroom was the size of a standard bedroom. Since Claudia came from a wealthy family, she wasn't too surprised by the bedroom's layout.

However, she was envious when she saw the wardrobe that covered almost half of the bedroom which was filled with designer
clothes, bags, and jewelry.

Victoria stopped at a section and said to Claudia, "Look around. Feel free to take anything you like. You can also take the clothes you want to wear
tomorrow."Since they were almost the same height and size, Victoria wasn't worried
that her clothes wouldn't fit Claudia. At this moment, they were the only two in the wardrobe.

Claudia looked at Victoria and didn't seem to be in a rush to choose her clothes. Seeing that
she kept staring, Victoria knew she wanted to speak with her. However, she would wait until Claudia decided to speak up. As expected, Claudia couldn't wait any longer after a few seconds.

"You broke our promise, Victoria," she said in a low voice. Victoria froze briefly before asking,
"When did I ever do that?"

"You had lipstick on before you went upstairs," replied Claudia as she stared at Victoria's lips intently. Hearing her words, Victoria knew what Claudia was implying. Things did happen since her lipstick was gone, but she didn't feel the need to deny it.

"That means you broke our promise, Victoria. You are a liar."

"No." Victoria shook her head. "I'm a trustworthy person. If it weren't for Grandma, I wouldn't even want to be near him."Her words riled Claudia up. Immediately, Claudia smirked coldly and said, "You're saying that Al is the one who wants to be near you?"

Victoria didn't say anything. "Stop joking. There is no way he would do such a thing." After all, how could Alaric still be with Victoria after she returned? Victoria shrugged in response and said, "You wouldn't be standing here right now if I decided to be a liar, Miss Johnson. All I have to do is tell Grandma the truth."

Claudia's expression changed drastically when she heard Griselda being mentioned. "Why did she suddenly decide to postpone the surgery? Did you say anything to her?" Claudia questioned.

She had her suspicions about Victoria. She felt that Victoria must have said something to Griselda since the latter had decided to delay the
surgery when nothing was wrong.

Victoria's expression turned cold. "I wish her well more than anyone else." Claudia was baffled by how serious Victoria was, but she then let out a
cold snort and thought, Stop pretending to be nice to Old Mrs. Cadogan. I don't trust that you would treat that old hag nicely if it weren't for Alaric.

Some things needed to be broken to change. Victoria hated the fact that Claudia kept bugging her, so she put it bluntly and said, "If you don't trust me, we can forget about the promise."
Forget about the promise? No way! I won't let that happen! Claudia suppressed her anger and put up a smile.

"Please don't be mad at me, Victoria. I was getting kind of worked up because I misunderstood you. To be honest, I believe you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have let you repay my
gratitude. I just love Alaric too much and was anxious.

That is why I would say such unreasonable things. Don't worry. I won't say it ever again." Then, she took a few steps forward, seemingly trying to grab Victoria's hand. Victoria took a few steps back and avoided her touch.

At this moment, Alaric's cold voice sounded outside the wardrobe. "What are you guys doing?" Immediately, Claudia's expression changed, and she immediately replied,"We are choosing outfits. We'll be out in a second." Then, she stopped trying to get close to Victoria and simply chose some clothes before leaving.

When she left the wardrobe, Alaric looked at her and said, "Are you done picking the clothes?"
Claudia smiled at him and replied, "Yes, I've got it. I'll be heading back to my room." Alaric nodded at her response.

Since they were at the Cadogan Residence, Alaric didn't accompany her to avoid misunderstanding. On the other hand, Claudia also left the scene quickly.

After she had left, Victoria walked out of the wardrobe. Alaric pursed his lips and looked at her with a complicated expression. "What were you guys talking about in there?" he asked.
_________________________________
Edited on: September 8, 2024
Time: 2:49 am
Word count: 1231 words