Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria)

Chapter 45

"Do you have nothing better to do or did you suddenly decide to become

a deliveryman? Do you want to switch-"

Alaric's sentence came to an abrupt halt when he finally registered what his assistant said earlier. His assistant said the name 'Miss Selwyn.'

"From whom did you say? Miss Selwyn?"

His assistant nodded blankly. "That's right. That's what the deliveryman

said."

At the same time, Alaric's phone buzzed. It was a text from Victoria.

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"Grandma said you didn't have lunch, so I ordered some food for you. I just got a message from the restaurant saying that it has been delivered. Did you get it?"

Chapter 45 You're So Good to Me

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Alaric's foul mood improved immensely when he saw the text, but even so,

he murmured stiffly, "Aren't you trying your best to avoid me? Why are

acting all concerned about me now?"

Then, he looked at his assistant.

"Bring it over."

"Oh."

His assistant set the bag down on the table right beside Claudia's lovingly

prepared lunch, which was an irksome sight, for some reason.

After thinking about it, Alaric's assistant asked, "You said you're giving me

the lunch Miss Johnson made, right, Mr. Cadogan?"

"Mmhmm," Alaric hummed curtly.

Then, his assistant intentionally queried, "But, since I'm full, can I give the

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Chapter 45 You're So Good to Me

food out to the others in the office instead? It wouldn't be good to waste food."

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Alaric frowned at this question.

His assistant thought the frown meant a rejection, but instead, he heard his boss retorting in irritation, "I've already given it to you so you can do whatever you want with it. Do you need to check with me over such a simple matter?"

"I understand."

Alaric's assistant immediately took the lunchbox out with him as if he was

afraid that his boss might regret it.

Claudia came back again when it was nearly time to get off work.

Chapter 45 You're So Good to Me

After going home, she kept mulling things over and felt uneasy still.

It was noon. He was supposed to be having lunch then. Why did he go

out? Most importantly, he neglected me.

Am I not the person he's indebted to? Am I not the most important person

in the world to him?

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He didn't even tell me what he was going out for. Claudia felt extremely on edge.

When she walked past the assistants' area, she spotted Alaric's assistant and other employees busy at work, so she went in.

"Mr. Levane."

Alaric's assistant was a man named Peter Levane. When he looked up and

saw Claudia, his mood soured.

Chapter 45 You're So Good to Me

Why's she here again?

Nevertheless, Peter stood up and greeted coolly, "Hello, Miss Johnson."

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"Hello," Claudia replied with a smile. "So sorry to disturb you, but is Al back?" She tried her best to give a good impression because she wanted Peter to think favorably of her, lest he badmouthed her in front of Alaric.

Peter paused before responding, "Mr. Cadogan got back to the office at

noon."

Claudia was taken aback.

"He was already back at noon?"

Why didn't he tell me that he was back in the office?

Feeling embarrassed, Claudia chuckled dryly and said, "I'll go in to see him

Chapter 45 You're So Good to Me

then."

She turned to leave.

"Wait, Miss Johnson."

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Peter took out the lunchbox he kept under his desk and went after Claudia.

"This is what you asked me to give Mr. Cadogan."

Claudia managed to smile again when she saw the lunchbox. She

reached out for it.

"Since he came back at noon, did he eat the food? Did he mention how it

tasted?"

Peter's expression became a little strange.

"Mr. Cadogan said he had already eaten, Miss Johnson, so he gave the

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Chapter 45 You're So Good to Me

food to me. It wouldn't be right for me to have it all to myself, so I shared it

with the others in the office."

Peter paused and reflected for a moment before adding, "Everyone thought it tasted pretty good."

"What..."

Claudia could barely keep the smile from sliding off her face when she

heard what Peter said.

Initially, she wanted to give it to Peter. She figured that since Alaric was busy and wouldn't be coming back, she would use it to curry favor with

Peter instead.

She didn't think that Alaric would end up coming back to the office so quickly.

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But he didn't eat the food I made. He even... gave it to his assistant and the

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Chapter 45 You're So Good to Me

other employees.

Claudia felt as if someone had trampled upon her efforts and sincerity.

"Miss Johnson?" Peter looked at Claudia. "Are you alright?"

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Claudia snapped out of her reverie and forced herself to nod with a smile.

"I'm fine. I'll go in and see Al then."

"Alright, Miss Johnson."

Once Claudia disappeared into the office, the smile on Peter's face

instantly vanished.

Knock-Knock-

"Come in."

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Chapter 45 You're So Good to Me

The cool, indifferent voice rang out from the office.

D

Claudia opened the and went in. She immediately saw Alaric,

was sitting at his desk with an aloof expression.

Alaric gave off a different kind of attractiveness when he was working. The

sleeves of his black shirt were slightly ruffled, his tie had been tossed somewhere, and he had even undone two of his buttons, which allowed his collarbones to peek out. His dark eyes, which were fixed on the screen

in front of him, looked even more piercing than usual.

Claudia had always known that Alaric had one-in-a-million looks. He was

flawless in every way.

Every part of his face from his features to his chiseled jaw was exquisite.

His unblemished face was matched with an equally perfect physique, and

he came from an incredibly elite background.

Only a man like him was worthy of her.

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Chapter 45 You're So Good to Me

Claudia ended up standing in a daze for quite some time. It was only

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when Alaric noticed the silence and looked up with a frown that she came

back to her senses and walked over to him.

"Claudia?"

Alaric's brows had furrowed as he focused on work, but when he saw

Claudia, they smoothened out a little. "Why did you come?" Alaric's cold, untouchable aura slowly dissipated. Claudia chuckled and said, "I saw you leaving in a rush when I came to

see you at noon, so I was a little worried and wanted to check on you before you got off work. How's your day been? Is everything alright?"

Alaric's gaze became shrouded when he recalled what happened earlier. His tone became a lot cooler too.

"Everything's fine. Next time, you don't need to come over in person. You

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Chapter 45 You're So Good to Me

can just give me a call."

Claudia stiffened before lowering her head. Her mood dipped.

"Al... did I cause trouble for you by coming over to your office?"

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When Alaric saw Claudia looking despondent, he recalled the way she

fearlessly jumped into the river to rescue him. As a result of that, she had

gotten injured, lost consciousness, and nearly sacrificed her life. His heart

softened at the recollection.

"You can come over any time you want. Why would you be

any trouble?"

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Upon hearing the way Alaric's tone softened, Claudia raised her head

again and asked pitifully, "Are you sure? You won't object to my presence?"

"What are you talking about? Why would I object to your presence?" Alaric

refuted.

Chapter 45 You're So Good to Me

She was the one who saved his life.

"In the future, you can come over to the office whenever you like."

Since Claudia got what she wanted, she wisely stopped the display and rushed over to grab his hand. "You're so good to me, Al."

"I would've died in the river back if it wasn't for you, so you can go ahead

and ask anything of me. As long as it is within my means, I'll make sure it

gets done."