Departure with a Belly ( Victoria Selwyn & Alaric Cadogan’s )
Departure with a Belly Chapter 424

anymore.” 

8/8 

Chapter 424 Awkward 

Chapter 424 

Victoria was stunned. 

“You’re really going to quit? Why? It’s not because of me, right?” she asked. 

1/8 

“It’s not,” Summer replied, shaking her head and wiping her tears away. She then looked 

down at the floor. “You only gave me a chance to quit. Most importantly, I don’t want to 

do it anymore.” 

Summer had not spoken of wanting to quit before, so why… 

Victoria started blaming herself, worried that she was the cause of this. 

“I’m serious,” Summer said. “We’ve been friends for years. Surely, you know you can 

believe my words. I’ve always been complaining about the devil, right? He takes up so 

much of my time that I can’t even go on matchmaking dates. If this goes on, I will never 

get married. My time with him has been exhausting. I do feel like quitting, so why not 

end it all once we head back?” 

She had a long speech prepared because she did not want Victoria to feel guilty about 

anything. 

Victoria knew that if she said anything that hinted at feeling guilty, Summer would spiral 

12:04 Sat, 0 Jul 

Chapter 424 Awkward 

Into another lengthy explanation. Thus, Victoria nodded. 

“Very well. Since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t say anything more.” 

2/8 

They were adults. They should understand their own actions and desires. Be it for good 

or for bad, everything was fine as long as they could handle the consequences. 

“Thank you, Boo,” Summer said, hugging Victoria once more. “I just knew you’ll support 

me in everything I do. Just watch me. Once I quit, I’ll think of something else today. I 

plan on being my own boss. I’m fine with being a stall owner. At least, I’ll still be my own 

boss. I’ll always have the last word.” 

“Okay. Go with what your heart says,” Victoria said. 

The two of them clung to each other and continued chatting for a few more minutes 

before Summer finally let her go with a look of reluctance on her face. “I’m off. See you 

around.” 

“See you.” 

After a pause, Victoria walked after her. “Why don’t I send you off?” 

Summer would love to accept the offer, but upon recalling the fact that Victoria would 

12:04 Sat, 8 Jul 

Chapter 424 Awkward 

be in danger the moment she left the building, Summer nipped the idea in the bud. 

3/8 

“Forget it. It’s not safe for you out there. It’s best that you stay where Alaric can protect 

you. What if Bane’s men capture you when you leave to send us off?” 

Summer sighed and continued, “It took so much effort for us to get you back.” 

It’s true. Alaric also suffered serious injuries just to save me. Victoria thought. 

“In that case… I’ll see you to the door,” she said. 

Summer nodded. “Okay.” 

“When will you be leaving?” 

“We’re going to the airport now,” Summer awkwardly replied. 

Victoria was at a loss for words. 

That meant Summer only came to say goodbye just before leaving for the airport. 

“We bought the tickets last night. It was very late by the time I left. If I came back to tell 

you about it, I would be disturbing your rest. I thought of telling you about it today, but I 

was so relaxed now that you’re safe that I overslept,” Summer explained. 

12:04 Sat, 8 Jul 

Chapter 424 Awkward 

Victoria did not know if she was meant to cry or laugh at that. 

“Oh, you,” she said with a sigh. 

4/8 

“We had around 20 minutes from the moment I came over to say my farewells. We only 

have a few minutes now. Why don’t we spend the rest of the time hugging?” 

Victoria had no objections to that suggestion. 

When the two women were getting along, they would spend every single moment by 

each other’s side. Now, they only had about ten minutes to embrace each other. 

When Alaric stepped into the room, he found the two women clinging together. 

If he had not watched them grow up together and witnessed just how close they were, 

he might have mistaken Summer’s tight embrace as a sign that she was trying to steal 

Victoria from him. 

As they seemed to be stuck in a fog of sorrow, he silently stood by the doorway and 

waited instead of disturbing them. 

One minute passed. 

Two minutes passed. 

Chapter 424 Awkward 

Five whole minutes had passed. 

5/8 

He raised an eyebrow in near–invisible impatience. Why was their hug taking this long? 

What if Summer was going to steal Victoria from him? 

“Ahem.” 

The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped the two women out of their 

thoughts. Finding the voice familiar, Victoria looked up and, just as she suspected, the 

newcomer was Alaric. 

He was staring at them. From the way he was standing, it seemed like he had been 

there for a while now. 

Summer hurriedly let go of her. 

“Mr. Cadogan,” Summer greeted. 

Alaric grunted in response. 

He strode over to them. “What were you talking about?” 

While Summer was a woman, she somehow sensed that Alaric was jealous of her. 

Despite her shock, she solemnly replied, “Nothing much. I’ll be leaving soon, so I was 

1204 Sat, 8 Jul G. 

Chapter 424 Awkward 

saying my goodbyes.” 

It was now Alaric’s turn to be shocked. 

“You’re leaving?” 

They had just found Victoria last night. Now, Summer was leaving. 

She nodded. “Yes. There is a lot of work waiting for Mr. Ludson and me back at the 

office, so we have to leave first. Thank goodness, Victoria is safe as well.” 

He did not say anything after that and merely nodded. “When is your flight?” 

“We’ll be leaving right after I finish saying goodbye. It will take some time to get to the 

airport.” 

As soon as she finished speaking, Erik appeared in the doorway. 

6/8 

The two men looked at each other. Erik spoke first. “Thank you for taking care of us for 

the last few days, but we have a lot of work waiting for us. We have to go 

now.” 

“No problem.” 

After a brief handshake, Erik then turned to Victoria and held out his hand. 

Chapter 424 Awkward 

“It has been a while, Miss Selwyn.” 

He was as handsome and proper as she remembered. She smiled. “Hello, Mr. Ludson. 

Thank you for coming with Summer.” 

She then reached out to shake his hand. 

However, Alaric stopped the handshake before it could happen. 

He grabbed her hand. “Your hands are as cold as ice. Why don’t you have more layers 

on?” 

She was at a loss for words. 

Summer was feeling equally speechless. 

7/8 

She glanced down at Alaric’s and Victoria’s interlocked hands and glanced back up at 

Erik’s outstretched hand. She hurriedly stepped over to grab it. 

“Oh, your hands are very cold as well, Mr. Ludson,” she commented. 

Unfortunately, her social skills were so bad that she could not come up with anything 

but a burst of awkward laughter to break the tension as she repeated what Alaric said. 

Chapter 424 Awkward 

Erik turned to her and narrowed his eyes as emotions warred within them. 

His stare made her feel so uneasy that she did not know what to say next. 

Victoria was overwhelmed by the second–hand embarrassment she felt upon 

witnessing that interaction. She had not expected Alaric to get jealous over a simple 

handshake. That was a little too much. 

8/8 

At that, she tried to pull her hand out of his grip, but he only tightened his hand around 

her as though he thought letting her hand go meant she would immediately head on 

over to shake Erik’s hand. 

Exasperated, she shot him a look and whispered, “Let go.” 

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