Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria)

Chapter 102

As the car was filled with silence, Bane shifted his attention to his

surroundings without continuing their conversation. Instead, he asked

what she would like to eat. Nevertheless, Victoria didn’t have an appetite

for anything else besides congee. However, since she already had congee

with Bane that night, she didn’t think it would be appropriate for her to

suggest having congee again. Thus, she said, “Your call.”

Bane paused, feeling stunned about Victoria’s decision.

“Are you sure about that? I haven’t lived around here for years.”

“No worries,” Victoria calmly replied, thinking she wouldn’t eat much

anyway. Then, something crossed her mind as she added, “Pick anything

you’re craving for. It’s on me.”

“Really?” Bane pursed his lips. “In that case, I’m going to take my pick

carefully.”

Chapter 102 Talent Poaching

In the end, Bane picked a Western restaurant. Upon arrival, Victoria

stepped out of the car and immediately noticed the restaurant’s high–end

interior. Before the Selwyn Family went bankrupt, Victoria always came to

places like that with her best friends, but after that, everyone else left her,

except Summer. Back then, Victoria was the one who took Summer to

high–class restaurants, but after she went bankrupt, their positions were

reversed, though they frequented less luxurious restaurants.

The first time they went to one, Summer looked at Victoria cautiously and

said, “Victoria, I can only afford to treat you to meals like this, but don’t

worry, once I get rich one day, I’ll treat you to a fancy one.” Victoria couldn’t

help but chuckle with joy when she recalled that. Although she hadn’t

been to any other high–class establishments since going bankrupt, she

felt a lot more fulfilled on the inside than ever before. Furthermore, she

was happy that she got to see the grim reality when she was at her

lowest, deeming it part of her growth. This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

“What’s on your mind?” Bane’s voice pulled Victoria out of her train of

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Chapter 102 Talent Poaching

thought.

Victoria snapped out of her trance and smiled. “Nothing. I was just

recalling something interesting.”

“What’s interesting?” He raised an eyebrow.

She responded with silence and gave Bane a glimpse without showing

any intention of sharing the matter with him. On the other hand, Bane was

a man who knew his boundaries well, so he didn’t press on with his

questions or pry into the details.

As the two of them sat down and ordered their food, Bane passed the

menu directly to Victoria and asked, “Take a look and see what you’d like

to eat.”

Victoria was about to say she was fine with anything, but she quickly

changed her mind; she didn’t think it would be appropriate for her to do

that. After all, she was supposed to show Bane some sincerity for the

Chapter 102 Talent Poaching

farewell party that didn’t go as smoothly as expected. Therefore, she went

on to pick a few dishes and placed her orders before giving the menu

back to Bane.

When Bane took a look at their order, he couldn’t help but give the lady a

strange gaze. “You seem to prefer bland food now, huh? Why has your diet

changed so much?”

“I’ve been practicing a bland diet lately because of my health,” Victoria

said without any change in her facial expression.

Bane smiled and looked at Victoria silently, but Victoria was able to

recognize the look in his eyes right away. If we weren’t childhood friends, I

would be scratching my head while trying to figure out what he is up to,

not knowing him well enough.

“If you’d like, I can take you to the doctor after our meal,” he asked a few

moments later.

Chapter 102 Talent Poaching

“No thanks. I’ve already been there.”

“Ah, it looks like someone’s already grown up, always turning me down.”

Bane then went on to tick a few other boxes on the ordering slip before

giving it to the waiter. After that, something crossed his mind as he added,

“Could you please get a glass of juice for this lady?”

“Sure, sir.”

Victoria was stunned when she heard that. “How did you know?”

“I can’t exactly remember, but you drank two glasses of juice during the

farewell party that night, didn’t you? Anyway, one glass should be enough,

right?”

Before Victoria came, she wasn’t planning to order herself a glass of juice.

Thus, she didn’t pay attention to the menu, but Bane observed her closely.

“Thanks.”

Chapter 102 Talent Poaching

“You don’t have to thank me. You’re the one who’s going to foot the bill,

after all.”

Victoria was speechless at once, finally remembering her purpose of

treating Bane to the meal, Goodness, dining in a restaurant like this is

probably going to cost me a fortune. With the amount of pay she was

receiving, she could afford to foot the bill, but once her baby was born, her

burden would most likely increase. After all, she would have to worry about

putting food on the table for herself and her baby, as well as affording her

child’s education. Because of that, she reckoned it was important to start

saving.

Nevertheless, the thought of that was enough to give Victoria a headache,

for she had no intention of marrying another man again. Therefore, she

would be forced to raise the child alone, which meant she would have to

look for more sources of income besides her current job.

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you regret treating me to an expensive meal

Chapter 102 Talent Poaching

right here,” Bane said in a probing manner when he saw her preoccupied

look.

When Victoria snapped out of her trance, the first thing she saw was

Bane’s ambiguously smiling eyes.

“Judging from the pay you’re getting at Cadogan Group, I doubt it’d

trouble you to treat me to lunch.”

“No way.” Victoria was amused by Bane’s words.

He picked up his glass from the table and took a sip, casually saying, “For

old times‘ sake, I don’t mind hiring you if the Cadogan Group doesn’t pay

you enough.”

“Are you trying to poach talents for your company?”

“Me, poaching talents?” Bane was slightly stunned when he heard

Victoria’s words, but deep down, he knew Victoria was right about what he

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Chapter 102 Talent Poaching

had in mind. After all, it was true that he was trying to poach talents for his

company, except the talent he just found was no ordinary person.

In the meantime, while Bane didn’t admit it, Victoria was somewhat

relieved. If the reason he ran into me today was that he was in search of

talents for his company, I guess I should have nothing to worry about.

After all, it wasn’t a coincidence we ran into each other.

When he saw her expression, his eyes darkened. “You seem nervous. Are

you worried that I might have feelings for you?”

Feeling as if the man was able to read her mind, she awkwardly blinked

and subconsciously denied it, saying, “No, I wouldn’t feel that way. After all,

why would you have feelings for me in the first place?”

Bane looked at Victoria gently, curling his lips upward while pinching his

nasal bridge. “What if I told you I had?”

Victoria, who was initially relieved, became stunned upon hearing Bane’s

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Chapter 102 Talent Poaching

words. “What?” She thought she had misheard him as she stared blankly

at the man.

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you got scared.” Bane pointed at the table

with smiling eyes.

When Victoria noticed Bane’s smiling eyes, she realized the man was

joking with her. Not only did she take his joke seriously, but she was also

frightened by him. Despite being speechless, Victoria felt a lot calmer than

before. “No, but I think some jokes are inappropriate among friends and

should be avoided.”

Bane curled his lips upward, his eyes filled with love and tenderness.

“Alright, I’ll quit joking.” However, only he knew that he wouldn’t be this

gentle or humorous anymore when he brought up this issue again.

13:40

Thu, 22 Jun