Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria)

Chapter 75

As she pondered about it, the voice of the shop owner interrupted

Victoria’s thoughts. “Miss, your congee and custard bread are ready.”

At once, Victoria snapped back to reality and saw that the owner had

already packed her order, so she reached out to take it. “Thank you. I’ve

already paid.”

“Alright. Take care, and thanks for coming!”

She grabbed the bag and turned to leave.

Throughout her journey back to the company, she could feel someone

watching her, and it only stopped once she entered the company

building.

72%

Was there really someone inside that black car just now? When she was

walking back, she contemplated going over to take a look. After all, she

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would find out by going over to check. However, on second thought, she

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felt a chill in her heart and decided against it. Since the car was parked in

the parking lot, no one would be inside the vehicle during the day.

At this thought, she rubbed her eyes and felt that she might have been

overthinking things.

Ding! The elevator arrived, and she stepped inside.

During the busy afternoon, this little incident from lunchtime was

completely pushed to the back of her mind.

Toward the end of the day, Yasmin came looking for her, “M–Miss Victoria,

Burke Corporation has scheduled a dinner tonight.” She nervously clasped

her fingertips together, her face slightly pale as she struggled to say the

next sentence.

“Are you afraid of going?” Victoria easily deduced what she wanted to say.

Hearing that, Yasmin nodded lightly and whispered, “I’m sorry, Miss

Victoria. I seem to have become a little cowardly. I’ll just go by myself.

Please pretend I never mentioned it.”

“Wait.” Victoria stopped her and stood up before saying, “Go and get

ready. I’ll go with you.” This should be the last time, though.

“Thank you, Miss Victoria. I’ll go and get ready at once.”

Since she had to accompany Yasmin to dinner, she sent a WhatsApp

message to Alaric, informing him that she had to work late and asked him

to return first.

Alaric responded, ‘Working late? I don’t recall hearing anything about the

company working overtime tonight.‘

Victoria replied, ‘Don’t you know what secretaries need to do? I’ll be

accompanying Yasmin to discuss a collaboration.‘

Exness Markets

12:03 Mon,

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‘Why are you accompanying her?‘ Alaric texted, not understanding why

she had worded it that way. Shouldn’t Yasmin be accompanying her? Why

is it the opposite?

Victoria answered, ‘I’m guiding my successor. Otherwise, who will take

over my work when I’m gone?‘ She didn’t want to be so blunt, but since a

certain someone wanted to get to the bottom of it, she decided to be

straightforward.

As expected, after she sent that message, there was silence on the other

end, and he didn’t reply to her message anymore.

After some time, Victoria and Yasmin went downstairs together. As they

neared the ground floor, Victoria asked, “Have you booked a ride?”

“Huh? Oh…” Only then did Yasmin belatedly take out her phone while

saying apologetically, “I’m sorry, Miss Victoria, I’ve forgotten. I’ll call for one

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now.”

Victoria wasn’t angry and simply nodded.

Before the car arrived, the two of them had already arrived at the

company entrance.

Victoria thought of something and subconsciously glanced toward the

spot where the black car had been parked at noon. Sure enough, the car

was no longer there. It was replaced by a white Volkswagen.

“Miss Victoria, what are you looking at?” asked Yasmin curiously. This is the property of Nô-velDrama.Org.

At her question, Victoria snapped back to reality and shook her head.

“Nothing. Have you secured a ride?”

“I did. It should arrive in a few minutes. I’m sorry, Miss Victoria. It seems like

I’m careless with everything.”

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Victoria glanced at her and smiled helplessly. “It’s no big deal. Everyone

has a first. Others may not necessarily do better than you, and you’re not

necessarily worse than anyone else. Show some confidence and courage.

Don’t be too afraid.”

“Okay.” Yasmin regained her confidence after hearing those words.

As Victoria turned around, Yasmin secretly observed her. Miss Victoria…

She’s truly a great and capable person. When will I be like her?

The designated meeting place was a bar.

As they got out of the car, Victoria frowned at the lively and colorful scene

in front of her. “Who chose this place?”

Instantly, Yasmin’s expression turned blank. “B–Burke Corporation did.”

When Victoria heard that, her brows furrowed even deeper. “Bars are

crowded and noisy, making them unsuitable for business discussions. Did

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you try suggesting a different location?”

Yasmin was dumbfounded upon hearing those words. “I–I didn’t know. I

thought we’d meet them wherever they liked.” Moreover, she had no idea

it was a bar before coming here, and it didn’t seem like a formal place

either.

“From now on, whenever someone suggests a meeting place, be sure to

check if it’s suitable for work. If it’s not, suggest an alternative.”

Yasmin could only nod helplessly. “Yes, Miss Victoria. What should we do

now? Should we… not go in?”

With furrowed brows, Victoria pressed her red lips together. “Since we’re

already here, let’s go.”

She was grateful that Yasmin had informed her about this. Otherwise,

Yasmin would have been here alone tonight, feeling like a helpless little

rabbit, and she would probably have been taken advantage of.

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t

Before entering, she said, “Let’s have the HR department hire someone in a

few days to help you–someone who is quick–witted.”

Yasmin felt extremely guilty, nodding to everything Victoria said.

After that, they found the designated private room with the help of the bar

staff.

As they pushed the door open, Victoria immediately caught the strong

smell of cigarettes, alcohol, and various chemical perfumes. At once, her

face changed, and she almost threw up on the spot. She had to take a

few steps back to breathe in the fresh air outside.

What’s going on with me? Is it my decreased tolerance for smells after

becoming pregnant, or am I just being overly sensitive? Why do I feel

nauseous from these smells? It’s not like I’ve never smelled these before.

Although I felt uncomfortable in the beginning, I gradually became used to

them.

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“Oh, look who’s here. It’s Miss Selwyn.” A voice of exaggerated surprise

came from inside the private room.

Caleb Burke, the son of Burke Corporation’s president, had a girl with

delicate features and fair skin nestled in his arms when he whistled in their

direction. Caleb Burke… I didn’t expect it to be him.

“Come on in. You guys, make some room for Miss Selwyn.”

At his words, his cronies immediately stood up and made space for her.

Seeing that, Victoria became speechless. She pressed her lips together

and looked at him. “Mr. Burke, why don’t we switch to someplace else?”

“What?” Caleb looked at her in surprise. “Miss Selwyn, why should we

switch to someplace else? Do you know how much I spent on this VIP

suite?”

“The smell of cigarettes here is too strong. I can’t tolerate it,” she said

honestly.

They didn’t expect her to be so straightforward. The people in the private

room were momentarily stunned, but Caleb smiled and said, “I’ve long

heard that Miss Selwyn is pretty straightforward, and I finally got to

witness it myself today.”

“Well, are we moving or not?” She couldn’t be bothered with idle talk.

Just then, he clicked his tongue, and his slender eyes assessed her from a

distance. However, he still didn’t answer her question.