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

Chapter 564 I Can Be Shameless Every Day 

Alaric couldn’t resist entertaining mischievous thoughts as he observed her reaction. And so, he reached out and pulled her to sit in front of him. “Well, I do have a suggestion now. Listen and see if you like it. If you don’t, we can come up with something else.” 

Intrigued, Victoria was eager to hear what he had in mind. “Mhm. Go ahead and tell me.” 

However, the man raised an eyebrow playfully. “Do you want me to tell you? Well, you’ll have to give me a kiss 

first.” 

Confusion washed over Victoria’s face. “Wait… What?” 

She thought she must have misheard him. 

Awkwardly, she stared at Alaric, who was in front of her. “What did you just say?” 

Alaric’s deep gaze lingered on her lips, his voice low and husky. “Are you playing dumb?” 

After a moment of bewilderment, Victoria suddenly blushed. “We are discussing something important. What on earth do you think you’re doing?” 

However, Alaric leaned closer and teasingly brushed his warm breath against her face. “This is important too, and it matters a great deal.” 

Instinctively, she turned her head away before his breath could reach her. 

To her surprise, he reached out and held her chin. “Just kiss me.” 

Victoria furrowed her brows in protest. “No way.” 

He looked at her with a puzzled expression. “Why not? Do you feel disgusted with me?” 

The word threw her off guard, and she quickly retorted, “Of course not. Why would you think that?” 

There was no way she could ever feel disgusted with him. 

“Are you sure?” Alaric lowered his gaze, looking like he was deeply aggrieved. “All this time, you’ve been rejecting my advances. A couple of days ago, you refused to sleep with me because of your friend, and now you won’t even kiss me.” 

A self–deprecating curve formed on his thin lips. “If this isn’t disgust, then what is it?” 

Hearing his words, Victoria suddenly felt like she had been portrayed as the villain in their interactions. She instinctively rushed to defend herself. “That’s not true. When I turned down your advances, it was because we were at the office, and there were people around. I thought it was inappropriate.” 

Pausing briefly, she gathered her thoughts before continuing. “You must understand this, right? And as for later, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to sleep with you. It was because Summer came, so I went to sleep with her. It was just a coincidence that one night and it didn’t happen again. And about what just happened… It’s not that I didn’t want to kiss you, but-” 

Interrupting her explanation, Alaric quickly interjected, “If you’re not unwilling, then what’s wrong with giving 

me a kiss now?” 

bina 

iriportant.” 

“Kiss me, and we’ll continue the discussion,” he insisted. 

She found herself at a loss for words. 

It seemed she couldn’t escape from giving him a kiss today. 

Feeling a mix of frustration and fear that he genuinely believed she was disgusted with him, Victoria reluctantly. leaned in and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. 

Her movement was swift and unexpected, catching Alaric off guard. Before he could react, she had already withdrawn. “Now, do you believe that I don’t find you disgusting?” 

“That was too quick,” he remarked. 

Confused, Victoria asked, “What do you mean?” 

“I mean, it was too quick. I barely felt it.” 

“You only asked for a kiss, and you didn’t specify the speed. Anyway, you can’t back out now. Hurry up and tell me your idea,” she retorted. 

Alaric emitted a soft hum before breaking into a gentle chuckle. “I’m not satisfied yet. Let me kiss you again.” 

Just as Victoria tried to stand up and make her escape, she felt a strong hand grab her wrist and pull her back 

into an embrace. Caught off guard, she found herself falling into Alaric’s arms. 

In the next moment, her chin was held, and his familiar breath pressed against her. 

She intended to push him away, but it was too late. Her lips were captured by Alaric’s, and the familiar scent and the friction of his lips gave her a sense of comfort. With a swift surrender, she closed her eyes. 

Expecting her resistance, Alaric was momentarily taken aback by her unexpected compliance. However, he quickly regained his composure and deepened the kiss. 

An hour later, Alaric held the woman in his arms with a satisfied expression on his face. The subtle upward curve of his eyebrows hinted at his happiness, and the usual depth of his eyes was replaced by a different 

emotion. 

After letting out a contented sigh, he held her even tighter. 

Thinking about their recent encounter, Victoria blushed and buried her petite face in his embrace. 

As her cheek pressed against his chest, she could feel the gentle vibrations of Alaric’s low chuckle resonating 

within him. 

She wanted to lift her face and ask him about his amusement, but the weight of their recent intimate encounter made her bravery falter. Hence, she could only grit her teeth and playfully punch him. 

Alaric, however, paid no mind to her playful retaliation. After all, in the past hour, he had received what he had longed for in exchange for the cold treatment and lingering bitterness that had plagued him for so long. 

Victoria punched him twice and still found no satisfaction, so she continued her playful assault. 

However, when she reached the fifth punch, her slender wrist was finally grabbed by Alaric. “Alright, alright. Enough with the hitting,” he said helplessly. 

“Can’t I even hit you?” she retorted. 

“You can hit me if you want, but didn’t you mention earlier that your hand was sore?” he replied with a hint of amusement. “If it was already sore, won’t it hurt even more if you keep on hitting?” 

Victoria fell silent upon hearing that. 

She couldn’t believe he would casually bring up the embarrassing moment from earlier. 

Her ears reddened, feeling as if they were about to burst. Then, she swiftly pulled her captured wrist free from his grasp. 

“You have no shame!” she muttered angrily. 

Alaric cheekily responded, “Yeah, I have no shame. If you’re willing to treat me like you just did, I can be shameless every day.” 

“I don’t feel like talking to you.” Victoria pushed him away, intending to get up and leave. 

“Wait! Don’t you want to hear my suggestion?” he interjected. 

As the subject of the new year came up, Victoria hesitated for a moment. Fearing that he would continue his playful antics, she stood still in place without turning back. 

“I’m all ears,” she declared. 

Recognizing her genuine concern, Alaric refrained from further teasing. He knew he had to handle things delicately, bit by bit, in order to capture her heart. 

Scaring her away now would mean losing the opportunity for future sweet moments. 

“I’ll talk to my parents directly about buying plane tickets,” he proposed. 

“Buying plane tickets?” Victoria turned her head in surprise. “What do you mean? Why do we need to buy plane 

tickets?” 

At that, he commented, “You can’t have the best of both worlds, so why not go abroad with them and celebrate together?” 

Victoria pursed her lips, contemplating his suggestion. 

Truth be told, it was an idea that had crossed her mind as well. 

After all, they were Alaric’s parents, and it wouldn’t seem fair to burden them with the expense of traveling 

abroad with her. 

On the other hand, if she asked her parents to purchase tickets to visit, it wouldn’t be fair to her parents either. 

While she was grappling with her conflicting thoughts, Alaric took matters into his own hands. 

Contemplating this, Victoria turned to him and asked softly, “Is that okay? Will they… be upset?”