Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria) novel Chapter 27

Chapter 27 

Alaric invited two of his friends to join him for a drink. 

He drank alcohol as if it were plain water. 

When Norwood and West saw Alaric doing it, they were terrified. 

“Can you stop him?” Norwood gave West a look. 

However, West helplessly shrugged when he heard that. “Do you think I’ll 

be able to stop him?” 

Norwood pressed his lips together solemnly. “He’s already had a lot to 

drink. His health will suffer if he continues to drink.” 

West nodded approvingly. “You’re right.” 

The next second, the two stepped forward to stop Alaric tacitly. 

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“Al, please stop drinking.“. 

“That’s more than enough if you’re trying to get drunk. Just wait for the 

alcohol to kick in and you’ll be out.” 

Despite their efforts to stop Alaric, they did not dare to touch the man. 

They only used words to try to stop him. 

Alaric sneered and didn’t respond when he heard that. He had consumed 

too much alcohol, so he was acting all hostile and his eyes were red. 

“What is his issue?” West blinked. “I thought Claudia had returned. Why isn’t 

Al spending more time with her instead of drinking his life away?” 

Norwood figured it out. “I think because she returned that he couldn’t 

accept it,” he said after some thought. 

West was initially perplexed. However, after some thought, he realized 

what was going on. 

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His eyes widened as he asked, “Do you mean…” 

Norwood confirmed his friend’s suspicions with a nod. 

West couldn’t help but frown when he saw the nod. 

“That’s true. Since Claudia has returned, Al will have to divorce Victoria. 

After all, the couple has spent a significant amount of time together. Al 

must be reluctant to part with Victoria.” 

While they were talking, Alaric’s dark gaze fell on West. His eyes were as 

sharp as knives. 

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West felt a chill on his back and tremblingly asked, “W–What’s the matter?” 

Alaric’s face was ferocious, like that of a wolf. “Did you say I’m reluctant to 

part with Victoria?” 

West was stunned for a moment before pointing to Norwood. “No, I was 

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referring to Norwood.” 

Norwood was irritated when West turned Alaric’s attention to him. 

Alaric grunted because he was confused. 

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“I’m not referring to you. Norwood is hesitant to part with his girlfriend, as I 

stated.” 

With that, West poured Alaric another glass of alcohol and coaxed, “You 

are free to continue drinking. Please do not interrupt us while we are 

speaking.” 

Usually, West would not dare to do such a thing. 

However, when Alaric was drunk, he was much easier to fool than sober. 

West had previously observed Alaric when the man was intoxicated. 

Although Alaric’s gaze was fierce, he was not unusually sober. That was 

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when West knew that Alaric was getting drunk. 

Today, however, Alaric proved to be more difficult to deceive than West 

had anticipated. 

“Are you trying to order me?” 

West was too stunned to speak. What exactly is going on? Is he still not 

sufficiently drunk? Why does his mind remain clear? 

“I–I didn’t. You want to drink, so I pour you a glass. Am I mistaken?” 

Alaric frowned at the glass of alcohol before him and curved his lips in 

displeasure. Then, he picked up the glass and drank it once more. 

Norwood couldn’t help but reach out his hand. “Don’t drink. Nothing will be 

solved by drinking.” 

Alaric came to a halt and turned to stare coldly at Norwood. 

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Despite their friendship, Norwood couldn’t stand Alaric’s rage. 

As Norwood pursed his lips and was about to withdraw his hand, Alaric 

thudded to the table. 

“What the f*ck?!” West couldn’t help but be surprised. “He dozed off? No 

way! Really?” 

Alaric, who had collapsed on the table, did not respond. He appeared to 

be out of it. 

“I believe so,” Norwood said. 

“Damn it! I assumed Al was still sober when he asked why I had ordered 

him. I was perplexed as to why his drinking capacity had increased. It turns 

out that nothing has changed.” 

With that, West used Alaric’s current situation to exact revenge on the 

man. However, Norwood couldn’t take it any longer. “If you don’t want Al to 

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be mad at you after he’s sober, you should stop now.” 

As such, West hurriedly stopped. “What should we do now? Should we 

send him home?” 

A gleam flashed through his eyes as he thought of something. Then, he 

looked in Alaric’s pocket for his cell phone. 

“We never get to hold his phone when he’s sober. Let me check his phone 

to see if he has any secrets and if he has talked to my goddess, Claudia.” 

West liked Claudia because of her appearance and personality. However, 

because everyone was aware of Claudia and Alaric’s strange relationship, 

West did not make a move on her. 

He was curious about Claudia and Alaric’s chat history. However, when he 

clicked on it, a pair of hands blocked the screen. 

When West raised his head, he noticed Norwood’s steady gaze. “Although 

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we’re best friends, you can’t intrude on Al’s privacy.” 

Norwood’s words had a forewarning tone to them. 

As a result, West succumbed to fear and came to a halt. 

“I know that and I’m not going to peek. It’s all just a joke. Jeez!” 

“Give me the phone.” Norwood extended his hand to West. 

Despite his reservations, West handed the phone over. “What are you 

going to do?” 

“Call his family and have them pick him up.” Norwood exited WhatsApp 

and opened the contact app. 

“His family? Who?” 

“Victoria,” Norwood said calmly. 

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R 

West disapprovingly frowned when he heard that. “Why Victoria? You 

should contact Claudia. Only she can stop Al. He refuses to listen to 

anyone else.” 

“Is that so?” Norwood did not refute and mentioned lightly, “We’ll see.” 

Then, Norwood called Victoria. 

“What are you doing? You know Al-” 

Beep! 

West was interrupted by the phone’s tone. He decided to stop talking 

because Norwood had already called Victoria. 

However, West was confused. He was perplexed as to why Norwood 

seemed to prefer Victoria over Claudia. 

It would have been better to call Claudja, but Norwood called Victoria 

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instead. 

The phone rang for a long time without being answered. 

West said impatiently, “She did not answer the phone. She must have 

slept already. After all, it’s late-” 

Victoria answered the phone before he could finish his sentence. 

However, there was only silence wherein no one spoke. 

Norwood understood what was going on. If Alaric went to a bar to drink, it 

must be because he fought with Victoria. As a result, Victoria would not be 

the first to speak after answering the phone. 

He cleared his throat before saying, “Hello, it’s Norwood Oaks.” 

After that, Victoria was surprised. “Norwood?” 

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Chapter 27 I’m Not Reluctant 

“Yes, it’s me. Alaric is drunk, so I used his cell phone to contact you,” 

Norwood said softly while glancing at the man in question, who was lying 

on the table.