Chapter 12 Summer initially thought Victoria's reaction was oddly calm , but after hearing the name ' Claudia ' , Vienna froze silent . " I - I thought she'd never come back , " she said after taking a long time to come to her senses . For a moment , neither said anything . Before the Selwyns had gone bankrupt , Summer , being Victoria's best friend , hung out with Victoria for a long time in the elite circle . Hence , she naturally knew that people loved talking about how Claudia saved Alaric . Plus , the two were a good - looking pair , and things could've ended up well too , but as Victoria's best friend , Summer's heart still ached for Victoria . Too bad too many crushes go unrequited and even die off silently in the end . Summer bit her lip and felt indignant for her friend . " Actually , so what if she comes back at this time ? I wouldn't back out if I were you . She and Alaric were never together in the first place . Besides , you two are already married , and you're now even pregnant . I swear the sky will fall before Alaric tells you to drop the baby ! " " Then you probably don't know him well enough , " said Victoria , who had been silent all this while . After saying that , she looked up , causing Summer's eyes to widen with incredulity . " What do you mean ? He didn't … Did he really ?! " " He will , " Victoria affirmed . " That means you haven't told him about it , have you ? " Summer countered . " How are you so certain he will ? " At that , Victoria pursed her lips and answered , " I've already sounded him out . " You … " Summer instantly became disappointed in her friend . " What is that going to achieve ? As if theory and practice are the same ! You should tell him now . Say you're pregnant . See how he reacts to it . " Victoria fell silent in response , so Summer added , " Are you scared ? Please , I swear on my life that Alaric will never tell you to drop it if he knows you're pregnant . Wanna bet on it ? " " That's not necessary . " Victoria shook her head after a moment of silence . Then, she grabbed her bag and stood up . " Come on . I'll get the bill . " Before Summer could even react to what was happening , Victoria had already gone to the cashier . Livid , Summer could only grab her bag and follow her friend out . After exiting the cafe , Summer walked beside Veronica . Seeing that the latter still had no intention of speaking up , Summer couldn't help but grab " Victoria ! " her arm . " Victoria ! " Victoria stopped in her tracks and fixed her gaze on her best friend . " Get a hold of yourself and trust me this once , will you ? This isn't a small issue . I wouldn't be standing here and persuading you if you could drop your years of love for him . But you love him , don't you ? Our happiness . should lay in our own hands ! " " I … " Her words made Victoria hesitant and seeing so , Summer urged , " Alright , let me ask you a few questions then . " " What is it ? " " People will eventually notice pregnancy with time , won't they ? " Victoria nodded . " Then , are you worried people will notice ? " Victoria pondered and nodded again . " There you go . Since you're afraid people will notice , and you don't intend to tell Alaric either , you'll surely find a chance to drop the baby later . " No , that's not it . I just haven't thought this through … " Since you've already prepared for the worst , what's there left for you to be afraid of ? Won't the worst - case scenario remain the same even if you tell him ? " " But … " Victoria's lips trembled as her lashes fluttered . " We might still be friends if I keep this a secret , but if I tell him … " Summer fell silent at that . Alright , I underestimated her love for Alaric . It wasn't until moments later that Summer sighed under her breath . " Vic , I know you love him , but has it ever crossed your mind that there's no point in being friends if you can't be with him ? Besides , don't you want to sound it out ? Don't you want to know if he feels the same about you ? Either way , I refuse to believe he doesn't have the slightest feelings for you seeing that he treats you so well . " Yeah , he does treat me well , but … it's all but a trade … If it wasn't that Griselda liked her and that the elder also happened to be sick , the two of them wouldn't have gotten married at all . To him , she was just a simple childhood friend . Summer knew there was nothing she could do to persuade Victoria anymore , seeing she was still hesitant . " Anyhow , I've already said all I had to say . You think about the rest . It's ultimately your decision , after all . There's nothing more I can say . " Before getting into the car , Summer still couldn't stop herself from running back to her friend and said , " Victoria , our happiness lies in our own hands , As lost as Victoria was still feeling right then , she smiled from the bottom of her heart and pinched Summer's cheek . " All right , I got it . I'll think long and hard about it . " " Good . Go home , then . Call me if you need anything , okay ? " " Okay . " As soon as Victoria returned to Cadogan Residence , Hector instantly approached her worryingly . " Where have you been , Mrs. Cadogan ? Why have you gone out when you're not feeling well ? What if something happens to you ? " The butler's worry touched Victoria . She thereafter reassured him , " I'm fine . " " That's good to hear . " Hector sized her up and finally heaved a sigh of relief after he was certain she was fine . " You should go back to rest , Mrs. Cadogan . " " Alright . " With that , Victoria went upstairs and returned to her room . Silence filled the air after she closed the door with a thump . At that moment , Summer's words rang in her ears now that she was all alone . Our happiness lies in our own hands . Actually , she believed in that saying ; one should speak out and fight for their love . In fact , she did exactly that in the past . Hence , it was why she decided to confess her love . However , just as she was about to do so , she overheard Alaric saying his partner would forever be Claudia . Forever … She understood the concept of forever . She also knew Alaric was the kind who practiced what he preached . But … Victoria clenched her phone . Ever since hearing Summer's suggestion , her greed became a vine that had found something it could attach itself to , absorbing all the nutrients in the soil with all its might , growing rapidly . Truth was , she actually wanted to follow Summer's suggestion and sound him out . That said , she certainly wouldn't have the guts to tell Alaric the news right in front of him . Perhaps … I can try texting him . He'll definitely know once he sees my text . At that , Victoria's heart raced wildly like she had been triggered . Her hand that was clenching her phone also began trembling , so much so that she only managed to unlock her phone via password , having failed a few times using her fingerprint . Victoria opened up her chat history with Alaric . Perhaps she was feeling apprehensive because she decided to open their text message history instead of using WhatsApp , the portal that they normally communicated with . However , after she was in , she began feeling at a loss of what to do . How should she tell him about it ? It wasn't after she stared at the phone for a long time that she finally decided to be a little more straightforward . As Summer said , she was already prepared for the worst , so what was there for her to be fearful of ? At that , she texted , ' I'm pregnant . ' After that , she closed her eyes and sent it .