Chapter 14 Victoria waited until the sun had set but still received nothing from Alaric . Her phone was silent like it had been cut off from the outside world . When she was working , she would love nothing more than for her phone to be silent so that she could have more time for herself . But now … It wasn't until darkness began enveloping the sky that Victoria's phone pinged , startling her . She hurriedly picked the phone up , only for her gaze to dim upon seeing the content . It was a text from Summer . ' So ? Have you given the idea much thought ? Have you come clean with him ? ' Victoria looked silently at her phone for a long time before a self - deprecating - filled chuckle escaped her . . You have known the answer long ago , but why are you so insistent ? Why must you lay your wound bare for people to see and scorn ? Now , you've done it . How are you going to face him now ? Victoria slid down against the bed and closed her eyes . Who is he with right now ? What is he doing ? How did he react when he found out I'm pregnant ? Will he share the news with Claudia ? What will she think of me after this ? Instantly , Victoria felt as though all the strength in her limbs had been sucked away . Later that night , Victoria ate no more after taking spoonfuls of soup . When the clock struck nine , her phone still did not have any new notifications . With that , she could only go downstairs with a jacket wrapped around her . Hector still hadn't rested yet , so he stood up upon seeing her . " It's already late at night , Mrs. Cadogan . Why are you still up ? " Victoria glanced at the empty gates and asked , " Alaric hasn't come back ? " A hint of surprise flashed across Hector as he answered , " Mr. Cadogan's assistant called earlier saying Mr. Cadogan has something important and won't be coming back tonight . " Victoria's heart sank in response . " Mrs. Cadogan , are you alright? " asked the butler with worry , seeing that she didn't look so good . " I'm good . " She forced a smile after returning to her senses . Then , she turned around to head back upstairs . Just as she was about to enter her room , her phone rang . The name displayed on the screen caused her pupils to shrink - it was Didn't he say he won't be coming back ? Why would he call me at this time , then ? What does he want to tell me ? At that , Victoria took a deep breath and prepared herself mentally before answering the call . " Victoria ? " However , a familiar sweet female voice came on the other end of the line . It was Claudia . " Al wants me to tell you that he has something going on and won't be going back tonight . You're still sick , so rest early , okay ? " Chapter 14 Ive Decided to Drop It At that moment , all Victoria felt was that her throat was jammed , her heart was sinking , and even her limbs were numb . Did he ask Claudia to call me ? What is he trying to do ? " Victoria ? Are you there ? " Victoria took pains to blurt out an ' okay ' after coming to her senses but still couldn't stop herself from ending the call in discomfiture . When Claudia heard the busy tone , she breathed a sigh of relief , then saved Victoria's phone number into her phone before returning Alaric's phone to him . " Here , Al . I've made the call . " " Alright . " Alaric spared a few seconds from his work to look up and retrieve his phone before asking when a thought came to him . " Has she slept ? " " Not yet . " At that , Alaric frowned and snorted , mumbling , " She's so sick , yet she won't go to bed early . What is that woman thinking ? " Claudia was right next to him when he grumbled . Hearing that , her face blanched at his attitude . She bit her lip while her hands shook slightly . Perhaps , even he himself didn't realize how apparently affectionate he looked when he said that . " Have you saved her phone number ? " Alaric asked all of a sudden . Claudia snapped back into reality and answered , " Yeah , I have . Al , I can ask her to hang out with me , can't I ? " " Sure , that would save her from always burying her head in work . " Claudia could only chuckle awkwardly in response . But when she turned around , a hint of malice flashed across her usually defenseless face . The following day , Victoria found her eyes a little puffy when she woke up . To avoid anyone noticing anything amiss , she deliberately put some ice over her eyes to reduce the puffiness . Later , she checked her phone and found messages from a couple of people . ' I've already sorted the work out . No need to worry , ' texted Noel . ' You have to go to the hospital if you don't feel well . ' ' Are you awake yet ? How are you doing ? I can take you to the hospital if you need . ' The previous text was sent the night before after she had fallen asleep , while the other one was sent this morning . Then , there was Summer's text . ' Boo , it's been hours , and I still haven't gotten a reply from you . Is everything okay ? I'm sorry . I shouldn't have suggested bad ideas . ' The rest of the few messages expressed her concern for her , and Victoria had a feeling her best friend had trouble sleeping last night . ' I'm fine . Don't worry ,' she replied to Summer . After that , she reopened Noel's chat and expressed her gratitude for taking over her task and wanting to treat him to a meal . Summer hadn't replied . Noel , on the other hand , replied within seconds . ' How are you doing now ? ' Victoria had just wanted to reply to him when his call came directly . She hesitated for only a couple of seconds before answering it . " Noel . " " Hey , feeling better ? " " Much better . " " You sound a little nasally . Still unwell , aren't you ? " Victoria fell silent at that . The man had always been sensitive about her well - being . Silence filled the call for a moment before Noel added , " Did Alaric not take you to the hospital ? " The sudden mention of Alaric stumped Victoria for a moment before she diverted the topic . " It's just a minor issue . I'll be fine after some pills . I'm already feeling much better after resting for two days . " Noel sighed in response . " You're headstrong as usual , Victoria . Your father will be heartbroken if he knows about this . " Victoria pursed her lips . " Not at all . I'll go to the hospital if I'm really feeling ill . Don't worry . " Subsequently , the two chatted a while longer before hanging up . Coincidentally , just as she ended her call with Noel , Summer called . " Vic ! How did it go ? You never replied to my text yesterday . I waited until Chapter 14 I've Decided to Drop It past midnight before falling asleep . If you hadn't texted me , who knows when I'd wake up ? " Who'd have thought my text would wake her up ? Should've replied to her later . " But thank goodness . I can rest assured now after seeing your text . " Summer heaved a sigh of relief before asking with doubt , " You told him about it , didn't you ? Alaric , he … How did he react to it ? " Everything was fine before Summer brought him up . Remembering that , Victoria's heart twinged with a dull pain . At that , she stared at the empty side of the bed . He hadn't returned the night before . He chose to hide away after she told him she was pregnant . Chapter 14 I've Decided to Drop It With that , she withdrew her gaze and announced calmly , " Summer , I've decided to drop the baby . "