Chapter 18 Victoria felt a little at a loss seeing Alaric's gaze like this . And wasn't he with Claudia when I went out for lunch ? Why isn't she in the office now ? Just as she was lost in her thoughts , Noel asked her something , which promptly pulled her back to reality before answering . After the work report was finished , Noel was ready to leave . In response , Alaric nodded indifferently . As soon as he walked away , Alaric's gaze fell entirely on Victoria , She had been standing behind Noel earlier , which had shielded her somewhat , but now , there was no avoiding his gaze at all . Noel , who was about to walk toward the door , turned around to look at her . " Victoria , should I come to pick you up again tomorrow at noon ? " Hearing this , she was stunned instantly . At the same time , Alaric also realized something was going on and arched an eyebrow . " Do you mind if I talk to Miss Selwyn for a moment , Mr. Cadogan ? " At that moment , she knitted her brows . What is he up to ? However , before she could react , Alaric had already parted his lips and said in a cold voice , " It's better not to . It's working hours after all ." " Oh ? " Noel seemed a little surprised by the response , but he did not argue . " In that case , I'll look for her after work . " He left directly after saying that . In an instant , the office fell silent , so silent that even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard . Once Noel was gone , Alaric's gaze became even sharper as it landed on Victoria's face . It seemingly carried a hint of displeasure . " You went out with him at noon? " She nodded since there was no point in denying it , for she and Noel were completely innocent . Seeing her nod , Alaric furrowed his brows . " What did you guys do ? " " We had lunch and discussed yesterday's work . " At the mention of lunch , his frown deepened , but the moment he heard her say ' discussed work , his furrowed brows slightly relaxed . Right , they both work for my company now , so it's normal for them to talk about work . However , he still felt some displeasure . After pressing his lips together , he said , " If someone saw you talking about work during lunch , they might think I'm bullying you . " Instinctively , she responded , " You think you haven't ? " As soon as she said that , both of them were stunned at the same time . The urge to bite off her tongue came into her mind again at that moment , indicating her frustration . It was probably because she grew up alongside him , so she would say anything on her mind and would not hide her true self when she was with him . It might also be because he had seen her ugliest , worst , and most childish side when she was young . As she was thinking , he suddenly stood up and approached her . Although he was tall and thin , he exuded a strong sense of oppression , presumably due to his aura as a long - term dominant figure . Instinctively , she took a few steps backward , Seeing that , he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the cold wall . With one arm blocking her way , he wrapped his other hand around her to trap her . " What are you doing ? " She was confused , and her breathing became uneven . Although she wanted to escape , the back of her neck was held by his big palm . Then , his hot breath approached and landed on her face . " Tell me . What did I do to you ? " His voice was hoarse and deep . When he spoke slowly , his voice was extremely seductive . At the same time , his hand lightly pinched the back of her neck over and over again . She felt as though his fingertips were on fire . With confusion flashing in her beautiful eyes , she thought , What is he doing ? She thought their relationship should have reached its freezing point after his absence of text and return home last night . Or at least , it should be awkward and not so presumptuous . He's acting as if he didn't receive that text at all . Or is he pretending that nothing happened ? " Why are you not saying anything ? " Alaric pinched her chin , obviously feeling her distraction . While narrowing his eyes , he asked , " What's wrong ? " As Victoria looked at this familiar , handsome face in front of her , her pink lips parted and closed , hesitating to speak . She wanted to say something , to ask something , but only when the words came to the tip of her throat did she realize how powerless she was … Not even a word could come out of her mouth . What if he suddenly darkens his face and asks me , ' I just wanted to leave you some dignity , so I pretended not to know . Why are you so senseless , Victoria ? ' ? What am I going to do if he says that ? It's better if things stay this way , maintaining our dignity . I can handle it myself . 14:01 Sun , 18 Jun Chapter 18 Part Ways with Dignity " Nothing . " She shook her head . When he heard her answer , his gaze turned serious . She's acting like that again . Recently , he felt that she was acting strangely and was suddenly distancing herself from him , not willing to tell him anything . At that thought , the temptation that arose a few moments ago dissipated instantly . He let go of his hand on her chin and took a few steps backward away from her . While enduring the dryness in her throat , she said , " I should get back to work . " When she turned around , she heard him say , " Wait . " " Yes ? " Chapter 18 Part Ways with Dignity "You haven't applied for any annual leave this year , right ? " Hearing that , she was startled for a moment before nodding . " Yes . " " You should start taking your annual leave tomorrow . " " Tomorrow ? " " Yes . You've been feeling sick lately . Use up your annual leave to rest for a while . You can take the time to boost your mood as well . " He was saying this because he realized she was in a bad mood these days , plus the high fever , so he decided to let her rest early . However , it was a different story in Victoria's ears since she essentially would not take any annual leave at this time of the year . He knew that as well , but now , he was asking her to apply for leave early . Is he warning me to get rid of the baby during my annual leave ? Since they were childhood friends , she knew him very well . He would not say or do anything pointless . Although she knew that it was just a possibility , she still felt weak in her arms and legs , as though she was frozen inside an ice cave . Only after a long time did she retrieve her voice from her throat and squeeze out a reply . " Okay . I got it . I'll apply it tomorrow . " When Summer heard what happened , anger rose in her like a tide , and she nearly smashed the tableware of the restaurant . " The f * ck? Is he a human ? Has he forgotten about your relationship with him from the past ? This is outrageous ! " Victoria knew Summer would yell in rage , so she reserved a room beforehand . Since there were only two of them in the room , Summer would not be heard no matter how loud she cursed . Compared to Summer's anger , Victoria appeared to be much calmer . Although she looked calm on the outside , she had never taken a bite of the food on the table . She only kept drinking the tea , whose color was becoming unknown after several times refilling the water . Faced with a furious Summer , Victoria even calmed her down . " Chill out . We'll need to pay if you smash anything . " " Oh , right . " Summer quickly put down the cup in her hand . As she thought of it again , she walked in front of Victoria and shook her shoulders . " How can you be so calm after what happened ? Look how he's treating you ! " Victoria was a little dizzy from being shaken , so she put down the cup in her hand . " What should I do , then ? Cry ? Make a scene ? Or threaten him that I'll kill myself? Do you want him , Claudia and everyone else to see my family as a joke ? " After a pause , she shook her head . " Besides , my relationship with him is just a deal in the first place . When we part ways , 14:02 Sun , 18 Jun Chapter 18 Part Ways with Dignity we should also do it with dignity