Chapter 48 Claudia froze . It wasn't as if she didn't think of that . She tried dropping hints , but she didn't know whether Alaric didn't pick up on them or whether he was merely pretending to not notice them . Either way , he didn't agree . Claudia couldn't be too forward either . What if he thinks I'm an easy woman ? Therefore , she had to just swallow this bitter pill . Victoria raised her eyebrows when Claudia didn't respond . In fact , she looked ashen - faced . " Or are you picking on me because you can't get him to go out and meet 70 1/11 Chapter 48 Meaningless to Try and Fight you ? " Claudia raised her head and glared at Victoria . Victoria simply looked back at her in amusement . 2/11 " Am I wrong ? You don't need to do all these unnecessary things . You obviously despise me , and yet , you brought me lunch . Are you trying to prove to him how generous and magnanimous you are ? My advice would be to save it . If the person you like doesn't like you simply because you don't seem magnanimous enough , then you should hurry up and switch to a different person . " Victoria's words hit Claudia's sore spot . Claudia clenched her fists . It was as if she wanted to smash Victoria into a pulp . Victoria's lips curved into a sweet smile . " I still have work to do . If there's 11:14 Mon , 19 Jun Chapter 48 Meaningless to Try and Fight nothing else , then you can leave now . " D Claudia was infuriated . She was beginning to regret her attempt at pretending to be a generous , open - minded person . She wanted to mock Victoria , but at the same time , she was afraid that Victoria would be pissed enough to run her mouth in front of Alaric , so she forced herself to smile again . " You don't need to be so hostile toward me , Victoria . You agreed to my request , so we're even now . I just want to be friends with you and take care of you . After all , going by our ages , you could consider me an older sister- " Before she could finish , Victoria cut her off coldly . " I'm the only daughter in my family , Miss Johnson . " Claudia remained silent for a moment before saying , " Alright . I guess today's menu isn't to your taste . I'll get going then ." 76 % 3/11 11:14 Mon , 19 Jun Chapter 48 Meaningless to Try and Fight She took her lunchbox and left . As soon as she was gone , Yasmin rushed in and asked angrily , " Why did she come here , Miss Victoria ? Did she bully you ? " Victoria was startled . " You don't like her ? " Yasmin nodded heavily. 76 % " Of course ! If it wasn't for her, those people at the cafeteria wouldn't have said those things about you , Miss Victoria . I hate her ! " Victoria briefly stared at Yasmin in silence before asking, " Do you plan to stay at this job for long ? " " Yes ! " Yasmin declared with a smile . " I like it here . As long as Cadogan Group doesn't fire me , then I'll keep working here. " Victoria's expression turned grim . 4/11 11:14 Mon , 19 Jun Chapter 48 Meaningless to Try and Fight " Since you like it here , you should keep your emotions in check . " Yasmin was startled by the way Victoria's expression and tone became cold so abruptly . " W - What ? " 76 % 5/11 " Do you know what relationship she and Alaric will have in the future ? Do you know whether you can afford to offend her or not ? If you want to keep your job here, rein in your emotions . Don't put them on full display all the time . " Victoria's tone was so harsh and merciless that Yasmin was in shock . Her eyes slowly turned red as she stood frozen in place . She couldn't understand why Victoria was berating her when she was just taking Victoria's side . " M - Miss Victoria , I'm not trying to let my emotions show , I just … I just don't like hearing other people saying bad things about you , and that woman- " Victoria's frown'deepened and her tone became even harsher . 11:14 Mon , 19 Jun Chapter 48 Meaningless to Try and Fight " It seems to me that you still don't understand what I'm saying , so listen carefully now . At the end of the day , you're just an employee at Cadogan Group . How are we related ? Why would I need you to stand up for me ? " Yasmin's eyes were filled to the brim with tears , but she bit down hard on her lip to stop them from falling out . The office fell into pin - drop silence . After a while , there was the sound of someone clearing his throat . " Ahem ! " Victoria looked up and realized that Noel was standing outside the door . She didn't know when he came over . Thus , Victoria turned back to Yasmin and commanded curtly , " Go back to work . " 6/11 1114 Mon , 19 Jun Chapter 48 Meaningless to Try and Fight Yasmin nodded . She didn't dare to disobey Victoria . As she brushed past Noel , he could see her pitiful drops of tears finally rolling down her cheeks . Once she left , Victoria asked , " Did you need something , Noel ? " Noel came in and closed the door behind him . 76 % He looked at Victoria a little helplessly . " Did you have to speak so harshly ? Even though you meant well , you run the risk of getting your intentions misinterpreted . " Victoria lowered her eyes . Her expression remained indifferent . " It doesn't matter whether or not she misunderstands it . Either way , I'll be leaving soon enough . " If I didn't take a harsher tone with her , then she'd still be stuck inside her 7/11 Chapter 48 Meaningless to Try and Fight naive world . How will she survive if she doesn't become more mature ? Victoria spoke with a matter - of - fact tone , but it was enough for Noel to pause ever so slightly . After placing the document that he brought with him on her desk , he pretended to ask offhandedly , " Are you getting ready to leave ? When ? " She didn't keep anything from Noel , apart from her fake marriage to Alaric and the baby . She pressed her lips and said , " I haven't decided exactly when yet , but it'll happen soon . " Noel cocked an eyebrow and said nothing . Even though she hadn't fixed a time , she said it was happening soon , and the attitude she took when she scolded Yasmin today was a solid clue as well . 8/11 Chapter 48 Meaningless to Try and Fight 9/11 She's probably leaving the company within a month . Seems to me that it's time for me to make my plans too . Upon noticing that Noel was silent in thought , Victoria couldn't help but frown . " What are you thinking about , Noel ? " Noel quickly snapped out of his thoughts . He looked at her without saying anything . Victoria was apprehensive . " Don't tell me you're thinking about resigning . " The very possibility of this startled her . However , Noel simply gave her an unreadable smile . " Don't worry . I wasn't thinking about that . " Victoria didn't want to press him on the subject . Some things were beyond Chapter 48 Meaningless to Try and Fight 10/11 the realm of their relationship , and she didn't want to dive deep into Noel's thoughts . Seeing that she fell silent , Noel said reassuringly , " It's alright . Don't worry . Just focus on your matters first . Do you really plan on leaving just like that ? " Noel's gaze flashed enigmatically . " I'm not trying to criticize you , but you spent two years with him . Are you leaving the moment she comes back ? Isn't that a bit too weak of you ? It makes it seem as if you're a pushover . " Noel paused before he frowned and slowly continued , " Victoria , you've never been the type of person to allow anyone to bulldoze over you like that . Why is it that whenever he's involved , you become … " Victoria lowered her eyes . Chapter 48 Meaningless to Try and Fight It was true . Whenever the situation involved him , she would shrink back and become entirely helpless . It wasn't that she couldn't come up with a way to stand up for herself , but she knew that she wasn't the one he held in his heart , so she thought it was meaningless to try and fight for his affection . She knew that Alaric wasn't going to give up on his feelings for Claudia simply because of her own attempts to win his heart , and she had more self - respect than to love someone who didn't love her . 11/11