Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria)

Chapter 226

“So, still wanna bet?” Alaric taunted.

“Dammit.” Jordan gnashed his teeth and looked at Zoe. “You can take it, can’t you?

We have to win this.”

“Um, I think safety comes first,” Zoe responded.

Dammit, Jordan cursed in his mind.

Victoria didn’t want to say anything, but she shared Zoe’s sentiments.

A staff member came up to them and sycophantically said, “The race will begin

soon.”

Jordan pulled on the reins and gritted his teeth. “Fine. I know I can win this.”

There was one minute left until the start of the race, so the staff member reiterated

the rules. “First to get the flag wins. We have also prepared a present for the winner.

Ride safely. Counting down from ten. Ten, nine, eight…”

Victoria was still trying to get off the horse, but the moment she was pulled up,

Alaric had been wrapping his arm around her waist, keeping her from moving.

Then, he suddenly leaned in, his scent covering her. She heard him whisper, “If

you’re scared, you can always turn around to hug me.”

What? She was bewildered by his words. “Like hell, I will-”

Right at that moment, the countdown was over, and Jordan charged ahead like a

mad dog, and Zoe screamed at the top of her lungs, “Slow down, Jordan! Safety

first!”

“To hell with that! I want to win!”

Okay… Victoria watched as Jordan’s horse ran into the distance, whereas Alaric

remained at the same spot. Since she refused to talk to him, she didn’t say a word. A

while later, she couldn’t take it anymore and asked, “What are you doing? Do you

want to lose?”

Ah, I knew she’d talk to me. A hint of satisfaction flashed in the man’s eyes. “What?

Are you worried he might take you back?”

Ugh, he has no idea how bad I had it, and now he’s talking to me like I’m his friend or

something. This must be cruelly amusing to the gods. Victoria’s face fell, and she

mocked, “No. In fact, it’s better if you lose. I was here to see him in the first place,

anyway.”

Alaric’s face darkened as soon as he heard that. “What did you just say? Say it again

if you dare.”

“Sure. If you want, I can say it ten times, too.”

Dammit. Before she could say anything further, Alaric charged ahead, and the winds

started howling.

The inertia made Victoria fall backward, and she couldn’t utter a single word after

that. All she could do was keep her screams in. Though she looked calm outside,

her reaction spoke of the opposite. At first, she thought that she should try her best

to keep some distance between her and Alaric even after the race had begun.

However, she now realized she couldn’t even control her own body. She was leaning

on his chest and tensing up, worried she might be flung off the horse’s back.

Alaric whispered, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Victoria was too angry to say anything, so she ignored him. The man snickered, then

he asked, “Wanna turn around?”

She snapped, “You think I’d do that?”

“Then, sit tight.” He huddled closer and leaned his chest on her back. She could feel

his warmth on her back, and he inched closer to her ear, whispering, “We’ll win this.”

The horse started to run faster and faster, and the winter wind blew across her face,

blowing her hair. Strands of hair tickled Alaric’s neck, and he frowned. “Why didn’t

you tie your hair up?”

Are you seriously asking me that? My hair clip wouldn’t have broken had you not

barged into the room. I don’t have any clips left.

There were a few routes leading to the mountaintop, and each path was different.

Even though they were halfway through the race, they still didn’t see Jordan and

Zoe.

“Where are they?” Victoria asked. It’s been a while, so why aren’t we seeing them?

“There are three paths leading to the mountaintop. Two bigger ones and one

smaller one.” Alaric stopped at the junction and looked at her. “So, which path do

you choose?”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Jordan might take the smaller path just to win. If we take that path and run into

him, we might fall off our horses.”

The man stared at her, but seeing that she didn’t plan on saying anything, he led his

horse to the smaller path.

Realizing what he wanted to do, Victoria’s face fell. “What are you doing?” You know

he might take this path, and you’re still going with it?

Alaric said, “Winning the race.” He kicked the horse’s side, and the beast charged

into the smaller path. The lady didn’t even have time to say anything.

When they came into the path, Victoria heaved a sigh of relief. She thought this

route would be narrow and winding because Alaric said they might fall off the horse

if they ran into Jordan and Zoe, but the path was actually broader than she thought.

Still, they were in the mountain, and even though she was leaning on someone, the

scenery was still slightly frightening.

Eventually, she realized something was off. The path started getting narrow and winding. At first, it was

big enough to allow three horses to pass, but not anymore. With how fast the horse was running, there

were a few times she thought it would

veer off the path, but Alaric managed to pull it back in the nick of time.

Just like Alaric said, the smaller path was a shortcut. When they came to the top,

the flag was still around, and a gift box was right beside it, too. Victoria looked at the

flag and sat up straight, holding her nausea in.

Just when she was about to tell him to let her down and take the flag, the man

hugged her tightly. So tightly that it almost felt like he would merge with her. The © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

mountain was silent, and she could hear the sound of his heartbeat.

Unlike his earlier arrogant self, Alaric was hugging her without any other motive. He

hugged her so tightly that it felt like he would never let go of her forever.

A while later, he whispered, “It’s been five years. You’re finally back.”