Chapter 13 I Will Grant You All Your Demands

• Victoria's heart suddenly quieted down after the text was successfully sent.
• She had done it. All there was left was to wait for his reply.
• However, Alaric didn't answer right away.
• Victoria checked the time and guessed that he should be working at the moment. He might be in a meeting, in a business engagement, or his phone might even be silent. He'll see it once he's done with work.
• The wait was unbearable, so she decided to take a nap.
• With that, she changed into her pajamas and drew the curtains to silence the room before climbing into bed.
• Ping!
• Meanwhile, inside an office of one of Cadogan Group's buildings, Claudia's lashes were trembling uncontrollably right then when she was still sitting calmly on the couch a couple of seconds ago.
• Her eyes were fixed on the simple text message she was reading—'I'm pregnant.'
• The young woman had thought it was Alaric's work message or some kind of spam when the text first came in, but who'd have thought it was from Victoria?!
• Reflexively, she looked toward the man working away at the desk, reeling in the possibility that he had gotten together with Victoria.
• Alaric seemingly noticed her gaze as he looked up at her quizzically.
• Startled, Claudia forced a smile and quickly lowered her head, leading Alaric to finally withdraw his gaze.
• It was exceptionally quiet in the office, and because they were on a high floor, the surrounding noises on the ground were inaudible to them.
• Meanwhile, grimness laced Claudia's drooped eyes as she deleted the text without confirming if Victoria was really the sender.
• After the deed was done, the young woman breathed a sigh of relief but fell into deep thought as her nails sank into her palms.
• Selwyn… What is she trying to do with that text? Does she want to steal Alaric from me?!
• At that, Claudia bit her lip.
• She should consider herself lucky that she had asked Alaric for his phone right after entering his office. Sure, he frowned upon hearing it, but he still handed the phone to her very quickly.
• If she hadn't asked for it, and if Alaric had seen the text, then the consequences would be unimaginable!
• Minutes later, she returned Alaric his phone and said softly, "Here, Al. I'm done with it. Thanks."
• "Sure." He nodded subtly as he took it from her.
• "I thought you hated people touching your phone. Why are you willing to lend it to me?" Claudia couldn't help asking as she looked at his impassive face while recalling Victoria's text.
• To that, Alaric took a gander at her and answered somewhat helplessly, "Because you're different from everyone else, of course."
• That was all it took to sate Claudia, and she felt overjoyed like her heart had been drenched in honey.
• Yeah, I'm different. If anything, I might have been overthinking. Besides, even if Victoria is pregnant, who's to say Alaric is the father? As if he would ever touch her!
• While she was deep in thought, Alaric added, "You saved me once, Claudia. You can make any demands with me. I will grant it all."
• "Thank you, Al." Claudia nodded while her smile shallowed at the mention of the topic.
• As she drooped her eyelids, grimness enveloped her eyes once more while she flipped out deep within.
• That again! Can you go one day without telling me I saved you? Am I nothing to you at all if I hadn't saved your life?!
• As she recalled the incident, guilt crept up on Claudia.
• Though many years had passed, it still felt fresh as if it had just happened the day before.
• The river was torrential at the time, and Claudia had been rendered petrified when Alaric got caught in the river. She did nothing but stand by the river as her head buzzed.
• By the time she came to her senses and called for help, a slender figure had already run desperately toward her. Because of that, she had forgotten to call for help when the figure brushed past her.
• All she did was reflexively stop in her tracks and look over her shoulder when she saw the girl jump into the water without hesitation.
• Though the incident happened many years ago, it still shook Claudia whenever she recalled it.
• The girl was too brave. So much so that Claudia loathed her for a long time after that.
• "What is it?" Alaric asked, seeing that she seemed to have fallen into deep thought.
• "Nothing." She shook her head with a faint smile when his voice pulled her back to reality.
• She shouldn't recall the past anymore. Now, she was Alaric's savior, and it was a fact that would never change—ever.
• Following that, Claudia stayed in Alaric's office a while longer. Nevertheless, since the man was tied up with work and didn't have time to entertain her, she saw herself out a while later. "Al, since you're busy, I'll head back for now and visit you another day."
• "Sure," responded the man with his gaze fixed on his laptop screen. But just as she was about to leave, a thought suddenly came to him. "Wait."
• "Yes?"
• "Who texted?" he asked, staring at her, causing her to freeze.
• He hadn't asked when the notification ping came in, and Claudia probably deleted it without giving it a second thought because she had been startled by it.
• But who'd have thought he'd suddenly ask about it now…
• "Just a spam message. I didn't want to interrupt you, so I deleted it without telling you."
• All she received from Alaric was silence, and Claudia couldn't help panicking at that.
• "Are you upset because I deleted your text? I'm sorry, Al. I didn't give it a second thought when it was just a spam message. I should've let you deal with it yourself. I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me."
• Her repeating apologies made Alaric ease his brows as he reflected on himself. What are you doing, Cadogan? She has just deleted a spam message. Do you have to be mad at her for it?
• Then again, he was a man of principles, so he still cautioned, "I'm not mad at you, but no more next time."
• "Got it. Sorry." Claudia nodded and drooped her eyelids.
• The air between the two tensed up just like that. Moments later, Alaric offered, "I'll ask the chauffeur to send you home."
• "Okay."
• Very quickly, the chauffeur came up to collect Claudia, who clenched her resting hands into fists after entering the elevator.
• It might have looked like Alaric didn't mind letting her use his phone, but he reacted pretty greatly to her deleting his text.
• It seems like even a savior isn't that much of an exception. Claudia pursed her lips indignantly. Looks like I'll have to put more effort into Alaric, or he wouldn't condone me just because I saved him. Still, luckily, I've already deleted the text.
• Knowing Victoria, she would likely not tell Alaric in person when she didn't receive a reply to her text.
• That said, this was just a temporary fix. She'd have to act quickly…