Chapter 310
He crouched in front of Camilla, gazing up at her, his expression so sincere it was almost boyish. Camilla just shook her head. She was going to talk to Sarah herself and get to the bottom of things. She knew how stubborn Lance could be. He was already on rocky terms with Darwin and Tessa because of her. Pushing him to go up against Sarah, who was Tessa’s darling, would only make everything worse.
All Camilla really needed to know was that Lance’s heart was hers, always had been. That thought alone made her fearless.
Lance looked utterly wiped out, the alcohol adding to the exhaustion on his face. Camilla told Dane to help him get some rest. No sooner had she picked up her phone than Sarah’s messages popped up.
Camilla, are you still awake? Lance left his phone at home.
I saw you called Lance a bunch of times. Is everything alright? Something urgent?
Sorry, Camilla. I wasn’t ignoring you on purpose. My boyfriend’s just super clingy tonight.
Camilla, why aren’t you answering? Are you upset with me?
Sarah sounded exactly like she always did. Every text was dripping with concern and care, a little too much. Except this time, Camilla read something else between the lines.
Her fingers flew across the screen. She didn’t bother to play nice. Instead she shot back, Are you sure you really have a boyfriend, Sarah? Or let me put it differently—is the so-called boyfriend you keep mentioning actually Lance? You’ve been sending me all these weirdly misleading texts all night. For what? Trying to piss me off, make me fight with Lance, so you can swoop in?
There was no reply. Maybe Sarah had gone to sleep. Camilla tossed her phone onto the bed and went to shower.
When she came out, the phone was still dark, no new notifications. She checked the clock. Six o’clock. Maybe Sarah really was asleep. It didn’t matter anyway. She’d already said what she needed to say, so she let it go.
Across town, in a perfectly decorated pink bedroom, Sarah had her face buried deep in a pile of stuffed animals. At her side was the phone that Lance had “left behind”—except he hadn’t really forgotten it. She’d hidden it herself.
Behind all the pastel cuteness and the sea of plushies, Sarah’s eyes were chilly, cold and stormy. The warm, cozy room would’ve been comforting to anyone else, but on her, paired with her expression, it just looked unsettling.
Suddenly, frustration boiled over. She grabbed the phone and threw it hard onto the floor. It smashed instantly, fragments scattering everywhere. Now it wouldn’t light up with all those missed calls. Or that ridiculous, infuriating contact name.
Miss Hedgehog.
The loud crash startled Tessa, who rushed over and knocked gently on the door. Sarah? Are you alright in there? You scared me.
Sarah took a quick breath and called back, her voice as sweet as ever, I’m okay, Tessa. I just knocked something off my desk, that’s all. You should get some sleep—you’ve been busy all night too.
Tessa wouldn’t leave. She kept talking softly through the door. Sarah, don’t be upset. You’re the only one I’ll ever think of as my daughter-in-law. No matter how much Lance likes that other woman, I’ll never let her into the Charles family. Don’t worry, alright? Get some rest.
Behind the door, Sarah’s lips curled into a sarcastic little smile. Tessa cared about her. So what? For all Tessa’s concern, she still couldn’t get Lance to stay at the estate after the party. Sarah had realized then that Tessa wasn’t someone she could count on.
Tessa kept saying reassuring things, but the bitterness simmering in Sarah’s eyes only grew deeper. If she really cared, she would have arranged for Sarah and Lance to get engaged when they were little. Sarah had loved Lance for as long as she could remember, but he’d always treated her with cool politeness and barely disguised impatience.
She’d never seen him with any other woman. She’d never imagined he’d fall for someone else. She’d always assumed she just needed more time, that eventually he’d care for her.
But everything changed when Camilla showed up. Suddenly Sarah was on edge. She’d rushed home on the earliest flight, bent over backward to get close to Camilla, and tried to turn the smallest details into reasons for suspicion and jealousy. She thought she’d planned everything so perfectly.
All the carefully worded messages. Tessa complaining to Camilla’s mother. Lance’s phone always out of reach.
No woman could tolerate something like that. Camilla would have to suspect Lance of cheating. Surely she’d lose her temper. And when Lance went silent and unreachable, Camilla’s pride would push her to end things.
Sarah was convinced she’d thought of everything. But she’d overlooked the most important thing.
Lance cared too much about Camilla. Even drunk, he wouldn’t spend the night at home. No matter what tricks Sarah tried, she just couldn’t make him stay.