Chapter 337
Sarah didn’t look calm anymore. Her eyes were red, her voice quivering as she said, “Camilla, okay, maybe I messed up before, but I’ve been trying to make it right. I really want things to be good between us. I don’t get why you’re freezing me out now.
You’re going to marry Lance, so we’ll all be family sooner or later. Don’t you think it’ll be super awkward if we keep this tension between us p>
“Sarah, you…” Dane had just been standing by, silent, but hearing Sarah’s sharp tone finally pushed him to speak. He got only halfway before he saw Sarah’s watery eyes looking at him, and then he hesitated, not knowing what to say next.
He knew Tessa had raised Sarah herself, something even Lance hadn’t experienced. With Tessa on her side, nobody ever dared to treat Sarah lightly.
Dane was especially careful. The last thing he wanted was to upset her and have Tessa show up, making everything even more complicated.
Camilla said, “Sarah, that’s an interesting way to put it. But if you really want to invite someone, you should let them say no if they want to.
If me not going to your birthday party means I’m trying to make things tense with you, then I don’t know what else to say. Honestly, we’ve only met a handful of times, and if we’re being real, we’re not even friends yet.
Right now, I think the best thing for you to do is to leave my house p>
Camilla just wasn’t budging, and the feeling left Sarah with a tightness in her chest, like she couldn’t catch her breath. She was still holding the cup of tea Dane poured earlier, but now her fingers were stiff, and the cup almost slipped.
Sarah remembered how, back when they first met, Camilla always cared about Lance’s feelings. If she ever brought up Lance, Camilla would back off just a little.
But now…
Camilla was just telling her to leave, no hesitation. If Sarah actually walked out, it’d be completely humiliating. She forced a small smile and tried to say something else, but then a voice came from the entry—familiar, the kind that annoyed her and made her nerves spark all at once.
“Sarah, didn’t you hear Camilla? She’s telling you to go p>
Lance walked in, handed his jacket to the housekeeper, and looked right at Sarah. He wasn’t even trying to hide his impatience.
Sarah’s forced smile dropped right away. “Lance, I… I just wanted to invite you and Camilla to my birthday party. That’s all, I p>
“Didn’t Camilla already turn you down? Why are you still here? What are you waiting for—hoping to make everyone uncomfortable?” Lance asked.
He was even more blunt than Camilla, and Sarah’s face twisted in a way she couldn’t hide. She tried again, “My birthday parties are always organized by Tessa, you know. If you don’t show up, she’ll probably be upset.
And there’s still that misunderstanding between Tessa and Camilla. If you want to have a future with her, you’re going to have to deal with that. My party would be the perfect chance. Maybe I can help smooth things over between them p>
Like always, she sounded like she was thinking about Camilla’s side of things.
But after everything, Camilla couldn’t help being suspicious. Sarah’s gentle words never felt as simple as they seemed.
Just now, she said she wanted to help with Tessa, but Camilla could tell she was really just putting Lance on the spot. She was setting things up so he couldn’t say no to coming to her party.
Sarah’s words about a “future together” felt like a trap, like she was tying Lance in place and daring him to refuse. If he said no, people would think he didn’t care enough about Camilla and Tessa’s relationship.
While Camilla ran all this through her mind, Sarah kept flicking quick, careful glances at her.
“Lance, I…” Camilla didn’t want Lance to feel backed into a corner. She started to say she wasn’t bothered about any of it, but before she could, Lance gently patted her shoulder.
He took a seat next to her and looked straight at Sarah on the other side of the room. “Did living abroad teach you to pressure people until they just can’t say no?
Don’t think I can’t see through what you’re doing. You’re just twisting things around.
If you really cared about fixing things between Camilla and Tessa, well, Tessa’s always adored you. You’ve had plenty of time since coming back. If it mattered to you, you’d have figured it out already.
Sarah, none of us are idiots. You can stop with the fake kindness.
About your birthday party. Camilla already said no, and you’re not listening. So I’ll make it clear. I was never planning to go anyway.
Dane, please show her out p>
“Lance, we grew up together. Why are you suddenly being so…” Sarah stopped, searching for the right word, her voice tinged with disbelief, “so harsh p>