The Miracle of You

When he got downstairs for breakfast fully dressed, the food was already served on the table. However, Camille was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is she?” he asked one of the maids nearby.

The maid, Marie, approached him and said politely, “Miss Parker went ahead to the company, Mr. Callahan. She said to inform you that she will go to work early to finalize preparations for the Solar Project.”

“I see,” Christian said. Marie quickly excused herself to the kitchen.

He watched her leave with a slightly raised eyebrow. He had noticed that she never met his eyes the whole time. In fact, there seemed to be a hint of fear in her demeanor.

Had he been unruly last night? He still couldn’t remember much, but if so, that would be humiliating. He had always prided himself on being calm and decisive at all times. If he had behaved like a foolish drunk last night…

Christian decided that he would have to confront Camille about this later at the company. He had an inkling as to why she left before him, and it made his expression turn ice-cold.

It seemed that aside from the maids, his own contract wife was trying to avoid him as much as possible.

***

The moment Camille walked through the doors of the Callahan Group, she felt it. She could feel the subtle shift in the air, the unobtrusive glances and quiet whispers.

For a moment, she thought it might be because of her appearance.

But she quickly put that thought out of her mind. She had checked her reflection before entering the building, as was her customary precaution whenever she went to work. It was nothing special. It was just to see if there was anything wrong with her hair or makeup.

As she made her way to the elevator, a crowd of people waited outside the doors. When they saw her, they immediately moved aside as if she were a VIP customer.

Camille stared at them with a raised eyebrow, wondering why they were acting this way.

“Good morning, ma’am,” one of them greeted, though his tone sounded unsure.

“Yes. Good morning,” Camille responded.

That was the end of it. No one spoke again.

It was weird. Normally, some of the employees would either burst into conversation or be busy with their phones. But none of them were doing that now. They were all standing so stiffly, as if they were trying too hard to look calm and collected.

Before the atmosphere got too awkward, the elevator doors finally opened. Camille went in first, standing in the middle as she usually did. The others shuffled in, deliberately avoiding her gaze, and soon the elevator was filled.

When the doors closed, it was dead quiet. Camille kept her composure, but it was hard to concentrate on the floor number when everyone seemed tense. She could hear a few whispers from behind, but the voices were so subdued that she could barely make them out.

When the doors to their respective floors opened, everyone finally left, leaving only Camille, since her desk was on the top floor next to Christian’s office.

When she was finally alone with her thoughts, the answer came to her, so obvious and clear.

Of course.

She should have seen this coming, but thanks to Michael and Christian’s antics with her lately, she had completely forgotten about it.

It must have been because of the masquerade party.

It seemed that she was suspected of being the mystery woman – the supposed fiancee – at the party, the one who was Christian Callahan’s date.

Camille’s lips tightened into a thin line. She watched the doors slide open, revealing the entire top floor. Her desk was right there, empty, and the door to Christian’s office was a few feet away.

It was a setup that was so familiar to her, but today it felt sickening.

She exited the elevator and made her way to her desk. She tried not to think about last night.

Christian had invaded her personal space and even threatened her to never leave him.

Those two things alone were enough to make her refuse to have breakfast with him. It was clear that he was never going to respect her. Not ever. He only cared about himself.

His words and actions towards her last night were just a result of his own possessiveness.

She sighed to herself, nursing a small headache. Had she expected anything else? That was foolish.

But she had to admit, she was starting to get scared of him. Even more than before.

Last night, after Christian had said those words to her, he had dropped his head onto her shoulder. His body then fell into her arms and she reflexively caught him. It seemed that he had passed out.

Scared, frustrated, and angry, Camille had to drag his limp, heavy body upstairs to his room. She didn’t even bother to tuck him into bed. She just threw his body on the mattress and left without a second glance.

Afterwards, she seethed in her room, wondering what to do next. After what he had done, she couldn’t bring herself to look at his face. She dreaded what might happen once he realized that she had already betrayed him a while back.

There’s no doubt now that I can’t just ask Michael for help,’ Camille thought as she sat in front of her desk, staring blankly at the empty screen of her computer. ‘I had considered it, but… I can’t put him in any kind of danger. There’s no telling what that psycho Christian might do. I have to be more careful this time.’Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

While she was mulling over her thoughts, she suddenly heard a ‘ding!’ coming from the elevator.

She turned her head and her stomach immediately dropped.

The familiar figure approached her with a smug smile.

Why?

Why did it have to be Harold Huckington?

Camille steeled herself as he approached her desk. The infuriating grin was still on his face, and he seemed almost gleeful.

It was as if he had been planning this encounter for a while now.