Chapter 12 Leopold Will Never Marry You
"Nope." Amara shook her head, then blushed and stood on her tiptoes. "I wanna hang out with you more."
Before she could get any closer, Leopold took the lead, wrapping an arm around her waist and planting a kiss on her.
The crowd went wild, cheering like crazy.
"Oh my God!"
"Wow, they are so in love!"
Camilla saw the whole thing, her fingers gripping the book so tight they turned white.
It turned out, her heart still ached, but her face stayed eerily calm, almost numb.
She thought, 'I'll get used to it. Even quitting smoking has withdrawal symptoms, let alone loving someone for six years?'
Camilla didn't stick around and turned to leave. She still had to hit the books.
In the crowd, Leopold seemed to sense something and looked around.
A familiar figure flashed by.
But then, Amara's soft hand slipped into his, their fingers locking together.
Amara asked, "What are you looking at?"
Leopold shook his head, "Nothing."
After walking her to the dorm, Leopold was about to leave.
Amara held onto his hand, not wanting to let go, her eyes full of longing. "It's still early. Can't you stay a bit longer?"
Leopold patted her head, "Be good, I'll come get you this weekend."
Under the streetlight, Leopold's face was shadowed, making his features look even sharper.
Amara's eyes sparkled with a hint of pure allure, "Leopold, can I go home with you today?"
Everyone knew what that meant.
Leopold was a bit taken aback, a mix of emotions on his face.
"You're still Moore; let's wait a bit."
Amara was surprised but felt a faint joy in her heart.
This meant he cherished her and wanted something long-term, not just a fling.
"Alright, I gotta go now."
Leopold checked his watch.
Amara nodded, "Okay, remember to rest early. I'll bring you breakfast tomorrow."
He didn't say anything, just seemed lost in thought again.
In her room.
The computer was on, and Camilla's typing slowed down.
Images of them kissing flashed in her mind, and she pressed her lips together.
She got up and went to the bathroom, splashing her face with cold water three times before her mind cleared.
She thought, 'No point dwelling on the past. The priority is to prep for the exam; time's running out.'
Back at the computer, Camilla opened the two books Aurora had given her.
One was a bioinformatics textbook, and the other was a notebook with Aurora's notes.
There was also a USB drive with a thesis she had abandoned during undergrad.
It was meant for grad school, but later...
Back then, she could spend three days and nights in the lab for this thesis, working tirelessly, and it took her nearly half a year just to collect and organize the data, let alone proving and solving each step.
Even though she later gave up on further education to take care of Leopold, Camilla never completely abandoned this thesis.
Over the years, she hadn't done much except for two things.
One was being a free housekeeper for Leopold; the other was perfecting this thesis.
Aurora had given her the part she completed during undergrad, and Camilla dug out the rest from her computer, piecing them together into a full thesis.
At that moment, it felt like the messy first half of her life and the other half had finally clicked, forming a complete picture of herself.
Working until dawn, Camilla looked at the finished thesis and decided to shoot her shot by submitting it to Science, one of the top three academic journals in the world, representing the pinnacle of human natural science research.
Camilla wasn't super confident about getting it published, considering all the disciplines, fields, and researchers out there. She was just a small fish in a big pond. But she still wanted to give it a go.
Before the sun fully rose, Camilla shut down her computer and grabbed a quick nap.
At eight, she woke up on time, freshened up, had breakfast, and then grabbed her study materials to hit the library.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she stepped out, she bumped into Sebastian, who had just returned.
It was raining outside, and his umbrella was still dripping.
"Morning, did you pull an all-nighter?"
Sebastian nodded, "Yeah, needed to get some data from the experiment."
He had just come back from the lab to grab something and was about to head back.
"Here, take this." Camilla handed him a hot milk. "It'll warm you up."
"Thanks."
"Remember to change your clothes since you got wet."
She pointed to Sebastian's shoulder, and he noticed a wet spot.
"Alright, I'm off." Camilla smiled and headed downstairs.
By nine, the library was already pretty packed.
She put away her umbrella and was about to go in when a familiar voice called out.
"Camilla!" Clara had come to visit the school leaders about her grad studies.
It started raining as she passed by the library, so she got stuck there and unexpectedly ran into Camilla.
"What are you doing at the library? Another part-time job? You must be really strapped for cash lately. Don't worry, I've already talked to Leopold about being more generous in the future. So, you should quit these part-time jobs ASAP. Taking care of Leopold is more important than anything. I heard his stomach problems flared up again yesterday, and you..."
"Clara, who are you talking to?" Before Clara could finish, a voice cut in.
A tall, elegant middle-aged woman walked over.
As she got closer, it was clear she was decked out in this year's high-end fashion, her well-maintained face showing no obvious wrinkles, and she was carrying a Hermes bag.
Elodie walked up to Clara, glanced around, and then noticed Camilla.
She thought, 'Oh? Isn't this Leopold's cheap girlfriend?'
She looked Camilla up and down, her already disapproving expression turning even more disdainful.
Wearing just a T-shirt and jeans, no makeup—definitely not presentable.
Elodie glanced at the library behind her and then at the two books in Camilla's hand, her eyes narrowing.
"Ms. Learmond, what a coincidence."
''Coincidence'' was emphasized with a sneer.
The implication was clear: to please her, Camilla even staged this shallow encounter.
"You've really gone to great lengths," Elodie sighed. "But you can save these tricks; they don't work on me. Since we ran into each other today, I might as well be blunt. Leopold will never marry you. But considering you've taken care of him all these years, I'll make sure you have a place by his side after he gets married. As for anything else, don't even think about it. Behave yourself. Got it?"
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