Chapter 30 Well, She Succeeded
The quiet night got a jolt when a soft whisper broke through, "Camilla, it hurts."
Leopold's voice had a bit of a shake to it if you listened close.
Right then, Camilla felt a stab of heartache.
Leopold was the show-off type, stubborn as a mule, and had a sharp tongue. He'd drink till his stomach bled or work so much he'd forget to eat.
During that time, Camilla tried all sorts of ways to help him get better.
She kept a close eye on his meals and even learned some massage tricks from a doc.
It took a ton of effort and a long time to finally get his stomach back in shape.
But all she got was him calling it a "bother." Sometimes, when he was in a mood, he'd frown and say, "Why are you acting like my mom?"
Those almost forgotten memories came rushing back, but the heartache faded quick.
Camilla said, "I'm not a doctor. If it hurts that bad, go to the hospital."
Hearing Camilla's cold tone, Leopold's fingers turned white, but he still wouldn't give up, "I want to have the porridge you made."
Camilla stayed quiet.
Leopold on the other end also stayed silent, like they were in some silent standoff.
In the end, she was the one who hung up.
Leopold still held the phone, and the nurse, thinking he was asleep, glanced over and saw he was still awake, looking pretty rough.
"Mr. Wipere, you..."
The nurse was a bit confused.
Leopold handed the phone back to her, closed his eyes tiredly, and said nothing more.
The next day, just as the sky was starting to lighten, Camilla got up.
She grabbed her phone and called Oliver.
"How's your stomach? Feeling better? Want more porridge?"
Oliver, still half-asleep, thought it was a prank call and didn't even open his eyes.
But the second he heard Camilla's voice, he shot up.
He almost yelled, "Camilla!"
"Oh, Camilla, the porridge you made was so good. I finished it in no time and still want more. I wish I could have it every day."
Camilla didn't call out his lie, just told him when to come get it, then hung up.
She and Leopold could never go back to the way things were. Now, this was all she could do for him.
Leopold had been resting at home for a few days and was finally better.
During these days, Amara brought her homemade porridge to the villa every day.
Each time, Leopold would ask her to leave it and let it cool down, saying he'd eat it later.
Today was no different. Amara came to the villa early, put down the porridge, and sat next to Leopold, leaning in close.
"Baby, you're finally better. You don't know how worried I've been these past few days."
Leopold smiled but didn't say anything. Seeing her show up on time every day, he asked, "No classes lately?"
Amara shrugged with a grin, "I skipped them all. You are more important. I wish I could be with you 24/7, taking care of you and cooking for you."
Leopold was taken aback.
He remembered when he first started dating Camilla, he wanted to take her out, but she had classes.
He pouted, wanting Camilla to skip class to go out with him, promising it would be just this once, but Camilla refused no matter what.
He got mad, gave her the cold shoulder, and didn't talk to her for three days.
Camilla was just as stubborn. He didn't reach out to her, and she didn't either.
In the end, he had to apologize and say all kinds of sweet things before they made up.
After that, their date spots became her classroom.
Camilla would look at the blackboard and listen to the lecture, while he would look at Camilla, never getting enough.
They had loved each other so fiercely back then, with so many sweet memories.
How did it all go so wrong?
Leopold suddenly felt kinda lost.
Amara looked up and saw that Leopold's eyes were vacant, as if he werelooking right through her, thinking about something else.
She felt uneasy and shook Leopold's arm. "Baby, what's up?"
Leopold snapped out of it and waved his hand. "Nothing. I'm good now. Focus on your classes. You don't need to come here anymore."
"The next few days, I'll be super busy with work, so I won't have time to hang out."
Amara was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Okay, I get it."
Leaving the villa, Amara's smile slowly faded, her heart sinking, and her eyes darkening.
She thought, 'Just now, Leopold was obviously thinking about something.'
After hesitating for a long time, she took out her phone and dialed Simon's number.
Among Leopold's friends, she only had Simon's contact info.
When he answered, she put on a smile and said, "Simon, good evening. Did something happen at the hospital these past few days? I just left the villa and noticed Leopold seemed in a bad mood. Did Camilla upset him again?"
On the other end, Simon had just exchanged numbers with a girl he liked at the bar. At her words, he casually replied, wanting to get rid of her quickly, "Camilla didn't come, just made porridge twice."
After saying that, he hung up eagerly.
Sure enough! Amara gritted her teeth, put away her phone, and her eyes turned cold.
The next morning, she went to the library and found Camilla, who was studying.
"Leopold is my boyfriend now. Since you two have broken up, be straightforward and stop doing these unnecessary things."
Camilla, still thinking about her question, found her words amusing but replied seriously, "Don't worry. Once I'm done with him, I move on. I'm not interested in competing with you."
Watching Amara leave, Camilla refocused on her studies.
At dusk, as she left the library, she ran into Lucas.
He had been busy with classes and hadn't been to the library, so they hadn't seen each other for days. This meeting was a coincidence.
Last time, she had invited Lucas to dinner to thank him, but it ended awkwardly because of Clara, which she felt bad about.
So this time, Camilla took the initiative to invite him, "There was an accident last time. How about I treat you to dinner again today? I'll cook. Do you have time?"
Lucas, surprised she brought it up again, nodded happily and said, "Of course! I'd love to!"
Camilla's cooking was so delicious.
Not far away, the scene of the two talking and laughing, walking side by side, fell into Leopold's eyes, making him so angry that his eyes turned red, and his hands on the steering wheel turned pale.
Last time, he heard Elodie complain that they met at the library, and Juniper refused to reveal her current address, so he could only try his luck at the library.
But after waiting all day, he saw Camilla laughing and talking with a man, and it wasn't the same one he saw at the restaurant last time.
He wondered, 'What is she trying to do?
'If she is trying to make me jealous with random men, well, she succeeded!'
Leopold, fuming, drove after them, tailing them to an alley.
The surrounding environment was terrible, with peeling walls covered in moss, and the narrow passage exuded a sense of oppression.
He suddenly recalled that last time at the hospital, Oliver mentioned Camilla's living conditions. He hadn't expected it to be this bad.
Further ahead, the car couldn't go any further, so Leopold parked at the alley entrance and followed on foot.
Walking ahead, Camilla had no idea Leopold was following her.