Chapter 311 Standing Up for Her
Sebastian moved quickly, finishing up in the kitchen and coming out to the living room only to find that Camilla had already prepared a fruit platter.
"If I stop you from doing one thing, you just find something else to do, huh?" Sebastian shook his head with a resigned smile.
Camilla speared an apple slice with a toothpick and handed it to him. "An active life is a healthy life."
Sebastian accepted it.
"By the way, I need to take out the trash. Want to head downstairs together afterward?"
"Sure."
After disposing of the garbage, Camilla remembered that her fridge was nearly empty. She hadn't had time to shop lately, so she suggested they visit the supermarket.
Sebastian readily agreed.
Little did they know that moments after they left, Paloma arrived at the entrance of the alley.
"This is fine, you can stop here. We can't drive any further in," she told her driver.
"Yes, ma'am."
Paloma opened the car door, then paused suddenly. She took out a pair of flat shoes she'd prepared in advance and put them on. She'd almost forgotten them.
She climbed all seven flights of stairs in one go. With the flat shoes this time, she wasn't as disheveled as on her previous visit.
Paloma took out her spare key, thought for a moment, then put it back and chose to knock instead.
"Sebastian, are you home?" she called out.
After several unanswered knocks, she finally used her key to open the door.
"Where is he?"
Just then, her phone rang.
"Hello?"
Cedric's voice came through, "So you really went to Sebastian's place?"
"Yes, I did."
"Have you seen what time it is? Showing up this late, disturbing Sebastian's rest—what are you thinking?"
Paloma glanced around, checking both bedrooms, the kitchen, and the balcony. "That's strange. Where's Sebastian?"
"What? Sebastian's not there?"
"I've looked everywhere. He's not home."
"You rushed over there all excited only to find an empty apartment. Isn't that just a waste of time?"
"You don't understand. Sebastian suddenly called tonight asking where the spices were. I immediately knew he was cooking himself."
"So what if Sebastian's cooking? Why make such a big deal about it?"
"You're so oblivious. When was the last time you saw Sebastian cook anything since he returned? And even if he suddenly felt inspired to cook, think about what day it is today!"
"What day?" Cedric paused mid-sip of his tea.
"The Scientific Achievement Awards! He received his award this morning. I called him at noon to say I'd reserved two tables to celebrate tonight, and guess what he said?"
"What?"
"He said he couldn't make it because he had something more important to do. What could be more important than celebrating his award? Why would he suddenly decide to cook?"
"Why not?"
"Don't be dense! Why would he cook just for himself? He must be celebrating with someone special—that's why he's suddenly inspired to cook. Get it?"
Cedric sighed. "Where do you get these ideas? Sebastian can't even cook himself a meal without you getting suspicious."
"Whatever," Paloma took a deep breath. "I'm not discussing this with you anymore. We're clearly not on the same page."
Cedric was at a loss.
"Since Sebastian isn't here, when are you planning to come home?"
"I'll wait a bit longer," Paloma replied.
"Wait for what? If Sebastian really is dating someone, you're acting like you're catching him cheating. Do you think that's appropriate?" Cedric said.
"Besides, Sebastian has always been discreet. If he hasn't mentioned anything, he has his reasons. When the time is right, he'll tell us himself without you ambushing him," he added.
"I guess you have a point."
Cedric replied, "Good. It's freezing out there. Come home now—I'm waiting for you."
"Alright."
Paloma walked back to the alley entrance.
The driver pulled up alongside the curb. "Mrs. Russell."
Paloma got in, sighing with disappointment. "Let's go home."
Just as the car drove away, Sebastian and Camilla were crossing the street with their shopping bags.
They passed each other without noticing.
Sebastian said, "Here, let me take those."
He took the shopping bags from Camilla's hands.
Camilla didn't protest.
She knew she couldn't win that argument.
And the bags were indeed heavy.
As they reached the entrance to the alley, Sebastian suddenly asked, "How are you adjusting at Excel Business University?"
Camilla nodded. "The lab is not only well-equipped but spacious too. Professor Wallace is nice, and the senior students are considerate—they even register supplies for us when they get their own."
Of course, Camilla had paid for those supplies according to the price list.
She already felt awkward about using the lab for free; there was no way she would use their supplies without paying.
Sebastian paused, then continued, "Have you encountered any problems?"
Camilla thought about it. Her experiments were progressing well, and she was catching up on work she'd fallen behind on. As for her courses, she was keeping up, though she only got an A- on the last pop quiz because of an ambiguous question that the whole class got wrong.
She was about to shake her head and say no when something suddenly occurred to her.
Sebastian said, "You hesitated. Is it about what happened with Professor Wallace in the cafeteria?"
Camilla whipped her head around. "How did you know?"
"I ran into Professor Wallace at a meeting this morning."
Camilla's mind raced, and she looked apologetic. "I'm so sorry. I never thought it would reach Professor Wallace. Did he complain to you?"
By the end, Camilla's head was hanging low.
She felt both embarrassed and guilty.
Lloyd had only lent them the lab as a favor to Sebastian, and now there was trouble, with Lloyd directly holding Sebastian responsible.
"I'm sorry, I..."
"Why are you apologizing?" Sebastian stopped abruptly.
Camilla stopped too, looking up and unexpectedly meeting his intense gaze. "Because I've caused you trouble."
He sighed softly. "I just wanted to say that you did nothing wrong in this situation. You don't need to apologize or feel any burden. As for causing me trouble—do I look like someone who's afraid of trouble?"
Camilla looked him over. "Not really."
Sebastian smiled. "Next time something like this happens, don't worry about the consequences. Refuse if you need to, walk away if you have to. Remember!"
He emphasized each word, "No matter what happens, I'm here for you. You have nothing to fear."
In that moment, something hit Camilla's heart hard.
Her eyes and nose stung with emotion.
She blinked and rubbed her nose. "Okay. But what about Professor Wallace..."
"Don't worry about it. I've already reminded him to take a good look at the conduct and ethics of the faculty and students at Excel Business University."
It was simply unacceptable!
Not only were there students fighting without consequences, but there were also faculty members who liked to tattle.
Didn't the situation call for some serious reform?
Camilla remained silent.
Was this really okay?
Wasn't it a bit too assertive?
But Sebastian firmly told her: "There's nothing wrong with standing up for yourself. Did they think about consequences when they were bullying you? Did they think you had no one to back you up?"
Camilla was stunned.
He was standing up for her?
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