Chapter 48 I Already Knew It
Camilla caught a whiff of his swagger, frowned, and was about to say something when a voice cut through the air, "Camilla!"
Oliver was grabbing dinner nearby and just happened to spot Marcus and Camilla through the floor-to-ceiling window.
He thought, 'A café? Classic date spot.'
And yeah, it was definitely them!
To be honest, Oliver was surprised but not exactly shocked that Marcus would make a move on Leopold's girl.
Marcus had pulled crazier stunts before.
But Camilla going along with it? That blew Oliver's mind.
He kept glancing between them, his face a mix of emotions, wanting to speak but not knowing where to start.
Camilla ditched the convo, forced a smile, said hi to Oliver, and bailed.
As soon as she was gone, Oliver plopped down in her seat and stared at Marcus. "Dude, you serious?"
"Yeah." Marcus took a chill sip of his coffee.
"But I don't think Camilla's gonna go for it."
Marcus paused, set his cup down, "Why's that?"
Marcus suddenly got all serious, making Oliver a bit uneasy, "Two reasons. One, you're not her type; two, with your history with Leopold, it's never gonna happen."
"By the way," Oliver leaned in, lowering his voice, "spill it, when did you start crushing on Camilla?"
Marcus casually glanced out the window, took another sip, and said, "A while back, probably not long after she hooked up with Leopold."
"Bastard!" Oliver gritted his teeth, thinking Marcus was really shameless. "You're eyeing a buddy's girl!"
Marcus sneered. "Did I make a move while they were together? Now that they're done, am I not allowed to have feelings?"
"You had your eye on her from the start, that's messed up!"
Marcus snorted. "Didn't you and Simon like the same girl in high school?"
"I!" Oliver was stumped, "I was Moore and dumb! Besides, liking someone isn't something I can control."
"So you get it's uncontrollable."
Leopold didn't know how to treat her right, so someone else would.
Besides, he didn't steal her away; he waited until now to make a move, already considering their friendship.
Now, he was just going after what he wanted.
Seeing Marcus's stubborn look, Oliver scratched his head and advised, "Why don't you just give up? You know Camilla's temper."
Now that Leopold had completely fallen out with Marcus, he had harshly cut ties and declared that wherever he was, Marcus couldn't be.
People in their circle were afraid to say much, fearing getting involved.
The reason for their sudden split became a hot topic.
Some said it was due to unsuccessful cooperation and uneven profit distribution.
Others guessed it was family tensions, forced by the elders to fall out.
And some said it was over a woman.
The last guess was the most talked about.
Oliver kept his mouth shut, deflecting or changing the subject when asked.
But he still thought, 'Marcus is out of his mind, going head-to-head with Leopold over a girl. What's he even thinking?'
Marcus just shrugged. "Save your breath, man."
After leaving the café, Camilla hit the shops, snagged a new scarf and a cashmere coat.
Then she swung by the grocery store, and by the time she was done, it was already dark.
Winter nights come early, so she picked up the pace heading home.
By the time she got to her building, it was pitch black.
Out of nowhere, a figure darted out from a dark alley.
She thought it was a homeless guy, her back instantly chilled, hair standing on end.
But when she saw it was Leopold, she let out a sigh of relief. Still, seeing him reeking of booze and stumbling around, her brows furrowed even more.
Leopold had been waiting for a while, his nose red from the cold.
Fueled by alcohol, he grabbed Camilla's hand. "Camilla."
"Let go," Camilla squirmed uncomfortably.
She didn't know when she started hating Leopold's touch.
"I won't let go! Unless you come back to me, okay?"
Camilla had no idea what kind of crazy he was on. "You're drunk."
"Camilla, I'm serious."
This was the second guy today telling her he was serious.
Leopold said, "Earlier you asked me, come back for what, to be a mistress? Well, I've already broken up with Amara. If you come back, I'll pretend nothing happened between you and Marcus."
"Yesterday, I was too harsh, I'm sorry. You can hit me or yell at me if you want."
The night got deeper, and there were fewer people around. The weather forecast said today would be the coldest day of the winter, advising everyone to bundle up.
Camilla hadn't felt it before, but now she felt a chill down her spine, her breath cold.
"Sorry," she lowered her eyes, her lashes trembling, "we can't go back."
This stubborn and tough Leopold finally bowed his head, but she no longer cared.
"You have a bad stomach, drink less."
With that, Camilla pulled her hand away and turned to leave.
He thought, 'Drink less. Camilla still cares about me! She’s still the same, telling me to drink less, so maybe I still have a shot?'
Then he stepped forward, grabbed Camilla's hand, and pulled her into his arms. "Camilla, you still care about me, right? Can we start over?"
Saying this, Leopold urgently kissed her.
Camilla's eyes widened, and she shoved him away, wiping her mouth in disgust. "Don't touch me!"
Leopold froze, Camilla's disgusted actions and hateful gaze cutting him like a knife.
The alcohol-fueled warmth in his body suddenly cooled.
Camilla said, "Actually, I knew long ago, during those years we were together, you slept with more than one woman! You thought you hid it well, but every woman in love is a top detective. Those traces you didn't clean up, did you really think I couldn't see them?"
The first clue was when Leopold came back from a business trip, and while helping him unpack, she found a tiny piece of a condom wrapper, not even the size of a fingernail, but Camilla recognized at a glance it wasn't the brand they usually used.
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