25
Camilla White
“ I think I’ll call it a night and head to my hotel,” I confess.
“No way, Cami,” Rachel groans. “Charlie was all over you tonight. He invited you to his after-party. There’s no way we’re missing it!”
While it has been good to reconnect with Rachel, it’s been weird tonight. I don’t think I’ve changed much since my time studying, but everyone around me surely has.
Charlie is one of them. We dated for two years, my freshman and sophomore years. We met after crossing paths in the library, where I was finishing a project with Rachel. Ever since, he’d flirt with me often until he got the courage to ask me out, and we started dating. Most of our free time back then was spent together.
As he could, being in the same circle as Vincent required certain attendances from him that I was never part of. But I was fine with it, I’ve never wanted to be part of that world anyway. What mattered to me was that he never treated me differently.
Still, I knew what we had would never be something for the long haul. Just like now… Weirdly, I was okay with that back then.
A completely different reality from the present.
It was rough at first being put in the Asian box in a European Archipelago, where most don’t share similar physical characteristics. Then, I was also a commoner studying at an elite university in the kingdom. It certainly made me the odd one out plenty of times. So, after having Rachel and Charlie with me, those characteristics fell more into the background, no longer being the definition of me.
Those five years were oddly…happy and fun, even after the break-up with Charlie. Despite everything, we stayed somewhat friends, hanging out here and there, completely losing contact only after our master’s ended.
One would think I would have suffered more with the break-up because Charlie was my first and only—well until Vincent, that is.
Oh my, Vincent .
It’s barely been a day, and I already miss it. Him.
No! I can’t dwell on that. I came here to put some space between us, to organise my spiralling thoughts and have some fun.
“Won’t it be weird? We used to date…” I trail off.
“It’s only weird if you make it weird,” she answers. “Maybe he wants to reconnect?”
Scrunching up my nose, I laugh. “After so many years? I am not interested and would not be that delusional. He’s probably engaged already.”
“He’s not!” She looks at me pointedly. “Believe me, I know.”
“Then why don’t you go and mingle?” I ask, and she looks away.
With the way she’s been ogling him up all night, I’d say she’s interested in him. Is she keeping away from him because of me? I surely hope not.
“He’s your ex. It’s not right,” she mumbles.
I guess she is interested in him.
“Oh, bullshit! It’s been years, and I have way more things to worry about than some college fling.”
“Fling? You guys dated for two years, and he is the only guy you’ve ever been with.” Her eyes widen at my dismissal.
She knows the truth to some extent. After everything that has happened these past two months, those two years sure feel inconsequential to me.
My relationship never had the same kind of pull and passion that Vincent and I share. This agonising bond, which is unbreakable, pulls us back to each other every time. Memories of Vincent and me in the manor fill my brain, and I squirm, trying not to let it get the best of me.
“He’s not the only one,” I blurt the correction before I can think about it.
Her mouth slacks in shock. “But earlier, you said you hadn’t had a boyfriend since college. And we both know Charlie was your only boyfriend.”
“It’s complicated,” I sigh. “I came here to have some fun and specifically forget about how complicated my life got in the meantime.”
“See? Another reason to go and have fun!” she insists.
“I seriously am tired, Rach.”
“Oh, come on. You’re going back to the dreadful manor and will drown in work once again. Who knows when I’ll see you again? When will we have another opportunity to have some fun? We’re not getting any younger.”
She’s right.
And that’s why, against my better judgment, I weakly nod in agreement.
“ Yes! ” she squeals. “We’re going to have so much fun!”
If only I could forget him for five minutes and have fun properly…
The bar entrance stares back at me like a monster opening its giant mouth to swallow me whole. And that’s exactly how I feel as Rachel and I step inside, passing through the security outside.
It’s dark and chaotic inside. People stumble into each other, the place reeks of alcohol, and if you look close enough in the hidden booths at the corners, people are smoking and sniffing. Drugs. And to think most of the people here show their prestige and healthy and wealthy lives on social media.
I knew it was all for show. I just hadn’t realised there was such a gap between appearances and reality.
“Cami, you came!” Charlie screams over the loud music, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “You look beautiful.”
“You said that at the dinner. Thank you.” I give him a tight-lipped smile.
“Come on, girls. Let’s have some drinks.”
Rachel looks at me in excitement as Charlie beckons her to his other arm, walking between the both of us with a purposeful stride towards the bar.
“What is your poison, ladies?”
“I am not drinking tonight. It’s a long ride home that I can’t bear with a hangover. Can you get me a bottle of water while I find the loo?”
Charlie’s face falls slightly, but he recovers quickly with a nod. “Don’t take too long. We have to catch up!”
With that, he turns to Rachel, who starts to talk animatedly to him. I weave through the sea of people for what feels like forever before I find the hallway that leads to the restrooms. There’s a small line to enter, too, so I wait for a good ten minutes before I can enter and give my bladder some relief.
The fact that I have been mostly the only one not drinking alcohol since we arrived at the university’s grounds for dinner means that I have been drinking dubious amounts of water.
Walking back is as hard as it was the first time, but I find Rachel and Charlie rather quickly. They’re whispering in each other’s ears, leaning in one at a time, keeping up with the conversation. Exactly when I make myself known is when Rachel’s hand cups his. My presence looming behind startles them both, sending them to opposite positions.
“Don’t stop on my account, kids.” I smile. “You look good together.”
Rachel blushes furiously while Charlie looks away, obviously uncomfortable.
“It took you a while,” he comments.
“Yeah, the queue was quite long.”
“Well, my brother arrived just a little bit ago. He told us to go sit with him and his friend. Are you up for it?”
“Sure, I guess.” I shrug, not caring.
Maybe I’ll stay for an hour more and then find an excuse to leave.
“Cami,” Rachel gushes, linking our arms together. “Oscar’s friend is so hot and dark and broody. Still, such a gentleman! You should have seen him!”
“Who is he?” I turn to Charlie, elbowing him jokingly. “Some high-ranking cousin or something?”
“Not quite,” he grits. “But he surely stole my show. They both did, but that’s what you get for having an older brother. Oscar has been stealing my show for as long as I’ve been alive.”
“Aww, poor Charlie is no longer the centre of attention?” I mock in a baby voice before patting his cheek. “Don’t worry, lad. From what I’ve seen just now, I reckon there’s someone who will still be focused on you.”
“Are you talking about yourself?” He smirks.
“Sure,” I snort. “If my name started with Ra and ended with chel.”
“Cami,” Rachel whines. “Do not put me on the spot like that. We were just catching up.”
“Okay, sweetheart. I’m sorry,” I tell her with a mischievous smile, not meaning it.
“Here. Let’s have a seat.” Charlie pulls us both down on the only free couch in the booth.
On the opposite side is a stranger who looks rather familiar, and it strikes me when Charlie sits right next to him. That must be his older brother. They’re eerily similar, almost like twins. The only difference is the height and the jawline.
Bollocks, good genes run in that family.
“Rachel, Cami, this is my brother, Oscar.”
“Nice to meet you.” Rachel blushes, extending her hand to shake his.
Except when he takes it he twists and kisses it instead. I suppress the urge to roll my eyes at all their gentlemanly moves. He mumbles a, “you too” and directs his eyes to me.
“Nice to meet you.” I mimic Rachel’s antics.
Oscar repeats the same gesture when I extend my hand for a shake, twisting it and kissing the top of it.
“Which one of you is Cami, and which one is Rachel?” Before I can answer, Rachel identifies herself, and I just nod in agreement.
I mean, it’s just two of us. If she’s Rachel, it’s pretty obvious who Cami is.
“Charlie,” Oscar calls for his brother's attention. “Did you mention your ex-girlfriend would attend tonight? Which one is she?”
I gulp and look at Rachel nervously. She cringes when our eyes lock and intertwines her hand in mine for reassurance.
“Yeah,” Charlie answers. “It’s Cami.”
Oscar’s face swivels towards mine in surprise.
“Well, well, well.” He smiles, or rather, smirks. “I guess my brother does have good taste in women, after all.”
“Uhm, I am sorry to break it to you.” I laugh awkwardly. “We broke up several years ago.”
“Is that so? Because he sure still talks about you often.”
I am about to answer, dismissing the situation, when an unexpectedly familiar voice stops me. “Sorry, I had to take that call.”
I know who it is before I even see him. There’s no way I wouldn’t recognise the voice that has made my knees buckle and my heart speed up more times than any other man has in my entire life.
“What did I miss?”
Oscar smirks up at the person behind me and says, “Just in time, Vincent. I’m getting to know the woman who stole my brother’s heart all those years ago.”
“Oh, great,” he mutters behind me with faux excitement.
I’ve gotten to know him enough to know when there’s an underlying tone of boredom or annoyance. And at this exact moment, it has both.
“Don’t be a grumpy old bastard. Sit here and meet Cami.”
The whoosh of air I feel on my right side tells me he moves towards Oscar’s side with his back still facing me. He turns around and sits down without caring about greeting anyone, and it only intensifies the nervousness growing inside me.
He gave me two days off. I was supposed to have distance for a bit, unwind and have some fun.
What the hell is he doing here?
Once sitting, he straightens his back and starts surveilling the surroundings. Handsome as always but even more so dressed to the nines with formal attire. His white button-up is slightly wrinkled around the collar areas and the bow is undone, showing me how finished he looks with the whole outfit—and night for that matter.
His eyes stop the exact moment they land on me. They narrow and a dark shadow covers them. For a moment, I swear I can see a storm brewing inside his mind.
“Vincent,” he greets everyone without looking away from me. “The Duke of Hawthorne.”
I hate cursing, but all I can think of is... Fuck.