Both of them didn’t know what to say at first.
They just stood there, gazes averted, with an awkward tension hovering in the air. Neither of them were inclined to speak first. They simply distracted themselves with the endless chatter of the other guests in the background, trying to rack their brains for something to say.
Camille felt as if she had been hypnotized by this man for thest few minutes. It was as if she had been transported to another world the moment she walked into his arms. His scent was intoxicating to her now, and their proximity made her nervous.
She had never felt this way about him before. She had always considered him only as a friend. There was attraction, sure, but only slight in physical appearance. Never anything remotely romantic.
But now she was starting to wonder…
Was she the only one who felt this way? What did Michael really feel about her in the past and also in the present?
He had never stated it explicitly, so she was a little confused.
“How have you been?” he suddenly asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She swallowed, suddenly thankful that he couldn’t see her eyes due to the mask. What was with this sudden shyness?
“I’ve been okay,” she responded. It was a safe response, even though she knew very well that her situation was pretty shitty.
Somehow, Michael knew it as well. But he didn’t press her any further.
“That’s good to know,” he said.
“Yeah…”
The awkward silence returned. But this time, Camille was able to breathe easier. Maybe it was because of the little icebreaker moment. Maybe it was because they were far away from the crowd. Maybe it was the fresh air filling her lungs and making her rx a little.
Or maybe it was because there was a small smile on Michael’s lips now, something that helped to ease the tension. It was as if she no longer had to worry about Christian, even if only for a moment.
But then Michael spoke again, and in a soft voice this time.
“Du wei?t doch, dass du mir alles erz?hlen kannst… oder?”
Camille was stunned.
Not only by the sudden switch to German, but also because of the meaning of the words.
He basically told her: “You know that you can tell me everything, right?”N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.
Why did he suddenly say something like that?
Also, why did he switchnguages? It should be fine to talk in English…
“…Wie bitte?” she said, unable to keep the surprise from her tone.
“You told me to be careful earlier,” he exined, still conversing with her in German for some reason. “So I’m being careful.”
Then it clicked. “You mean that someone might overhear our conversation?” she rified, deciding that it would be safe not to speak in English for now.
Michael nodded. “Vanille,” he said. “You can trust me. You know that, don’t you?”
Vanille. It meant ‘vani’ in German.
It was funny. People often remarked that the Germannguage had this ‘harsh’ speaking tone, that it was a bit hard on the ears. Sure, it’s not the gentlest soundingnguage, and it’s not as ‘romantic’ as French, but personally, Camille thought it depended on the person.
When her parents spoke thenguage, it did sound harsh to her ears, especially when they scolded her brothers for misbehaving. As she grew older in that household, she became ustomed to speaking it that way, but she also learned to appreciate thenguage for what it was.
Not many people spoke German back in her younger years, and she never needed tomunicate with others using it since she was also fluent in English. Basically, the only people she heard speaking it were her family.
But hearing Michael say it… it was different. The more she listened to him speak German, the weirder she felt.
She had never heard German being spoken in such a soft, gentle tone before.
Why did it sound so romantic when he said it?
Camille suddenly felt warm all over.
“I’ve always fulfilled my promises to you, and without fail,” Michael continued on,pletely unaware of her burning, conflicted feelings. “I promised to find you, and I also promised to keep your ne until we met again. I kept them all. I would never betray you, Vanille.”
Camille swallowed. “What are you trying to say, Noah?” she said, trying hard to keep her voice steady.
“I want to protect you,” he said softly. “I want you to know that you can trust me.”
Trust?
Why did he keep on bringing up trust for the past few minutes?
“Noah…” she said, a realization slowly forming in her head. “Don’t tell me-”
But before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly felt a vibrationing from the deep pocket of her gown. She pulled out her phone and stared at the screen.
There was a new message from Christian.
It was as if he just knew.
It was scary and creepy.
‘Where are you?’ the text read.
Camille slowly took in a breath and released it before facing Michael once more.
“I have to go,” she told him, switching back to English. “I’m sorry.”
A look of disappointment shed across his features, but he quickly gave her a polite smile. “All right. I understand,” he said.
Before she left, she paused in her tracks as though contemting something. She turned her head, meeting gazes with Michael who never stopped looking at her the entire time.
Her heart skipped a beat.
“I’ll think about it. About what you said, I mean,” she said.
Then she walked off, disappearing into the crowd.
Michael watched her go, various emotions swirling in his chest.
Even though she didn’t specify what, he guessed that it was the part about her trusting him.
It was supposed to be good news, but he felt conflicted instead.
Just how much had she been suffering all these years? He should’ve tried to find her sooner. He should’ve been there for her when she needed someone to save her.
He should’ve done better.
Which was why – if Grady’s suspicions were indeed true – he needed to hear it from Camille herself.
If Christian Cahan really was ckmailing her.