Classic Novel
Chapter 168
He gently patted John on the shoulder, signaling him not to be too hard on himself, then turned to Camila and said, "We were just passing by and thought we'd drop in."
Camila nodded in acknowledgment.
As the store began to fill with customers, Camila quickly turned to attend to her duties. Craig and John also started helping out with the customers willingly.
After a busy spell, Claire pulled Craig aside and whispered, "Craig, didn't you tell John about Camila..."
"I did tell him, but John can be a bit stubborn—us veterans tend to stick to our guns once we've made up our minds," Craig replied with a resigned smile.
"John is really a good guy, very reliable, but unfortunately, Camila just doesn't feel the same way about him," Claire sighed, a hint of regret in her voice.
In the days that followed, John continued to show up every day, diligently helping out in the diner. His hard work earned him unanimous praise from the customers.
Taking advantage of a moment when Claire was away, Camila said to him, "John, I actually have someone I like."
John paused, his movements halting abruptly. He looked up at Camila, his face breaking into an awkward smile. "It's okay, I know you don't feel the same about me. I just didn't have anywhere else to go during my time off, and I wanted to be helpful here."
Despite their conversation, John kept coming to the diner every day to help.
His persistence made Camila feel quite helpless.
***
October 7th is Connor's birthday.
Camila took an early ride back to Cedarhill Estate.
With a nervous and excited heart, she searched online for a tutorial on how to bake a cake. She carefully read each step, afraid of missing any crucial details.
On her first attempt, she didn’t manage the oven temperature and timing well, resulting in several burnt cake bases.
After an afternoon of effort, she finally baked a perfect cake base.
She carefully spread the frosting evenly over the cake, then adorned it with fresh fruits as garnish. As she completed the final step, she glanced at the wall clock which pointed to seven.
Just then, her phone buzzed lightly, a message from Connor appeared: [Expecting to arrive at eight.]
Knowing that Connor wasn't fond of sweets, she had specially prepared pasta for him.
Once everything was ready, Camila sat on the sofa, anxiously waiting for Connor.
Ding-dong—
The doorbell rang, making her heart race. She quickly stood up from the sofa, took a few deep breaths to ease her nerves, and then walked to the door.
The moment she opened the door, a strong scent of alcohol hit her.
Camila was stunned.
Logan and a chauffeur were supporting a drunken Connor. His face flushed, eyes tightly closed, completely unconscious from intoxication.
“This guy tried to sneak away as soon as he arrived at his birthday party, but other guys wouldn’t let him, and he ended up downing an entire bottle of whiskey,” Logan explained.
He continued, “He usually handles his liquor well, a bottle is no big deal, but today he drank too quickly.”
Logan placed Connor on Camila’s shoulder, “I'll leave him to you.”
With that, he hurried off with the chauffeur, leaving Camila with the passed-out Connor.
“Hey.” Camila called out, but there was no response.
Connor had lost consciousness completely, his body limply resting against Camila. Instinctively, she held him tighter to prevent him from falling.
Suddenly, Camila distinctly felt soft lips press against her shoulder. In that moment, her heartbeat seemed to skip a beat.Material © NôvelDrama.Org.