“I discovered it when I went up there! I used the cash I had on me to ask them about cooking these crabs… But their English is poor, so I had to communicate with them mostly through gestures!”
“Cameron,” I furrowed my brow, “why did you go to such trouble to catch a few crabs?”
He maintained his air of mystery. “You’ll find out soon!”
Dinner time had already passed, and while everyone else went back to their tents, I stood alone at the entrance of the dining hall. I had been waiting for Cameron for half a hour.
He had pulled me over and negotiated with the restaurant staff for a long time before they finally allowed him to use the kitchen utensils. Then he left me hanging here, and until now, I had no idea what he was up to.
“Cameron,” I couldn’t contain myself any longer and walked straight into the dining hall.
“What are you doing? Are you trying to starve me? Let’s just eat something quickly and go back… The situation of the war is too dire, and I’m afraid bombs might come flying at us any moment…”
“Cameron? Cameron!” I called out a few times with no response. Feeling both anxious and angry, I decided to barge into the dining hall. As soon as I entered, I saw him coming out with a plate.
He looked surprised when he saw me, then his cheeks flushed slightly.
“Didn’t I tell you to wait outside?” he scolded me first.
“If I wait any longer, I’ll starve to death!” I rolled my eyes at him and glanced at what he was holding, “What’s this?”
It was a small plate of crab meat, smelling delicious. He had picked it out…
He used a fork to pick up a small piece and brought it to my lips.
I couldn’t help but feel moved; in the face of good food, no one could maintain their composure.
It had been over a month since I arrived in Alcostan, and the living conditions were more challenging than ever. Yet, Cameron could find joy in this hardship, going to the river to catch crabs to improve our lives.
“Why are you staring at me?” he furrowed, “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“Of course, I am!” I lowered my head, feeling like I was in a sweet dream, “I’m just wondering, how did you do all this?”
“Isn’t crab your favorite food? Every time you ate it, you looked like a greedy cat, your mouth full of it!”
I was taken aback.
The moment the crab touched my taste buds, it did stir up some childhood memories. Before joining The Lynch Family, I hadn’t eaten many good meals. After joining The Lynch Family, everything seemed good. I remembered the first day eating with The Lynch Family; there was a plate of crabs on the table.
Thinking about this, a tinge of bitterness washed over me.
“Back then, you must have looked down on me,” I chuckled softly, “You always said I had bad table manners, that I was a wild child.”
“At that time, I didn’t understand how terrifying it was to go hungry.”
“Cameron…Actually, I don’t really love eating this. Because I hadn’t seen such fresh things before I was eight, and at that time, I was always very, very hungry…”
“I know.” He sat beside me, his arm encircling my shoulder. I leaned against him, hearing the strong beating of his heart.
It was a moment of incredible warmth and safety.
“Later, I realized that you might not really like eating it,” he said, “But at that time, I didn’t know what else to make for you to eat. Supplies are scarce here, and this was the best I could manage.”
“I know,” I lifted my gaze, reaching out to touch his stubbly chin. “Thank you.”
“Is talking enough?” He looked at me. “Isn’t there any practical action?”
That night, he took me to the back mountain, to the stream where we found the crabs. It was as tranquil as a utopia, as if the tentacles of war had never reached here.
The moon was bright, the night sky clear, and the cold wind brushed against our heated bodies as we intertwined.
I held him tightly, kissing every inch of his face… from his eyebrows to the corners of his eyes, from his nose bridge to his thin lips… I kissed him passionately, unwilling to miss even an inch. I gazed at his handsome face, feeling his possession of me, taking me to the peak of joy…
I seemed to be going crazy, burning up entirely in his arms. I would rather turn into ashes in his embrace.
Suddenly, the distant sky was lit up by artillery fire.
I had fallen asleep, startled awake, covered in cold sweat. Cameron held me, patting my back like a mother comforting a baby, softly comforting me, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
“Cameron,” a sudden sense of desolation washed over me, “After we return to Jerez State, will you still say this to me?”
He remained silent, and as I listened closely, all I could hear was his heavy breathing.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
These words are like poppies to me, addictive. But they are poison after all, and out of reach.
“I heard from some seniors that the interview mission here will end in about two or three days,” I whispered. “We’ll return home together.”
“Then back to Jerez State…” he murmured.
“Yes, back to Jerez State,” I sighed bitterly. “After we go back, you’ll still be you, and I’ll still be me.”
“Laura…”
“Cameron, I don’t want to go back!” I nestled in his embrace, greedily inhaling his scent, tears streaming down incessantly. I didn’t want to go back because there were too many things between us… He had a fiancée, he was the second young master of The Lynch Family, I was the daughter of a murderer, his sister was killed by my father, and his whole family hated me to the core…
But in Alcostan, he only had one identity.
He was just Laura’s Cameron.
Cameron, I don’t want to go back.
That night, I repeated this sentence like I was under a spell. Cameron didn’t say anything, just held me tightly. His arms were strong, as if he wanted to meld me into his body. But when the first light of dawn appeared, it was like waking from a mermaid’s enchantment. Mermaids would eventually turn into foam. He and I also had to face reality.
All I could say in my heart was, thank you for giving me a beautiful time.
Three days later, we safely returned to Jerez State.
Someone came to pick him up after we got off the plane. I quickly walked through another passage. In the hall, I watched him from afar, Queenie surrounding him…
My eyes felt dry, and suddenly someone tapped my shoulder.
“Holly!” I hugged her excitedly. “I haven’t seen you in so long!”
“Yeah, it’s only been a month…” Her eyes filled with tears as she kept touching my face. “Why are you so dark and thin! Laura, I’ve been worried about you every day…”
“Don’t worry, I’m back now!”
“Thanks to you this time. The things you sent back for publication doubled the magazine’s sales this month!”
“It’s what I should do.” I smiled, then unconsciously turned my head, and Cameron had disappeared from view.
“What are you looking at?” Holly’s gaze seemed meaningful. “What kept you going this time might not just be your passion for your career, right?”
I was stunned.
I immediately realized, could it be that Holly had told Cameron about my whereabouts?
“He came to find me.” Holly admitted to me, “The day after you left, he came to ask me about you. You said you didn’t want me to tell him anything about you anymore, so at first, I didn’t intend to, but he…”
I hurriedly asked, “What happened to him?”
Holly sighed, “He threatened me that if I didn’t tell him, he would dump my body in the wilderness!”
My eyes widened.
“His temper was too explosive, always threatening to dump people’s bodies in the wilderness, acting like he’s in the mafia or something?”
I lowered my head in silence.
Men could be so childish at times, truly unreasonable.
“So you told him?” I asked.
She smiled, “Shouldn’t I have told him?”
“Holly, I and him actually…”
“I know you two can’t be together.” Holly patted my shoulder, “But I can see that he genuinely worries about you, and you can’t let go of him either. I think having him by your side in Alcostan would have made your days much better.”
“Thank you,” I looked at her, the gratitude coming from the bottom of my heart, “You’ve thought about me a lot.”
She sighed, “Thinking about it won’t change anything now. You’ve come back, and you and Cameron have become parallel lines. You might not know, but in the month you were away, there were often rumors about the two families getting closer. I guess it’s to promote the upcoming launch of Sunshine Real Estate under The Scott family.”