Chapter 677


    Chapter 677


    Sheltered behind Arnold, Camille couldn’t help but stifle a smile, despite the ache in her heart. Arnold’s


    tongue was as sharp as ever a rapier in court that jabbed at the guilty, and in life, a scalpel that cut to


    the bone.


    “What are you babbling about? I’ve had no work done!” Mrs. Evert clutched her face, which was as taut


    as a Thanksgiving balloon, red with embarrassment and seething with guilt.


    Arnold shook his head dismissively. “Getting older isn’t a crime, but giving people a fright that’s just not


    on.”


    Mrs. Evert was inches away from a fit of apoplexy.


    “And who might you be to Camille?” Eunice, propping her mother up, couldn’t help but challenge him.


    “And what am I to her.”


    Arnold tapped his cheek thoughtfully, turning his gaze to Camille with a look of mock seriousness. “Ms.


    Camille, she’s asking what I am to you.”


    Camille looked at him, her heart pounding a wild rhythm.


    Without her response, Arnold’s eyes crinkled with a knowing smile. “If you’re not speaking up, then I


    guess I’m your boyfriend by default.”


    “What?” Both Mrs. Evert and daughter’s jaws dropped in disbelief.


    How could this elegant and handsome gentleman, radiating such distinguished charm, possibly be the


    boyfriend of that girl?


    A blush blossomed on Camille’s delicate features as she bashfully lowered her gaze, unable to meet


    his eyes.


    Arnold’s eyes darkened, and without hesitation, he reached out and intertwined his fingers with hers.


    “I’ve been watching you harass Camille, and I didn’t intervene because I wanted to see how low you


    could stoop, how utterly you could degrade yourselves.”


    His eyes narrowed, sending chills down their spines.


    Mrs. Evert, biting back her anger, dered, “This is an Evert family matter. It’s none of your business.”


    “Camille is my girlfriend. You tell me if it’s my business or not.” Arnold’s gaze was so piercing, it was


    hard to look him in the eye.


    “Sir! Did my mother use her of anything untrue?”


    Eunice started up again, ndering Camille. “She is the illegitimate daughter of our family, conceived


    by her mother’s seduction of my father. Her mother tried to usurp the family but failed and gave birth to


    this wretch in secret! When they hit rock bottom, they came seeking refuge with us. We’ve been more


    than generous, and now that Camille has some skills, she turns on us, refusing to even sew a dress!”


    Camille’s eyes reddened with fury and Arnold, sensing her distress, responded with a scoff.


    “So what do these usations have to do with Camille?”


    Eunice was taken aback!


    “No one chooses where theye from, or their parents. But I believe if Camille had even the slightest


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    choice, she wouldn’t want anything to do with you lot.”


    Arnold’s gaze on Camille was full of understanding, as if to say, “You don’t have to speak; I get it.”


    “If the Everts have any dignity left, you’ll leave now. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you truly have no face left


    to save.”


    Mrs. Evert had sensed from the start that this man was no ordinary Joe.


    They left the vi in a hurry, with Eunice stillining bitterly in the car about how they had been


    humiliated.


    “Mom! That person injured you. He didn’t apologize orpensate for your medical expenses! We


    were scared away just like that. It’s really too humiliating and humbling!”


    “You don’t understand, staying any longer would have been the real disgrace.”


    Nursing her pain, Mrs. Evert hastily searched on her smartphone, bringing up a photo of Cassius, the


    CEO of K Group. Eunice gasped. “Isn’t that the man we just saw? He’s the CEO of K Group?”


    Mrs. Evert also felt a chill. She had thought he seemed familiar but couldn’t ce him until it struck her


    men in that high–profile same–sex rtionship that had made headlines?


    wasn’t he one of the


    “It can’t be, he’s supposed to be in a rtionship with a man. He can’t be the same person involved


    with Camille. They must just look simr,”


    “That’s right. How could that cheap girl be so lucky to fall in love with the young master of the


    Ashbourne family?”


    Eunice was so frightened that sheforted herself, but she muttered, “But this looks too simr. I


    won’t doubt that they are brothers.”


    Back at the office, Camille clutched at her heart, fumbling for her emergency pills. Arnold followed her


    in, his face mirroring her distress.


    After she took the medication, herplexion was still pale. Arnold felt a twist in his heart, seeing her


    so vulnerable.


    “You saw it all,” she said, her back to him, her proud posture slumped, her hand clenched tight over her


    chest.


    “Ie from such a ce – lowly, unworthy. What does it matter if I’m a sessful designer? I can


    never erase the stain on my life. You must be disappointed. Now that they’re gone, there’s no need to


    pretend anymore.”


    Before she could finish, she felt a warmth envelop her from behind. Arnold had silently approached, his


    eyes brimming with fierce affection, pulling her forcefully into his embrace.


    She struggled at first, but only faintly.


    Camille felt a yearning deep within her, a longing so intense that she couldn’t deny it any longer. The


    embrace she was in, it was something she realized she craved more than anything.


    “Who says I’m pretending?” Arnold’s warm lips grazed her ear, his voice husky and almost


    unrecognizable from the intensity of his emotions, “I’ve never been this serious about anything,


    Camille.”


    A wave of delicious shivers shot through her, her breathing in short gasps, her head spinning as if


    she might just melt into his arms, “I don’t believe you. You’re lying to me. Weren’t you justughing at


    me a moment ago?”


    Arnold’s eyes darkened with a mix of emotions, and he coaxed her in a gentle, low tone, “Don’t get it


    wrong. I’ve got the words to exin.”


    “I’m not listening.”


    “But I can’t just stand by. The moment I heard that nasty piece of work insulting you, I wanted to step in


    and set her straight,” Arnold confessed, his jaw resting against the softness of her neck, a bitter ache


    spreading through his chest, indescribable, “But I really want to know more about you. You keep your


    family and your life so close to the chest, pushing me away every time I try to get close. I know it’s a bit


    underhanded, but this was the only way I knew how to learn about you. I want to understand you, to


    really get you.”