Chapter 414 Why Do I Feel That This Sounds Kinda Sad?
By the time Alexander was taken to the airport’s police center, Courtney was already flying up above the clouds.
She hadn’t boarded that flight to New York. Since she was going for a fresh start, she decided to bury everything from her past and start all over again.
Three months later, a horse race was being held at a massive ranch in France.
A black car was parked by the outside perimeter of the ranch. A beautiful woman with short hair alighted from its passenger seat and ran over to the ranch’s fence to watch the race.
“Hello, pretty lady,” a French man complimented her, having observed her for a while as he leaned against the fence himself. “Lady Aphrodite.”
“Is this what you say to every beautiful woman you see?” Cameron folded her arms as she regarded the man before her.
He was tall with forest green eyes that had a romantic air to them. When he spoke, he maintained a sunny smile, but he still radiated a dubious aura despite all that. The feeling he gave Cameron was about the same as her initial impression of Gale.
“Of course not.” The French man lifted his hand up to swear. “I promise you that you’re the second lady I’ve ever complimented this way.”
Cameron lifted the corner of her lips. “Then, please take me to see the first woman.”
The French man stiffened, only coming to his senses a few moments later. “You’re her friend?”
“If the woman that you’re talking about is Courtney, then yes.”
The French man was too surprised to say anything.
Courtney lived in a log cabin by the lake situated to the south of the ranch. The place was pretty quiet, but if she wanted to liven things up for herself, all she would need to do was take a few steps into the ranch and join the crowd watching the horse race.
When Leon brought Cameron to the cabin, Courtney was in the middle of reading a book of French literature. It was a task in itself to understand its contents.
“Oh god, can you please stop being so serious? You’re six months pregnant now. Take a break, will you?” Cameron stalked over huffily, her eyes never once leaving Courtney’s stomach.
“You’re here already?” Courtney quickly plucked her glasses off, a look of joy on her face. “I thought you said you would arrive a little later?”
Cameron had come to France to participate in a competition for wedding gown designs as Citron Apparel’s representative. Before she came, she informed Courtney, saying that she was going to visit her since they would both be in the same country. She had also told Courtney that she would come to her home later in order to avoid Gale tagging along.
“I missed you, so I came earlier.” Cameron immediately hugged her, giggling cheekily.
“Ahem.” The two women could hear someone coughing outside. After they let go of each other, Courtney finally noticed Ryan—all six feet of him—standing by the door. “Courtney, that friend of yours—I still don’t know her name,” he said in halting English.
Courtney glanced at Cameron. “Did Ryan hit on you?”
Cameron didn’t deny it. “You know him pretty well.”
“What are you two talking about?” Ryan’s English skills were limited. He didn’t understand what Courtney meant by ‘hitting on’ Cameron.
Courtney smiled. “My friend said that you’re handsome.”
“Really? Thanks.”
“My friend’s name is Cameron. She’s married.”
Upon hearing the word ‘married,’ Ryan’s face instantly fell. “Why, Courtney? Why are all the beautiful women from your country married already?”
Courtney shrugged. “It’s not like I can help it.”
“Never mind. I’ll just have a nice, long talk with my horse.”
After they watched Ryan trail off sadly, Courtney and Cameron exchanged looks and burst into laughter. Cameron guffawed as she plopped herself down onto the couch. “They say that French men have a penchant for the romantic. I can’t tell whether that’s true for him, but at any rate, he’s got no eye for picking targets to hit on,” she said, speaking her mind.
Courtney poured her a glass of water. “How many French men have you met so far? Getting xenophobic already?”
Cameron studied Courtney’s stomach. Her belly was already heavy since she was six months along. “How are you doing?”
“Quite well.” Courtney looked down and stroked her belly, a warm smile on her face. “This place is nice, and no one knows me. I just study here every day, prepping for my med school finals. By then, the child will be born. If I’m lucky and pass the exams, I can officially attend classes then.”
“So, you took a long detour but ended up at the starting point again.”
Courtney’s gaze shifted. “You’re right actually…”
It was difficult to predict how life would turn out. Back then, Tina was still young. Courtney was afraid of others stealing her child away, so she ran to the US. Thus, abandoning her studies was an unavoidable consequence. Abandoning her progress once again to learn about hotel management was also something that life had forced on her. Now, everything had returned to its original track.
“Oh yeah, he and Gale kept searching for you the month you left.” Cameron abruptly changed the topic, her eyes casually studying Courtney.
“Really now? And?”
“I didn’t tell Gale, so he doesn’t know. He seemed to have given up after more than a month of searching.”
“Understandable.” Courtney sat down, her hands at her waist to help support her weight. Her expression did not change one bit, as though she had already expected this. “That’s pretty good.”
“Is it really, though?” Cameron had a complicated look on her face. “I never really could understand it. Avoiding Alexander is understandable, but why are you avoiding Elijah too? You said that you would follow him to the States, so why did you end up running away to this backwater little corner alone?”
“I’m not avoiding him.” Courtney took a sip of tea. “Who said that I’m avoiding him? The med school that he helped me to apply to is here. I can’t possibly let him move his company just to be with me.”
“I feel that Elijah would actually do that if you brought that up.”
“Stop it. I know what you’re trying to say.” Courtney looked like she had already guessed Cameron’s thoughts. “But you really got the wrong idea this time. Elijah’s getting married soon.”
“With who?” Cameron was stunned. “That’s so sudden. I’ve never heard about him getting married.”
“Lilian.”
“Wow, talk about dating your boss.”
“That’s why I didn’t go to New York. I can’t possibly interfere with their life together, can I?”
“Why do I feel that it all sounds kinda sad?” Cameron watched Courtney’s nonchalant expression, feeling heartbroken all of a sudden. “So you put them before yourself, but what about you? The kid is due in a few more months. Do you really want me to still keep everything a secret?”
Courtney was quiet for a bit. “There’s no need for you to tell. Love isn’t always needed in life. And besides, I have plenty of things on my to-do list.”
Cameron instinctively glanced at the towering piles of medical textbooks. Her scalp crawled at the sight. “You’re just transforming all your sadness and anger into strength. It’s a good thing, but I still feel a little heartbroken about it. Say, I’m going back tomorrow. Do you really have nothing that you want me to convey?”
Courtney carefully thought it over. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “Actually, I do.” She then fished out an aged black velvet box from the drawer in her desk and handed it to Cameron. “Please help me give this back to him.”
Cameron didn’t even need to open the box to know what was inside: it was the necklace that had seemingly determined Courtney’s fate. The gears of fate were stuck on this necklace. Once it was returned to its original owner, everything would seemingly return to their intended tracks, never to cross each other again.
