“I would usually order takeaway, and I find the food at Exotic Flavors pretty good. Let’s go there.” She could afford the food there, so Callum could feel free to order whatever he wanted.
Camryn wanted to be generous with Callum since it was her treat.
“Alright.”
Exotic Flavors was not too far away. It was only a five–minute drive.
They arrived at the restaurant before Callum had a chance to ask about the social event.
“Let’s look for a table on the first floor,” Callum uttered, considering that it was hard for Camryn to go up and down the stairs. He would probably scare Camryn if he went one step too far to carry her upstairs. He might even get slapped and be called an *sshole.
Camryn responded with a grin, “You can decide.”
After Callum led Camryn into the restaurant, the server warmly ushered them to a table that was away from the crowd.
“Mr. Callum, feel free to order more tonight.”
Camryn gave her pocket a pat. She brought extra cash out this time.
Callum said with a smile, “We won’t have a lot since it’s only the two of us. We can order about the same amount as last time.”
Sure, he helped bring business to Camryn, but he was not the type to go too far at playing trick’s on her. Callum had to dangle the carrot at her, so she would gladly allow him to take advantage of her for life.
It was all about timing. He did not want to rush into things.
Camryn had given Callum the green light to order anything off the menu, so it was his business if he chose not to.
Anyway, she had done her due diligence to pick up the tab.
After Callum ordered the food, he asked, “Why does your mom want to take you to the event. tomorrow?”
As far as he knew, Mrs. Newman would rather go no–contact with Camryn. She never took Camryn to socialize around in case Camryn stole the limelight from Carrie.
Carrie was caught by the authorities for hiring people to hurt his sister–in–law, Serena had proof to send Carrie away.
Mrs. Newman must hate Callum’s sister–in–law and Camryn. The old lady believed Camryn was the reason all this happened.
“God knows what she’s up to.”
Camryn had a feeling that her mother was out to get her, but nothing had happened thus far. For all she knew, her mother might sell her off.
“Are you going? Your mom seems forceful about it. She’s going to make you go even if you don’t want to.”
With Callum reaching out to remove Camryn’s sunglasses, Camryn was startled.
She snatched the sunglasses from Callum’s hands and put them back on.
“Can you see just a little?” Callum sat right next to Camryn. By right, Camryn would not be so precise as to snatch the sunglasses out of Callum’s hands since she could not see.
“You’re sitting next to me, so I can gauge the distance from your scent to retrieve my sunglasses. Well, I hope I can see a little, but too bad, I can see nothing.”
Her world was only a single shade of blackness.
“You look good without your sunglasses.”
Callum complimented her looks.
“Do you think my mom is trying to use my looks for something, Mr. Callum?”
“I think you already have an idea. It’s easy to carry a conversation with intelligent people. You get what I’m trying to say without me getting into it.”
Nana picked Camryn out of all the women to be his wife, so she clearly was not some bimbo.
Although upbringing and history did not matter to Nana when it came to selecting her future granddaughter–in–law, one of Nana’s criteria was a good IQ level. They needed wits to survive in this dog–eat–dog society.
“Don’t worry. I will also be attending tomorrow night’s event, and so will Zack and his wife. My sister–in–law adores you and sees you as a friend. She won’t let anything happen to you. You can just go with your mom,” Callum said.
“No matter what, you’re the daughter of the Newman family. You should be active in social engagements and run in the circle.”
Camryn would have to socialize and rub shoulders with the upper crust when she married into the York family.
His sister–in–law, Serena, had been attending various social gatherings with Mrs. Stone to work on her social skills for Zack’s sake.
“I don’t want to be a part of that circle, nor do I see the need to. The daughter of the Newman family? Well, everybody knows what’s up. I don’t need anybody’s sympathy.”
Those people would only look at her with sympathy in their eyes.
Pity was the last thing Camryn needed. Her father was no more, and her mother could not care less about her. Yet, Camryn was doing well for herself.
She may not earn much, but she had enough to cover her expenses while being able to put some money in the bank. Although her savings were not a lot, she was happy she could save a few thousand dollars by living frugally.
Camryn was blind after all.
She did not have to be dependent on the care of others. Camryn could sustain and support herself, and that itself was an achievement for her.
Should one day she could take back what belonged to her father…
That was something to expect in the long run. Camryn had come a long way, playing the patience game. The priority now was to treat her eyes. She would continue to play blind when she could see again while collecting evidence behind the scenes.
Once she had enough hard evidence and had the means, Camryn would take back everything that was her father’s…
Also, Camryn wanted to know if Dad died of depression and suicide or murder.
Callum quietly stared at her.
The girl was like a rose. Sometimes, she protected herself by hiding behind the thorns.
That reminded him of the bouquet he bought.
It slipped Callum’s mind that he had brought the flowers with him into the restaurant.
Picking up the bouquet, he presented it to Camryn.
“Mr. Callum?”
Catching a floral scent, Camryn gently pushed away the bouquet.
“For you. I hope the flowers can brighten up your day.”
The tenderness in his voice nearly broke down Camryn’s walls.
As far as she could remember, the nicest person to her was her aunt. However, her aunt married to a far away place when she was in elementary school. Oh, there was a nanny too, but her mother fired her soon after.
Camryn also had a younger brother who was protective of her, but it only lasted for a few years. Her mother went so far as to enroll her brother in a boarding school to stop contact between them.
Her mother got rid of anybody who was good to her.
“Didn’t you say the bouquet was for your fiancée?”
Callum said with a smile, “Have you ever heard about me getting engaged? I just made that up to fool your mom.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.