Chapter 35

HENRY

Camille and I were interrupted by Cecilia walking into the living room. My eyes went wide and my voice vanished.

Cecilia and I stared at each other — she looked startled, and I was confused.

What was Cecilia doing here with Martina?

Cecilia glanced at me, then at Camille holding the bouquet of flowers. She fell silent immediately, and an awkward tension filled the air.

"Do you two already know each other?" Camille asked, looking between us.

I didn't know what to say, until Cecilia spoke.

"No, we've never met before." Her tone was strangely sharp.

Martina started shrieking in Cecilia's arms the moment she saw me, reaching out with both hands as if she recognized me.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Camille said, taking her. But the baby wouldn't stop staring at me and stretching her arms toward me. "You want to go to him?" Camille asked, looking confused as the baby kept reaching for me obsessively.

"Your daughter?" I asked, even more confused. The whole situation felt like one of those bizarre dreams where nothing makes sense.

"Yes, my daughter..." Camille took a deep breath, then turned to Cecilia, who was still standing there, watching me. "Cecilia, as we'd already arranged, I'm giving you the day off. You can leave now — even before the time we agreed on. That's fine."

"Oh, but... Mrs. Camille, I canceled my plans. I think I'll stay."

"The thing is, Cecilia... I'm going to need some privacy, okay? Why don't you go to the mall? Catch a movie, have some fun. No rush to come back."

"But, Mrs. Camille, couldn't I just stay? You might need help with the babies. You have a guest, and maybe you'll want to talk to him without interruptions."

"Cecilia? We'd agreed you were going out. Why did you change your mind?"

"I'm just feeling a little under the weather, Mrs. Camille."

"Alright... but I need you to go. Tell you what — go to the hotel and stay in Jimmy's room. He's not there and won't mind. I'll text him and ask him to let the hotel know you can stay there. Okay?"