Chapter 1141: Special Invitation

Chapter 1141: Special Invitation

Camille refused to speak, just blushing and saying, "Be serious.”

"Am I not serious enough?" he responded, his voice unusually husky.

Camille attempted to cover his mouth to stop him from talking, but Ayan

intercepted her hand, gently held it, and their gaze locked, gradually

taking on a different tone.

Invisible shifts occurred in their eye contact, and soon Camille found

herself being carried to bed without knowing how.

Everything that followed unfolded naturally, but Ayan was notorious for

not keeping his word in such matters.

This infuriated Camille, who had agreed to just once, but the duration of

that once left her in unbearable agony.

She only remembered herself in the end, like a fish swimming in the

sea, suddenly lacking oxygen, trying to ascend for a breath but failing.

A dreamless night.

The next day, Camille woke up at eight, the official start of the design

competition.

Ayan, on the other hand, had risen early, leaving for the company

around seven. He left her a note: "I've gone to the office. See you at the

design competition later. I've asked Kian to wait for you at the entrance.

He'll take you to the judges’ area. Sound good?"

Camille, after reading it, casually grabbed a pen and made a fierce

cross on the note. Then, rubbing her nearly broken waist, she got out of

bed.

After freshening up and changing, she dragged her heavy body

downstairs.

She had no appetite, taking only a few sips of millet congee and a bit of

side dish. Then, grabbing the milk prepared by the housekeeper, she

headed out.

Today was Sienna's big day, and Camille couldn't miss it.

Arriving at the company neither early nor late, Sienna was already

there. Seeing Camille, her first question was, "Are you okay? Ayan said

you were nervous and stayed up late. I didn't call you."

Camille squinted slightly, silently cursing Ayan. However, her face

remained unchanged as she responded to Sienna, "Hmm, maybe too

excited. Had trouble sleeping.”

She said it with a poker face, showing no signs of nervousness or

panic.

Sienna didn't think much, just saying, "Shall we get ready to go to the

venue?"

"Yes, sure." Camille nodded gently, and the group headed straight to

the venue.

Sienna's home ground meant Rex arranged a driver and two assistants

for her. They all boarded a business car, and on the way, Camille

leaned on her seat, lacking both spirit and energy. Sienna noticed and

asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Camille shook her head. "Maybe just nervous.”

"Cut it out. Why would you be nervous? Is there something else you're

hiding from me?"

"What could it be?"

"Haven't you two had a fight?"

"No, why ask like that?"

"Just checking.” Sienna still didn't fully believe it, but seeing Camille's

expression, she didn't seem to be lying. So, she didn't press further.

Soon, they arrived at the design competition venue. Kian was waiting at

the entrance and greeted Camille and Sienna, "Mrs. Simpson, Mrs.

Ward."

Both nodded in response.

Sienna joked, "Kian is getting more handsome. No wonder Yessica

doesn't want to come, afraid of being too enchanted to work, right?"

Kian naturally felt a bit embarrassed when addressed this way and

lowered his head, "Thanks for the compliment, Mrs. Ward." Quickly

shifting the topic, Kian continued, "Mrs. Simpson, Mrs. Ward, Mr.

Simpson asked me to take you backstage to familiarize yourselves."

Camille and Sienna both nodded, following Kian to the backstage

lounge.

Although it was just the preliminary round, the organizers of this design

competition were generous. Each designer had their own private

space, ensuring security.

In the lounge, Kian suggested, "The design competition is about to

start, Mrs. Simpson. Would you like Mrs. Ward to rest first? You can join

me upfront to find Mr. Simpson?"

Ayan left a note for her in the morning, but Camille wasn't eager to go.

She shook her head, “No, I also want to take a break, so I'll pass!"

Camille's refusal was accepted by Rex without further insistence. He

left after a slight nod.

Sienna looked at Camille, "Did you and Ayan really have a fight?"

"Really not, I swear!" Camille made a swearing gesture and looked at

Sienna, saying, "Don't overthink it. Let's start checking the design plans

now and see if there are any adjustments needed. I'll go to the

restroom.”

Sienna nodded gently, and Camille left the lounge.

Following the sign to the restroom, Camille's phone in her pocket

started ringing. It was a message from Ayan, asking, "Not coming?"

"Hmm." Camille typed a brief response.

Ayan then inquired, "Are you mad?"

"So you knew I would get upset, but you still deliberately bullied me,

right?" Camille, infuriated, sent a voice message with a somewhat stern

tone. After that, she put away her phone, choosing not to bother with

Ayan anymore.

After placing her phone aside, she entered the restroom. However,

what she didn't expect was to hear some gossip just by going to the

restroom.

Two, presumably designers, were chatting by the sinks, "I saw Mr.

Simpson on the scene. Seems he's a special invited judge today.”

"Simpson Group is sponsoring this design competition. It's not

surprising to see Ayan there."

"But haven't you seen that online news? His family is so abusive. Isn't

his ex-wife pitiful? And, he's handsome, rich-why resort to violence? Or

is it just a rich people's quirk?"

"If I were his ex-wife, I'd willingly be beaten. It's worth it, after all.”

"Haha, you're right. He's so handsome, so wealthy. Being abused is

worth it. Just endure a bit of pain, nothing extraordinary."

As the conversation took a more absurd turn, Camille had finished

using the restroom. However, she hesitated, unsure whether to push

the door and leave or wait inside until they finished gossiping.

After a moment of contemplation, she wondered why she shouldn't go

out. After all, she hadn't done anything wrong. Shouldn't it be these

people feeling guilty?

With this thought, Camille, with neither heavy nor light steps, walked

out of the restroom while the two women continued their baseless

fantasies.

The two women at the restroom sinks heard the door opening and were

initially stunned. Their gazes instinctively turned towards the direction

of the sound when they saw Camille. However, they seemed a bit slow

to react. Although Camille's face had been publicly revealed before,

memories are often scattered, and they couldn't recall her.

Camille, with an unchanged expression and devoid of any emotions,

walked towards the sinks. Quietly washing her hands, the two women

subtly glanced at Camille, who remained unresponsive. It wasn't until

Camille finished washing her hands and took a tissue to dry them that

she looked at the two.

She calmly raised her eyes and glanced at them, a cold indifference

flashing in her eyes. In a tone neither cold nor warm, she asked,

"Weren't you two having a lively chat? Why stop now?"