Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
And Levi? He was still trying not to believe it.
But once he saw Cameron in person, he’d have no choice.
Lance said, “Alright. I’ll take you. Cameron’s staying in Noble Vista. I have a place there,”
And he’d been living in it the past few days.
So they left the island.
Levi still wasn’t entirely convinced.
But Jacqueline had insisted on coming, and in the end, he had no choice but to go with her.
Jacqueline hadn’t stepped off it in eighteen years.
Now, she was staring out at the city lights-beautiful and unfamiliar.
But she wasn’t in the mood to admire the view.
All she wanted was to see her son again.
Inside Noble Vista, she looked around eagerly. “Which building is he in?”
Lance pointed. “Over there. Building Eight.”
Jacqueline started walking immediately.
Levi pulled her back. “Jacqueline, it’s two in the morning.”
She finally paused.
Lance brought them to his own apartment and offered them the master bedroom for the night.
But Jacqueline didn’t sleep.
She spent the entire night staring at Cameron’s photo-sometimes crying, sometimes smiling.
Levi stayed up with her, eyes fixed on the photo as well. “Is that really my son?” he whispered.
‘Or are we just fooling ourselves?’
As the sky began to lighten, Lance, still half-asleep, was roused by a gentle shake.
“Lance,” Jacqueline said, her voice hushed but urgent, “take me to see him.”
Her eyes were red, but she’d touched up her appearance. Her posture was steady.
It was, after all, the first time she’d be meeting her son..”Mom… isn’t it a bit early?” Lance asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“It’s not early,” she said firmly. “We’ll just wait outside his building.”
Lance shook his head. “He’ll resent it if he finds you there.”
Levi narrowed his eyes. “Lance, are you playing us? Is this all just some prank?”
He wasn’t worried about being believed.
He was worried about Cameron’s boundaries. About pushing too hard.
So in the end, he stayed behind.
Levi and Jacqueline went on their own, sitting quietly on the bench outside Building Eight, pretending to be just another pair of early risers.
At exactly 7:30 AM, the sky was painted in streaks of morning gold.
Cameron stepped out of the elevator.
She walked straight toward the building, completely unaware.
The sound of the elevator had both Levi and Jacqueline turning instinctively.
Jacqueline’s hands clenched tightly in her lap.
Levi, on the surface, seemed relaxed-even a little skeptical.
But inside, his heart pounded. He was nervous, hopeful, and somehow scared.
Then they saw him.
The “boy” had a face that looked just like Lance’s uncannily so-but “he” was shorter, slimmer, with a gentler presence.
Both Jacqueline and Levi froze. Their expressions said it all.
‘That’s him, my boy. Alive. Healthy. Grown. My boy is right there.’
She almost rushed to him-but stopped, remembering Lance’s warning. With effort, she turned her face away, forcing herself not to look,
Levi’s pupil’s contracted. The photo had been one thing. Seeing him in person was something else entirely.
The resemblance was striking-almost uncanny. Cameron looked so much like Lance.
And yet, the energy she carried was completely different.
Levi’s heart pounded in his chest. He gripped the edge of the bench tightly, the only thing keeping him from standing up. Every instinct told him to go to Cameron, to reach out-but he forced himself to stay seated.
Like Jacqueline, he made himself look away after only a few seconds.
They were supposed to act casual, like neighbors chatting on a morning stroll. But for once in their lives, neither of them could think of a single word to say.
They were too overwhelmed.
Cameron walked toward them, steady and composed. She glanced at the couple on the bench-just a polite, d?tached look-then shifted her gaze. forward and kept walking.
She passed by them without a second thought and exited Noble Vista.
Elijah was waiting outside to drive her to the company.
To her, Lance’s sudden appearance hadn’t changed anything. Her life continued on as usual.
She had things to do. People to meet. Commitments to keep.
The moment she passed them, both Levi and Jacqueline turned their heads almost in unison to watch her walk away.
They couldn’t stop staring, drinking in every detail of her silhouette as if afraid she might vanish if they looked away.
“My baby… my son…” Jacqueline whispered, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her face.
Levi pulled her gently into his arms, holding her close as they watched Cameron disappear into the morning light.
Lance, who had been waiting at a distance, hurried over.
Seeing Jacqueline sobbing like that twisted something in his chest.
“Mom, please don’t cry,” he said softly. “The important thing is that Cameron’s alive.”
Jacqueline nodded through her tears. “I’m not crying because I’m sad… I’m just so happy.”
‘My son is alive. He’s healthy, grown. Nothing else matters.
Levi continued staring in the direction Cameron had gone. “Lance,” he asked, “you’re saying Cameron doesn’t want to come back to us? Why?”
Just hearing that question confirmed for Lance that Levi had accepted it-Cameron really was his son.
Lance answered calmly, “I spoke with a therapist. Cameron’s adoptive parents treated him terribly. It left him… numb to the idea of family. Disappointed.
Disconnected.”
He didn’t need to finish the senterice. Both Levy and Jacqueline understood what that meant,
Levi’s expression darkened. “They stole him and abused him? Where are they now?”
Lance gave a slight smirk. “Don’t worry, Dad. Your brilliant son already made sure they landed in jail.”
For a second, pride flickered across Levi’s face.
“That’s my boy,” it seemed to say.
Jacqueline wiped her eyes. “What do we do now? Can I see him? Just… just to say hi?”
