Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
The idea of her child being so close, yet still a stranger, broke her heart.
Levi said, “Lance, give him a heads-up. I want him to come home. I want to bring him back to Yates Manor.”
Lance stopped him. “Dad, Mom, I get it. I do. But if you push right now, he’ll only pull further away.”
Levi didn’t respond.
Jacqueline exhaled slowly. “Then we don’t push. We wait. Let him come to us in his own time.”
Lance nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.”.Levi frowned. “If that’s your plan, then why tell us so soon?”
He could’ve waited until Cameron was ready.
“I thought maybe you’d have a better idea than I did,” Lance said with a small shrug.
Jacqueline gave him a grateful smile. “Lance, thank you for telling me. Really. I’m happy. Even if I can’t talk to him yet, just knowing he’s alive and doing well-that’s enough for now.”
Lance smiled, “Mom, you always get me.”
Levi raised a brow. “And that’s your way of throwing shade at me, huh?”
Lance kept quiet.
That evening, after work, Cameron stepped out of the elevator and immediately spotted someone waiting at her front door.
Lance.
Lance stood at Cameron’s door, arms crossed, holding a letter in one hand. When he didn’t smile, his entire presence carried a sharp, cold edge. But the moment he saw her step out of the elevator, that rigid expression softened.
“Cameron. You’re back,” he said, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Cameron frowned slightly when she saw him standing outside her door.
“Why didn’t you just go in and wait?”
Lance replied without thinking, “Didn’t have a key.”
“Then how’d you get in yesterday?” she asked flatly.
Lance kept quiet.
‘Right… That…’
He had been caught red-handed yesterday. No point in pretending it wasn’t awkward.
Cameron said nothing more and unlocked the door with her fingerprint. Lance lingered for a beat, standing just outside.
She looked back at him. “What are you, a vampire? Just come in already.”
He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “Cameron, I am your brother. Your real brother. Can’t you at least ease up on the attitude a little?”
“I don’t remember agreeing to that,” she said with a blank expression.
Lance was momentarily at a loss.
“Whether you acknowledge it or not, we share blood. You can’t exactly opt out of that,” he muttered.
Cameron went to the fridge, grabbed him a bottle of sparkling water, and sat across from him on the couch. “So, what is it this time?” she asked. “Here to talk me into moving into Yates Manor again?”
“I’d love to,” Lance said honestly. “But would it work?”
“You already know the answer.”
“Your tone’s gonna kill me one day,” he sighed. “I swear, it makes me want to throw something.”
Cameron glanced at him. “You sure you’d win that fight?”
Lance blinked. “Excuse me?”
The corners of his mouth twitched as he stood up to his full height, towering over her.
“I’m six-foot-three. You?”
“Five-nine,” she replied.
“And you really think you could take me?”
She tilted her head, meeting his gaze evenly, “You wanna find out?”
Lance kept quiet.
GB
‘Pretty sure my little brother wasn’t new to getting smacked around!
No way was he going to fight her. They were siblings. Siblings didn’t fight-not physically, anyway.
He sat back down and adjusted his posture.
“For the record,” he said, “Yates family rule-no brawling between siblings.”
Cameron didn’t respond.
Lance reached into his coat and pulled out the letter. He held it out.
“Cameron, Mom, Dad, and Gavin all know. They were overwhelmed-so happy, honestly. They all hope you’ll come home to Yates Manor explained how you feel about it, that you’re not ready, and they said they won’t push. This is a letter from Mom and Dad.”
He extended the envelope.
But Cameron didn’t take it.
He had no choice but to place it gently on the coffee table.
Still trying to maintain his composed, older-brother charm, Lance softened his tone.
“We all want you back. No matter when-today, next month, five years from now-Yates Manor is your home. Always.”
Cameron looked at him in silence.
Lance added, “By the way… eighteen years ago, when Mom thought she lost you, she fell into depression. That’s why we moved to the island. It’s a beautiful place. When you’re ready, I hope you’ll come and see it for yourself.”
Before Cameron could respond, the doorbell rang.
She hadn’t reacted much to anything Lance had said, and he took that as his cue to leave.
He stood up just as the bell rang again.
Cameron headed for the door.
When she opened it, standing there with a bright grin on his angular, striking face-was Austin.
“Cam. Long time no see,” he said with a warm, easy smile.
Austin had been swamped lately, but tode he finally had a break. The moment he got off work, he went straight to find Cameron.
She gave him a polite nod. “Yeah, it’s been a while.”
It was the second day of her period, and her stomach still ached with that heavy, dragging discomfort. She’d thought that after seeing Lance off, she could finally rest. But now Austin had shown up.
Still, she was polite-she opened the door and let him in.
The moment Austin stepped inside, he spotted Lance.
Tall, sharp-featured, and cool in demeanor, Lance gave off an effortlessly intimidating presence. As Austin sized him up, Lance returned the favor.
He could still manage a smile when speaking to Cameron. But to Austin, he showed nothing but his default expression-cold and unreadable.
He gave Austin a single glance before turning to the door. “I’m heading out,” he said to Cameron.
She nodded once. “Okay.”
He left.
Cameron closed the door behind him.
Austin turned back, still curious. “Cam, who was that? You two look almost identical.”
“He’s my brother,” she said.
