Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
David asked, “So, what should I do with all these roses?”
Cameron said, “Take them out to the street and sell them. Three stalks of roses for three dollars.”
David was taken aback.
Cameron added, “That’s it. Just handle it the way I said.”
David said, “Alright.”
With that, Cameron ended the call. Bradley and Elijah replied to her texts earlier, but she didn’t check them immediately. Instead, she went straight to a video call with Austin.
She let her parents know she needed a minute, then slipped away to a quiet spot.
Meanwhile, Austin had been a nervous wreck since sending those roses.
He’d only sent Cameron one message and didn’t dare follow up. He hadn’t expected a call back, especially not a video call. He was so startled when his phone rang that he dropped it.
“Mr. Fraser.” Vincent immediately bent down and picked it up for him.
Austin took the phone, waved Vincent and the others out, and only then answered the call with a racing heart.
“Cam-“Austin almost used the same tone as when he spoke to a guy, but he stopped himself. He couldn’t talk to Cameron that way anymore because she was a girl.
However, he didn’t want to be too cozy with her either, afraid she might see him as a brother figure.
His smile wavered slightly as he struggled to figure out what to call her.
“You sent me red roses?” Cameron stared at her phone without any expression.
Austin hadn’t expected her to be so blunt. Judging by her expression, she didn’t look happy at all.
Even though he was nervous, Austin kept a big smile on his face. “Yeah. Are you surprised?”
Cameron frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Austin’s smile grew wider. “What do you think it means? Cameron, isn’t it obvious? Red roses symbolize love.”
“Love?” Cameron smirked. “You stab me in the back, and now you want to talk about love?”
Th
Austin hadn’t expected her to still be hung up on what happened days ago.
He tried to explain, “Cameron, I only did that because I like you. Seeing you so close with Bradley made me jealous.”
Cameron said flatly, “You’ve got some serious character issues.”
With that, Austin’s mouth snapped shut.
He stared at the girl on the screen and said sadly, “Cameron, just because I messed up once, you’re going to write me off completely?”
Cameron replied, “No, it’s twice. Once with Elijah, and this time with Brad.”
Austin said, “I just didn’t want them spending time alone with you, that’s all.”
Cameron shot back, “Who I spend time with is none of your business.”
Finally, Austin asked, “Cameron, am I really just a normal friend to you?”
Cameron answered, “No, you’re not.”
The moment Austin heard her answer, the sadness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a glimmer of hope. “I knew it.”
He knew there was no way they were just friends. However, Cameron cut him off, “You’re not my friend.”
Austin froze, completely stunned by her words. He thought, ‘I’m not her friend? Am I not good enough to even be her friend?’
That stung deeply, but he tried to play it off, flashing a grin like it didn’t matter. “Perfect. I don’t want to be your friend anyway. I want to be your future husband, Cameron. I can give you everything you want.”
Cameron gave him a small, unimpressed smile. “You really think you know what I want?”
Austin said, “Isn’t it just money and status?”
Cameron let out a cold laugh.
Austin asked, “What’s so funny?”
Cameron stared at his handsome face on the screen and said bluntly, “Austin, I’m not into guys younger than me.”
Austin was taken aback. He was only a few months younger than Cameron, so he wondered if that really mattered to her, or if she was just making up excuses.
“So, do you like Bradley?” Austin blurted out without thinking.
Cameron and Bradley had been spending a lot of time together lately. Every time he saw them, it bugged the hell out of him. He was sure something was going on between them.
Elijah was a close second, and when it came to Xander, he didn’t feel anything at all.
Austin’s question caught Cameron off guard. She wondered, ‘Do I like Brad? No, we’re just friends, and nothing more.’
But this was her own business, and she didn’t owe Austin any explanation. With a blank face, Cameron said, “Don’t bother me again. I’m blocking your number.”
She hung up the video call immediately after that. Then, she blocked Austin on WhatsApp and added his number to her blacklist.
After doing all this with a blank face, Cameron finally noticed her family waiting for her not far away.
When Jacqueline noticed Cameron’s call had ended, she rushed over and gently took Cameron’s hand. “Cam, what’s wrong? Did you have a fight with a friend?”
From across the room, Jacqueline had already sensed something was off.
Cameron smiled faintly. “It’s nothing, Mom. We just had a minor disagreement. I’ve already taken care of it.”
“If something’s bothering you, you have to tell me, okay?” Jacqueline said.
Levi chimed in, “Sweetheart, if anyone ever bullies or upsets you, you have to tell us. Whoever dares mess with my precious girl will need to pay the price.”
Cameron’s heart warmed. “I’m really okay, Dad.”
Gavin added, “And as your eldest brother, I won’t let them off easy either.”
Lance teased, “Gavin, I think Cam still hasn’t accepted you as her brother.”
Gavin had no words.
Helen looked confused. “Huh? Why doesn’t Cam accept Gavin as her brother?”
Lance shrugged, “Gavin used to treat her pretty badly. If I were her, I wouldn’t want a brother like that too.”
Gavin couldn’t take it anymore. “Shut up!”
Lance just raised an eyebrow and dropped the topic. When lunchtime rolled around, everyone headed to the dining room.
Cameron finally had a moment to check the messages from Bradley and Elijah.
Bradley: [I’m glad you’re happy. Enjoy your time with your family.]
Elijah: [I’m good. Since you finally made it home, I’ll leave you alone to spend time with your family.]
Cameron replied to both of them, then put her phone away.
Helen beamed at Cameron. “Cam, why are you dressing up as a guy? Can you tell us about the backstory? I’m super curious.”
Helen wasn’t the only one. Everyone else was equally curious too.
Cameron hadn’t told them her story yet. Seeing all their expectant faces, she gave them a quick rundown of her story. At the end of it, everyone was stunned.
“They tried to force you to change your gender… just for a marriage alliance?” Levi’s voice was low and dangerous.
He couldn’t imagine the living hell his precious daughter had had to live through in the past 18 years.
Levi clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. After learning about Cameron’s story, he was so furious that he wanted to kill someone.
Jacqueline’s eyes welled up with tears as she held Cameron’s hands.” Cam… my poor Cam, how could they treat you like that?”
Gavin’s expression turned grim. “They’re never getting out of prison. I will make sure they rot in there for the rest of their lives.”
Lance snapped, “Jail’s too good for them. People like that deserve worse.”
The Wallaces were monsters for coming up with something so twisted. First, they abducted someone else’s child, and they even wanted to force a gender change on the child.
