Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
Britney successfully earned a promotion to Director of Housekeeping. Her monthly salary jumped from three thousand dollars to ten thousand dollar
Everyone at the hotel treated her respectfully, viewing her as the future boss’ wife.
For the first time, Britney discovered how relaxed and pleasant work could be. She had Gavin to thank for all of this.
A month passed quickly. Gavin came to the house every evening without fail to have dinner with Britney. After dinner, he never lingered too long
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, Britney gazed at the beautiful night view of the hotel across the street. She whispered, “Gavin, can I trust you?”
Fear crept into her heart-she was terrified of making the same mistakes again.
Two more months passed, and Soren virtually disappeared from Britney’s world. It gave her the idea of moving out on her own. But after living at Gavin’s place for three months, she felt she should at least mention it to him.
Britney decided to bring it up that evening when she got home. She punched in the code and opened the door. The aroma of dinner still filled the air, but she didn’t see Gavin’s familiar figure on the sofa.
Britney’s eyes paused for a moment. She opened the shoe cabinet to get her slippers.
She immediately noticed the men’s slippers sitting right next to hers. Her heart inexplicably skipped a beat. ‘Didn’t Gavin. come today?’
As Britney changed into her slippers, she knew Gavin probably hadn’t come. Still, her eyes couldn’t help sweeping quickly around the room anyway.
She even checked the bathroom and her own bedroom, but there was no sign of Gavin anywhere.
Britney’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Mrs. Yates, you’re back.” When Britney returned to the living room, Hazel heard her movement and greeted her with a warm smile.
Britney pressed her lips together slightly. “Where’s Gavin?”
“What did you say?” Hazel was cooking with the range hood running and couldn’t hear what Britney had said. She quickly turned off the fan.
Britney fell silent momentarily, then said, “I’m fine.”
Hazel smiled warmly, “You must be hungry. Dinner’s almost ready.”
Britney nodded and settled onto the sofa, automatically reaching for her phone. Without thinking, she opened her chat with Gavin. The last message was still from him. [Are you home?]
That day, he’d practically dragged her to this house with his usual commanding attitude. Since then, they’d only talked face-to-face when he was around.
Britney’s fingers tightened around her phone. She thought, ‘Should I text Gavin? He’s probably busy. I’ll wait a little longer.’
But even after Hazel finished setting the table, Gavin still hadn’t returned.
Hazel noticed his absence, too. “Where’s Mr. Yates?”
Britney shook her head. “I don’t know either,”
“Mrs. Yates, why don’t you call Mr. Yates? The food’s getting cold,” Hazel suggested.
“I-you call him,” Britney said quietly.
Hazel dialed Gavin’s number while Britney watched hopefully, but she soon set the phone down. “Ma’am, no answer
Britney pressed her lips together. ‘No answer? What’s wrong with Gavin?’
Hazel said, “Mrs. Yates?”
“Hazel, you can head home now. Gavin should be back soon,” Britney said.
So Hazel left.
Britney sat at the dining table, waiting until the food had gone Gavin never came home. mpletely cold, and her stomach growled loudly. Still,
Meanwhile, Gavin had been clutching his phone all night, waiting for a call or text from Britney that never came.
When Hazel called, he deliberately ignored it.
Gavin looked across at Cameron. “Cam, are you sure this plan will work?”
Cameron chuckled, “Gavin, it’s only been one day since you’ve seen Britney. Why are you so worked up?”
“How would you feel if you didn’t see Bradley for a day?” Gavin shot back.
“Okay, fair point. But listen, Gavin, if you want to shake things up between you two and break out of this boring routine, you need to disappear for a few days. Otherwise, how’s she ever going to realize how important you are to her?”
Gavin gripped his phone tightly. “What if she doesn’t even notice I’m gone?”
Bradley tried to reassure him. “Gavin, you need to have some confidence in yourself.”
Gavin said nothing. Of course, he had confidence about everything except Britney. He’d been chasing her for so long without getting the slightest response.
By evening, there was still no word from Britney.
Cameron laid out the plan. “Gavin, three days. You disappear for three days, then show up and see how she reacts.”
Gavin nodded. “Alright.”
Britney waited all night for word from Gavin, but her phone stayed silent. Sleep eluded her completely.
The next day, she dragged herself to work sporting dark circles under both eyes.
“Ms e aske
Britney flashed her professional smile. “Got caught up binge-watching and lost track of time.”
“What show was that good?” her coworker asked curiously.
Britney casually mentioned some random series name. She hadn’t slept well the night before, and her energy had been dragging all day.
When her shift ended, Britney clocked out immediately and headed straight home.
Standing at her front door, Britney took a deep breath. ‘Is Gavin back?’ she wondered.
Britney punched in her code and opened the door, her eyes immediately going to the couch. Gavin wasn’t there.
Disappointment flooded her expression as she pulled open the shoe cabinet. Sure enough, Gavin’s slippers sat neatly arranged inside-he still hadn’t come home.
Hazel was cooking dinner in the kitchen, and several dishes were already set out on the dining table.
“You’re back, Mrs. Yates,” Hazel called out when she heard her come in.
“Yeah,” Britney replied weakly.
She sank onto the couch, settling into the exact spot where Gavin always used to sit. Her palm pressed gently against the cushion as an empty ache settled in her chest.
Sharp as she was, Britney knew the truth-she was falling for Gavin. It made perfect sense, really. He was incredible and had been so good to her. Of course, she’d developed feelings.
But having feelings was one thing. Being together was something else entirely.
Before her emotions got any deeper, she needed to cut her losses.
Hazel quickly finished preparing dinner and glanced around the living room. “Mr. Yates didn’t come home again today?”
Britney pulled out a chair and sat down, her tone flat. “Hazel, you don’t need to come tomorrow.”
Hazel looked surprised. “Why not?”
“Because I’m moving out,” Britney said simply.
She’d planned to tell Gavin that she was leaving yesterday, but he never came home. She’d text him later.
“What? Moving out? Mrs. Yates, did you and Mr. Yates have a fight?” Hazel asked.
Britney shook her head. “No.”
Seeing Britney’s expression and noting that Gavin hadn’t returned, Hazel knew the couple must have had an argument.
Drawing on her experience, she offered advice. “Mrs. Yates, it’s normal for couples to fight. Men have their pride, you know? Sometimes women can just give in a little, act sweet, and everything blows over. Every marriage has arguments-1 can tell Mr. Yates is a reasonable man.”
Hazel went on with her well-meaning lecture while Britney listened quietly.
After Hazel finished speaking, Britney finally responded, “Hazel, you’ve got it wrong. We’re just friends.”
Hazel’s face went blank with shock.
“Hazel, you can head home now,” Britney said.
“Okay.” Hazel snapped back to reality and nodded.
