Camille turned, and she could see Asher standing just a few steps away from her.
'Three, two, one,' Camille counted down. She was waiting for Asher to reprimand her, and Cleo was clearly waiting for that as well.
But both girls were surprised by Asher's words.
"Camille, are you okay? You were not hurt by her, were you?" Asher walked close to her, as he checked on her.
Camille was stunned by his actions, and she allowed him to handle her the way he wished.
Cleo's tears froze on her face as she looked at Asher being worried about Camille instead of her.
'I am the one with the tears, why is he worried about her? What changed? This isn't meant to happen, I wasn't expecting this to happen,' Cleo thought to herself as she watched Asher and Camille.
"That is enough!" Camille stopped him.
"Are you sure you are not making a mistake? I am not the one who has tears on my face, it is Cleo," Camille pointed to Cleo who resumed her tears.
"She is not my sister, is she? I don't believe anything she says, I am only worried about you," Asher declared with a straight face.
His declaration caused them to be astonished. Again, they were surprised by Asher's statement.
"Asher, are you making a mistake?" Cleo couldn't help but ask. She bit her lips as she waited for an answer.
"What mistake? Are you even my sister? Do we have any blood relationships?" Asher bluntly asked, and seeing that Cleo didn't respond, he let out a mocking scoff.
"I thought as much," he said before turning his attention to Camille.
"I heard what had happened today from John, are you fine? Do you need me to call the doctor to check if you have any injuries?" Asher fussed over Camille.
Camille felt dizzy by the constant questioning as she wasn't used to it.
"I am fine," she could only force herself to reply.
"It is good that you didn't give him your contact details, you still remember the basic survival skill I taught you," Asher was proud that she was able to use his teachings.
Camille's eyes became unfocused as she recalled what Asher was talking about. Just as he had said, he had taught her a few basic survival skills, and not giving numbers to strangers was one of them.
This was all before he began to care about Cleo. She didn't think too much about it when she asked John to give his contact details instead of hers.
Now that she thought about it, she felt her nose turn nasal. She and her brothers had a good relationship, sometimes, she always wondered what went wrong in their relationship.
She looked into Asher's eyes, and all she could see was sincerity, but she wondered if it was all fake.
If she let her guard down, they might end up using her....just like her past life. She wanted to trust them, but she didn't know if she could.
"Cam, what's on your mind?" Asher's voice cut through her thoughts. She blinked, forcing the tears away before they could fall, and looked at him, unsure how to answer.
Seeing the tears in her eyes, Asher panicked, and he immediately questioned, "why are you crying? I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"
"I'm fine, I'll be in my room," Camille freed herself from him, before rushing upstairs.
Asher watched her leave, and he couldn't do anything. He could only sigh tiredly as he turned to look at Cleo who still had her head bowed.
"Camille is my sister, if you do anything to hurt her, rest assured that I'll deal with you personally," he warned her before walking away.
Cleo could only stare at him with her mouth wide open. Not expecting the sudden change in the two brothers, she collapsed to the sofa, her breath turning rapid.
"How could this be possible?" She whispered to herself in disbelief.
The next day, Camille woke up feeling refreshed. She had given her books one quick glance before she retired to bed the previous night.
Now, she woke up feeling confident. With confidence, she prepared herself for the exam.
"Good morning," Camille greeted her brothers enthusiastically as she took a seat at the dining table.
Asher and Ethan exchanged glances as they saw the smile on her face.
"You look happy today," Ethan commented, breaking the silence around the table.
Camille paused in her actions before turning to look at him while saying, "today is the college exams, I think that is every reason for me to be happy."
Ethan nodded, silently agreeing to her words.
Camille, on the other hand, carefully assessed him, and she breathed out silently. Her elder brother had always been the quiet one. She didn't know why she was expecting him to have a change just like Asher.
"I think I said it yesterday, but permit me to say it one more time, I apologize as I would not be able to make it for your exam today as I have an important meeting which requires my presence," Ethan apologized, and Camille slowly raised her head to look at him.
"To make it up to you, I'll take you out for dinner, is that fine with you?" He asked, staring straight at her, while fidgeting as he hoped she would agree.
"Whatever you wish to do," Camille replied.
She anticipated it, but her mood dampened when she recalled what had always happened in her previous life. They would always bail on her when they tried to 'make it up to her.'
She had every reason that this 'dinner' would always be the same as her past life, so she didn't dwell on it.
Ethan watched the expression on her face, and he was disappointed when he didn't see any signs of excitement on her face.
He didn't blame her. Instead, he blamed him previous foolish self as they were the cause of Camille's change in attitude.
"I'll drive you to school," Asher announced, breaking the tension around the table.
Camille looked at the determined expression on Asher's face, and she knew she couldn't reject him, so she nodded.
A few minutes later, Camille and Cleo were in the car. Asher didn't want to drive Cleo to the exam venue, but her mother pleaded with him.
He could only accept because of her as she was a good employee.
Cleo was seated in the back seat, while Asher sat in the driver's seat, and Camille took the passenger's seat.
The atmosphere in the car was oppressive, not to Camille, but to Cleo who felt horrible.
Glaring at Camille, she thought to herself, 'that spot should have mine.'
Her hands clenched around the seat belt, as she breathed heavily.
Asher noticed, but he didn't pay attention to her. Instead, he repeatedly asked Camille if she was comfortable.
The more he fussed over Camille, the more Cleo got frustrated, and he smiled because that is what he aimed at.
"That's enough, I'm okay, I'm well prepared, and I believe in my capabilities," Camille snapped, causing Asher to clamp his mouth shut.
Camille didn't realize what was going on, but she couldn't stand him repeating his questions. It was safe to say she wasn't used to it.