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Chapter 4 Sure Enough, Women Can't Be Spoiled

Last night, Leopold got totally wasted, and in the middle of the night, Oliver was blowing up his phone to keep the party going.

By the time Leopold got back to the villa, the sun was already peeking over the horizon.

He crashed onto the bed, dead tired, but still dragged himself to take a shower.

Half-asleep, he thought, 'Camilla better not chew me out for this.'

When he woke up again, it was the pain that yanked him out of sleep.

Clutching his stomach, he rolled out of bed.

"Ugh, my stomach! Camilla!"

He stopped himself mid-sentence.

Leopold frowned, thinking she was really something, even more of a handful than last time.

'Fine, let's see how long she can keep this up. But where's the damn medicine?'

He tore through the living room, checking every cabinet, but the spare medicine box was nowhere to be found.

He called Mira.

"You mean the stomach meds? They're in the medicine box."

Leopold's head was pounding, and he took a deep breath, "Where's the medicine box?"

"In the drawer of the bedroom closet. Ms. Learmond said you always have stomach issues after drinking too much, so she put the meds in the bedroom for easy access..."

"Hello? Hello? Why'd you hang up?"

Leopold went to the closet and, sure enough, found the medicine box in the drawer.

It was packed with his usual stomach meds, five whole boxes.

After popping some pills, the pain eased, and he started to relax.

As he pushed the drawer shut, something caught his eye.

Jewelry, luxury bags, all there, but all of Camilla's documents, including her passport, degree certificate, and diploma, were gone.

He glanced at the corner where the suitcases were stacked. One was missing.

Leopold stood there, fuming.

"Great! Just great!"

He nodded to himself, thinking, 'Spoil a woman, and she’ll just get worse.'

Just then, he heard the door open downstairs and rushed down.

"Why is it you?"

Clara was kicking off her shoes, looking a bit surprised, "Who else would it be?"

Leopold plopped down on the sofa, uninterested, "What are you doing here? Something up?"

"Mira said your stomach was acting up? I'm here on Mom's orders to check on you, dear."

Clara headed to the kitchen, "I haven't had lunch yet, so I thought I'd come over for a meal."

One reason she liked Camilla was that her cooking was top-notch.

But half a minute later...

"Leopold! Where's the food? Where's Camilla? Isn't she home today? That's weird."

Usually, by this time, Camilla would have already whipped up a meal, waiting for Leopold to come down and eat, and if Clara was here, she’d get some, too.

Camilla, Camilla, always Camilla!

Leopold rubbed his temples, not in the mood to deal with Clara.

Clara came out of the kitchen looking bummed, "Is Camilla not feeling well? I saw her at the hospital yesterday, and she didn't look good."

"You saw her at the hospital?" Leopold sat up straighter, suddenly alert.

"Yeah, I went to Tranquil Hospital to visit Professor Garcia yesterday and ran into Camilla at the entrance of the inpatient building. Oh, and Professor Garcia agreed to give me a spot for direct PhD admission!"

Leopold frowned, "Why was Camilla at the hospital?"

"You're asking me? If you don't know, how would I?"

Leopold stayed silent.

"Maybe she wasn't sick? Just visiting someone? But I haven't heard of Camilla having any friends, her life pretty much revolves around you."

"You done yet?"

"Then hurry up and scram, I'm still half-asleep." Leopold got up.

"You really wanna kick me out, huh? Fine, I'm outta here." Clara huffed, putting her shoes back on. "Oh, by the way, I got a task for you."

Leopold didn't care and headed straight upstairs.

"Tomorrow at 2 PM, Urban Harvest Diner. Mom set you up on a blind date, don't be late!"

"You're so annoying."

Clara stuck her tongue out at his back and left.

She was used to these setups; being with Camilla didn't stop him from finding a suitable match for a marriage alliance.

Over the years, Leopold had been on countless blind dates.

Most of the time, it was just to keep Elodie off his back.

After shooing Clara away, Leopold went to his study to handle some company stuff.

Back in the day, to get out from under his family's thumb, he started his own business.

The first three years were brutal, and he refused any help from his family, with only Camilla by his side.

It was only in the last two years that he finally made a name for himself, with his own company, shedding the labels of "rich kid" and "playboy."

Now, his family had softened up and started reaching out to him.

This was clear from their initial strong opposition to him being with Camilla to their current silent approval.

By the time he finished his work, the sun had already set.

The city lights were flickering on outside the window.

Leopold finally felt his stomach growling.

He pulled out his phone and called Amara, "What are you up to?"

There was a ringtone, and then Amara whispered, "Baby, I'm sorry, I'm in class. I'll come see you after?"

That "baby" made Leopold cringe, "Okay, you go ahead."

He hung up and tossed the phone aside.

Half a minute later, someone called, but Leopold ignored it and kept working.

When his stomach started protesting, he had to leave the study.

He set up dinner with Oliver and his crew, changed his clothes, and got ready to head out.

Amara, sitting by the door, heard the noise, stood up suddenly, turned around, and smiled shyly.

"Amara?"

"Sorry, I knocked, but you probably didn't hear, so I had to wait here." Amara glanced at the suit jacket draped over Leopold's arm, "Are you going out?"

Leopold didn't answer, just frowned and asked, "How'd you find this place?"

Amara looked a bit guilty, "I asked your friend."

"Oliver?"

"No, Simon."

Leopold sighed, "Come in first."

Amara's face lit up with a smile again, and she bounced in, looking around and complaining, "You didn't answer my calls after hanging up, I was worried sick."

Leopold, "Weren't you supposed to be in class?"

"I skipped. You are more important."

Camilla would never do that.

When he was chasing Camilla, she was just a freshman with a packed schedule, and she never skipped class for him.

Later, when they were together, and with fewer classes in her senior year, Camilla gradually made time to be with him.

"Baby, you haven't eaten yet, right?"

"Do you know how to make stomach-soothing porridge?" Leopold asked impulsively.

"Stomach-soothing porridge?"

"Yeah."

"No, but I can learn."

Declining Amara's hint to stay the night, Leopold ate the takeout she brought and then drove her back to school.

Then he went to find Oliver.

While waiting at a red light, he glanced at his phone, remembering Clara mentioning seeing Camilla at the hospital.

Even though they had broken up, after so many years, there were still feelings.

Even as just friends, he should show some concern.

He opened Facebook and sent a message: [You sick?]

However, the message couldn't be sent; he had been blocked.

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