Chapter 236
“Nell, why are you hitting the books so hard?”
“Because that’s the only way to land a good job. Then I can earn enough to repay you for your kindness.”
“You really don’t need to work that hard. I could take care of you forever, you know.”
The maid almost dropped the porcelain she was holding in shock. She couldn’t believe Mr. Dawson was laying it on thick with Nellie. His attentions felt forced, almost mechanical.
Luckily, Nellie was too innocent to notice Cameron’s hidden agendas. She chirped back, “Cameron, I’ll cherish your kindness forever. But spoiling me like this isn’t truly good for me; it could actually harm me. I might get lazy, waste my best years, and end up drifting through life without purpose.”
Cameron rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He was surrounded by women who tried to please him, playing the role of
rtuous saints who claimed to be uninterested in money.
Nellie, who came from nothing, should have been just as ordinary. So, he figured her independence had to be an act.
Cameron’s patience with Nellie was wearing thin. He laid his cards on the table. “Nellie, an old friend saw your photo and thinks you might be her long–lost sister. She wants to meet you.”
Nellie shot to her feet, her face as white as a sheet. If Cameron had been paying closer attention, he would have noticed her trembling. Nellie’s voice shook as she spoke, “Cameron, she must be mistaken. I’m an only child…”
Cameron frowned, clearly irritated.
Nellie’s fibs got under his skin. He chalked it up to the so–called flaws of the working class. He refused to dive into the sadness behind her deceit.
“Cameron, I’ve got something to do. I need to go,” Nellie said, making a quick exit.
She thought she’d made her refusal clear enough to dodge whatever fate had in store. But, ever persistent, Cameron slammed the door shut on her path to freedom. The next day, he went as far as bringing Greta home.
The dream came to a screeching halt.
Cameron woke up suddenly, bathed in cold sweat. For what felt like ages, his mind was completely blank.
When he finally came to, shame burned through him like wildfire.
How had he been so full of himself before?
Back then, all he noticed was Nellie’s attempts to win his favor, so he lumped her in with the other women who fawned over him. She annoyed him at every turn.
But now, in the dream, he saw it all from a distance. He realized he was ridiculously arrogant and that Nellie’s initial kindness wasn’t because she had feelings for him or wanted more from him. She just wanted to trade her hard work for the education he had offered.
The meager tuition he provided, for which she toiled endlessly, doing more than the paid maids. It turns out that during her years with the Dawson family, she was the one who got the short end of the stick.
Cameron buried his face in his hands, overwhelmed by shame.
He let out a heavy sigh.
The young and naive Nellie had just wanted to study, to stand on her own two feet. She earned her education through sheer hard work. Her dreams were modest, but what about him?
He had casually suggested an average private school to her and gone through elaborate schemes to introduce her to Greta and Patrick, all for his own gain.
The simple things she wanted were so few, yet because of him, she lost so much.
