Chapter 170

Tristan actually knew where the bakery was.

After Camille left, he didn't go there immediately.

He got into his car, hesitated, then dialed a number. "Arlo, I'm back. Got another flight later, but I want to see Selene at the hospital before I leave. Check if Damien's free. If not, come with me."

Arlo sounded shocked. "You're back? When did you arrive?"

Tristan ignored the question. "Call Selene first. See if she's available."

Arlo almost asked why Tristan wasn't calling Damien or Selene himself, but stopped. Tristan must be in a hurry.

Since he hadn't visited Selene either, he agreed without further questions. Damien wasn't available. After hanging up, Tristan bought flowers and a fruit basket before heading to the hospital to meet Arlo.

Inside the hospital room, Selene smiled when she saw Tristan. "What brings you back so suddenly?"

"Had some business to handle," Tristan replied coolly.

Selene looked down, fingers brushing the petals of the flowers he'd brought. "I see..."

Was it really just business? Or had he come specifically to see her?

He hadn't rushed back immediately after her injury, but the fact that he came as soon as he could still meant something.

That night, Camille stayed at the Hartwell residence.

She woke early the next morning. The healthy plants on her windowsill caught her eye as she stretched lazily, feeling unusually cheerful.

Downstairs, Talia was already preparing breakfast for her, Noah, and Isaac.

"You're in good spirits today," Talia observed with a smile when Camille entered the kitchen.

Camille helped knead the dough. "Yeah, feeling great."

Freshly steamed buns were soon ready. Just as she sat down to eat, her phone rang.

Chloe again.

She ignored it. The phone rang once more.

Camille turned it off completely and focused on her meal.

When her calls stopped going through, Chloe pouted and went to find Damien in the master bedroom.

Damien had just finished his morning run and was about to shower when he saw her sulking. "What's wrong?"

"I called Mom yesterday wanting her to come home and cook for me, but she didn't answer. Just tried twice more and still nothing. Then it said her number was unavailable."

"Probably turned her phone off," Damien said.

Chloe frowned. "Battery dead?"

Damien neither confirmed nor denied. "Maybe."

"What do I do? I wanted to go skiing today. Mom promised she'd take me if she had time."

Originally, she hadn't felt like going because Selene was injured and she wanted to stay at the hospital.

But hospitals were full of germs, and everyone discouraged frequent visits. Now that Selene was improving, she wasn't as worried.

With free time and no one to go with, she naturally thought of her mother. But her mother wasn't answering.

"Try again later. She'll probably turn it back on."

Chloe sighed. "Okay..."

Camille didn't plan to keep her phone off all day. She still needed to discuss things with Gabriel.

And Lucas might contact her later too.

About thirty minutes later, she turned her phone back on.

Almost immediately, Chloe called again.

Camille opened her laptop, ignored the call, and continued working on her research paper.

Seeing her mother still wasn't answering and Damien was about to leave, Chloe said, "Dad, Mom still isn't picking up. Will you call her for me?"