Chapter 9

Shortly after Camille left, Ansel got up to prepare for his own departure. He needed to retrieve his soul and return home.

Once he walked out that door, he would never come back.

However, the moment he opened the bedroom door, he found Stellan standing outside with a group of bodyguards, blocking his way.

Stellan's expression was sinister, and his gaze was chilling to the extreme.

"Ansel Wells, did you save a girl who fell into the ocean ten years ago?"

"How did you know that?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Ansel regretted them. Even after three years, he still hadn't learned to keep things to himself the way humans did.

The first time he surfaced hadn't been when he was 18 years old, but when he was 11. Back then, he'd encountered a young girl who had fallen off a ship's deck.

He was the one who pulled her to shore, and when he realized she was unconscious, he'd performed CPR and kept singing softly into her ear.

Later, when he saw people approaching from the shore and heard her cough up water, he quickly dove back into the sea.

As it turned out, the young girl had been Camille.

The malice in Stellan's eyes deepened. He glanced up at the security camera mounted on the ceiling.

"Good thing I just installed that camera. While you were unconscious, you kept humming that same little song—the exact same tune Camille's been obsessed with for years. Luckily, she was asleep and didn't hear it. So, it was you all along!"

Ansel finally realized what had happened. "Camille thinks you're the one who saved her?"

No wonder she always watched videos of Stellan singing whenever she pleasured herself. No wonder she always obeyed him without question the moment he asked for something.

Come to think of it, Stellan's voice did sound somewhat similar to his own voice from back then.

As the bodyguards closed in, Ansel backed away step by step.

"I was already planning to leave. I'm never coming back, so your secret will be safe."

No. Once he was gone, he'd find a way to tell Camille the truth. They deserved to experience the same suffering they'd inflicted on him.

Unfortunately, Ansel was still an awkward, unconvincing liar.

"I only trust myself," Stellan said, shaking his head. "And I believe that only dead people can keep secrets. Oh, wait. You're not a person. You're just a fish."

He turned to his bodyguards. "Have your fun with him. Once you're done, destroy the security footage and burn this place to the ground. Make sure that fish ends up dead!"

Seeing Ansel get pinned down by the bodyguards, Stellan smirked and turned to leave.

"Camille's still waiting for me to pick out her wedding dress. Goodbye forever, Mr. Wells."

…

After Camille and Stellan finished choosing their wedding attire, she went with him to buy a whole host of other things. She swiped her black card over and over again without the slightest hint of annoyance.

She'd originally intended to visit Ansel that night. She'd promised to see him and had even prepared a surprise gift for him.

In the past, she hadn't understood her own feelings. But from now on, aside from giving him a marriage, whatever Stellan got, Ansel would have, too.

Stellan, however, wrapped his arms around her from behind, not letting her leave.

"I don't want you to leave tonight, Camille. Can't you just stay with me?"

His voice was soft and tender, just like it had been in her memories of that night, and she caved instantly.

She knew that Ansel was hopelessly in love with her anyway, so he wasn't going anywhere.

If she didn't go to see him today, she could always go tomorrow. They had countless tomorrows ahead of them.

Camille wrapped her arms around Stellan. Just as she rose onto her tiptoes and was about to kiss him, the butler rushed in, panic written all over his face.

"Ms. Ellery! Something terrible has happened! The mansion caught fire, and Mr. Wells… Mr. Wells, he…"