Chapter 336
Chapter 336:
“We could start small,” he suggested. “Dinner out. A weekend away. Small steps back toward normal.”
“Normal,” Camille repeated, the word feeling foreign on her tongue. “I’m not sure I remember what that feels like.”
“Neither do I.” Alexander smiled slightly. “Maybe we create a new normal. One that acknowledges the danger but doesn’t give it power over everything.”
A log shifted in the fire, sending up a shower of sparks that momentarily illuminated the trees around them. In that brief flash, Camille caught sight of a security guard moving between the shadows, a reminder that danger still lurked at the edges of this peaceful scene.
Yet somehow, that knowledge didn’t destroy the moment. The guard was there to protect, not threaten. The danger was acknowledged but contained. For this one evening, they had carved out a space where fear didn’t rule.
“I’d like to try,” Camille said finally. “To find that new normal.”
Alexander squeezed her hand, understanding all she wasn’t saying. “One day at a time.”
They sat together as the fire burned lower, the lake water lapping gently at the shore before them. Stars appeared overhead, countless points of light in the vast darkness. The night air cooled, carrying the scent of pine and wood smoke. For the first time in weeks, Camille felt something close to peace—not the absence of danger, but the presence of hope despite it. Victoria was recovering. The Foundation was rebuilding. And here, in this moment, she had allowed herself to simply be, without constant fear shadowing every thought.
It wouldn’t last, of course. Tomorrow would bring a return to heightened vigilance, to security protocols, to the knowledge that Rose was still out there somewhere, planning her next move. But for tonight, at least, Camille had reclaimed a small piece of herself from the fear that had ruled her life for too long.
As the fire died to embers and the night deepened around them, Camille rested her head on Alexander’s shoulder, allowing herself this moment of normal in a life that had been anything but.
The morning sun sparkled on the lake as Camille prepared to leave. The overnight stay had been a brief but necessary escape from the constant pressure of the past months. Victoria stood on the deck, waving as Camille loaded her bag into the car.
“Come back next weekend,” she called. “Bring Alexander next time. Civilized company out here.”
Camille smiled, knowing Victoria was far from lonely with her staff and team in constant attendance. “I’ll call you tonight,” she promised.
Alexander had left early that morning, called back to the city for an urgent meeting with the FBI. He’d wanted to postpone his return until he could travel with Camille, but she had insisted she would be fine with her security detail. “Four weeks without a sign of Rose,” she had reminded him. “And I’ll have two cars of security personnel. Go handle the FBI.”
Now, as her driver, James, held the door open for her, Camille felt a flicker of unease. The peaceful night at the lake had lowered her guard slightly—a dangerous thing when Rose might still be out there, waiting.
Their security detail followed the same protocol as always—one car ahead, one behind, maintaining constant radio contact. Camille sat in the back, watching the trees pass by her window. The rural landscape was beautiful, so different from the city she had grown accustomed to.
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