Chapter 423

The night Camille returned home, little Chloe was already fast asleep in her bedroom.

After a quick shower, Camille slipped under the covers. Almost immediately, Chloe instinctively curled into her arms, murmuring drowsily, "Mommy...you're back?"

"Mm, go back to sleep, sweetheart."

No response came.

Camille glanced down to find her daughter already deep in slumber once more.

The following morning, Gabriel left early for a crucial business meeting while Camille headed to Harrington Group with her team of engineers.

The morning was spent in intense technical discussions with the R&D team.

As the meeting drew to a close, Camille turned and noticed Damien standing nearby, listening intently to her explanation.

She hesitated for just a second before continuing, addressing the group, "Actually, there are several excellent academic papers on this exact subject. Would you like me to recommend them?"

"Absolutely, Ms. Hartwell."

Camille proceeded to list the titles and authors of the relevant publications.

When she turned to retrieve her notes, her eyes accidentally met Selene's.

Damien noticed Selene's arrival and approached. "When did you get here?"

Camille averted her gaze.

Selene glanced briefly at Camille before smiling faintly. "Just now."

In truth, she'd been standing there for several minutes.

She'd arrived just in time to see Damien standing with his team, completely engrossed in Camille's technical explanation.

Though she couldn't see his face clearly from her angle, the admiration in his gaze as he watched Camille speak was unmistakable.

The realization made Selene's smile falter slightly.

Never before had she seen Damien look at Camille with that particular expression.

But it probably meant nothing.

That afternoon, Selene returned to Harrington Group on business.

She went straight to Damien's office, only to find it empty.

As she moved to sit down, her attention was drawn to several technical journals on his desk.

Curious, she picked one up and flipped through it, stopping at a marked article. Her breath caught when she recognized the title - it was one of the papers Camille had recommended that morning.

Remembering how Damien had stood so attentively beside Camille earlier, Selene's lips pressed into a thin line.

An idea occurred to her. She set the first journal down and quickly checked two others.

Both contained marked articles - all recommendations from Camille's morning presentation.

And she recognized Damien's distinctive annotation style immediately.

The office door suddenly swung open.

Startled, Selene looked up to meet Caleb's surprised gaze.

He recovered quickly. "Ms. Lancaster? Mr. Harrington's still in his meeting. It should wrap up in about thirty—"

"I understand," Selene interrupted.

Caleb noticed the journal in her hands. "Ah, those are the publications the boss had me rush out to purchase this morning. Are you interested in them too?"

"He had you buy these...today?"

"Yes, first thing this morning."

Selene lowered her gaze at this revelation.

Caleb, needing to retrieve some documents, missed her reaction. "I should get going—"

"Of course. Don't mind me."

"I'll have coffee brought in for you." With that, Caleb hurried out.

Selene carefully replaced the journal and moved to the sofa.

Though Caleb had said the meeting would last another half hour, Damien returned just minutes later.

Selene smiled. "You're back early?"

Damien replied, "Caleb mentioned you were waiting. The important matters were already concluded."

As he spoke, his gaze flickered briefly toward the journals on his desk before he took a seat beside Selene.

She noticed the momentary distraction, and her smile dimmed slightly.

For a fleeting moment, she'd thought he'd rushed back for her sake alone. Now she wasn't so sure.