Hey, Anna!

After securing their entrance tickets, Camellia and Lenny were asked to join a group of tourists to complete the ten people per entry. Without making a fuss, both of them mingled with the tourist and boarded a minivan towards the residence. The short ride ended unnoticed and finally, they reached the real entrance of the Willow Residence.

Camellia was quite impressed. The tour was actually better than she had expected. Somehow, there were a lot of things that the tour guide could talk about. From the rarity of flowers to the bizarre architecture designs. The residence was indeed a place to feast the eyes!

'This is indeed an opportunity. No wonder the Cains' greed could match the top of Mount Everest, they have the brain to make money,'

Camellia sneered internally. The Cains, she would get to them one by one!

The whole tour lasted for an hour. Finally, the tourists were allowed to explore on their own. So, Camellia especially became Lenny's personal guide, answering her every question about everything.

"Hey, how does it feel to come back after thirteen years?" Lenny elbowed Camellia's hand as her eyes stared at her, almost smiling. There were just walking out of the greenhouse.

Camellia chuckled and responded in a cool, calm manner. A contrast to the literal meaning she was about to say. "- kinda suffocating,"

Lenny's normal expression changed to incredulity when she heard Camellia's respond. She was trying to understand the meaning behind the two words she casually mentioned.

Did she mean it literally? Or did today's visit made the old wound to bleed again?

"These people are suffocating me. I wonder how the Cains live in this kind of hullabaloo," Camellia said as they walked past a group of tourists making a fuss over which spots granted them a good background for a group photo.

"Jeez, and here I thought you were sulking," Lenny scoffed while at the same time gave a gentle slap on Camellia's shoulder. Camellia simply laughed after looking at the dissatisfaction on her face.

"Hey, that's you!" Lenny suddenly shouted with a gape of the jaws as her finger was pointing to an archway full of Camellia's flowers. There was astonishment in her eyes as she kept pointing to the direction while looking at Camellia. Clearly, she found it amusing. She excitedly ran on the pathway and urged Camellia to tag along.

"That's the direction to the gazebo," Camellia muttered. A surge of longing invaded her heart as Zen came to her mind. This was the place they often spent their time together. This was also the place where she had an important talk with him related to her father.

'Huh!' she released a heavy sigh and calmed her emotion. From the distance, she could see Lenny was talking to someone. Instantly, her eyes fixed on the figure walking beside her best friend. She was wearing a tight black dress with a file on her right hand.

Camellia could feel her body tightened as her palm which curled to a fist began to sweat. Her nostrils flared.

"Camey, hey! Boo!" Camellia was startled at the interruption. She looked around and noticed that Lenny and that person were already standing in front of her.

"Hey," she responded. Unknown to her, the voice came out as crude.

"What's wrong?" Lenny asked with a frown on her face. The person beside her was also looking at Camellia, wondering what triggered her anger.

"Ahh, nothing!" Camellia cough several times. Just now, she was caught in the moment and failed to contain the boiling emotion inside her.

Camellia distinctively looked at the familiar woman standing next to Lenny. Perhaps the woman noticed her glaring eyes that an awkward smile was formed on her face.

"Hey Camey, this is Anna, Ivy's personal assistant. Anna, this is Camellia," Lenny played mediator. She hadn't noticed the malice that hid behind Camellia's brown eyes. She enthusiastically explained how she accidentally stumbled across Ivy's shoot inside the camellia's garden.

"You meet Ivy? Ivy Cain?" Camellia had one brow lifted. She looked at Lenny with firm eyes.

"Uhuh, this is Anna. Ivy's personal assistant," Lenny explained but her face showed that she had sensed something was wrong with her best friend.

"Of course! Where's my manner. Miss Anna, I'm Camellia," Camellia wore a smile on her face as her right hand was out for a handshake.

"Miss Camellia, it's a pleasure to meet you. Miss Ivy has invited the two of you for a tea at the gazebo," Anna received the handshake with another awkward smile on her face. She began to think that Camellia actually didn't like her.

"What do you think?" Lenny took a step back and sent a wink to Camellia. Purposely doing it out of Anna's sight.

"Why not?" Camellia had a meaningful smile on her face as she stared at Lenny whose face was screaming a big question mark.

"This way. Miss Ivy is waiting," Anna was walking in front, leaving the two best friends jabbing and elbowing each other. One was trying to get the gist of what was happening while the other simply shrugged it off.

'You'll know,' Camellia whispered to Lenny's ear, leaving the bewildered woman in dismay.

"Miss Anna," Camellia matched Anna's footsteps, startling the woman who was trying to walk fast in high heel.

"Yes, Miss Camellia," Anna answered as she swept over the nice figure of the woman beside her.

"I wonder if you know who I am?" Camellia asked. Lenny who was lagging behind almost stumbled upon listening to her friend.

What did she mean by that? Was she gloating?

"Miss Camellia, of course, I know who you are," the way the sentence was voiced out was similar to a sarcasm. There was a slight smile on Camellia's face. It seemed that Anna had misunderstood her question.

"Miss Anna, I was talking about something else. Did you know that I was raised in an orphanage? It was called The Caring Orphanage. Did that sound familiar to you?" Camellia clarified. She noticed that Anna had slowed down.

"I've heard of it. The late grandmaster actually donated a large sum of money to it. Why?" Anna innocently asked. However, Lenny who was behind beginning to see the bigger picture. That her friend was up to something!

"Oh, I was actually raised in that orphanage before I entered the Glory Institution," Camellia revealed with laughter. She spoke as if she was simply reminiscing her childhood memories. Anna, however, began to have a creased forehead. She was wondering why Camellia was telling her childhood stories. Not that she wasn't interested.

Lenny who was walking next to Camellia was also confused. Her pace dropped and once again, she was left behind. She spent quite some time trying to decipher her best friend's real intention.

Camellia let out a chuckle. "I came to visit today because I thought I could meet my friend, Ava. I haven't heard from her for so long. Well, we used to talk to each other. Sadly, thirteen years ago, we lost contact," she sighed full of regret.

"Miss Anna, is she still here? I hope I can see her. These past few days, I kept thinking about her. She was actually like a sister to me when we were at the orphanage," her brown eyes loomed over Anna's face. There was remorse in it to amplify the emotion in the words spoken before.

Anna, however, had her eyes opened wide. She was clearly shocked as she remained statued for a while.

"Miss Anna? Are you okay?" Lenny who caught up to them immediately asked. She was listening to their exchanges earlier and finally understood the scene her best friend was staging.

"Y-Yes. I'm okay," Anna quickly replied.

"So?" Camellia once again put the nervous woman on the spot.

"I-I'm sorry but it's better for Miss Camellia not to ask about Young Miss Ava. She was a catastrophe," Anna stammered at the beginning but gradually her voice became cold. Camellia also saw the twitch in her face. Anna was now walking in a fast manner, trying to shake her off.

'As if I'll let you go!' Camellia could feel her heartburn in anger when she heard Anna mentioned the word catastrophe.

"Haha, she is indeed a catastrophe, always making others want to argue with her. Actually, I know that you're her personal maid while she was here? I remembered her saying your name once. That's why I was so startled when Lenny introduced us just now," Camellia poached again. Creating a ripple to Anna's almost composed heart.

"M-Miss Camellia, w-what are you t-talking about?" Anna looked shocked. Her voice was now shaking uncontrollably.

"Just asking, is it true?" Camellia had a sweet smile on her face. But to Anna the smile only made her anxiety increased.