Chapter 1866 Two Timing


    By theke, after the rain, Cecilia and Nathaniel arrived first, discovering a quaint little pavilion nestled among the trees.


    Nathaniel stood still, eyes drifting over the familiarndscape. After a moment, he murmured, "I''ve been here with you before."


    Cecilia blinked in confusion. "With me? Are you sure?"


    "You don''t remember?" Nathaniel turned to her, his voice soft butced with quiet disappointment.


    She hesitated, unsure of how to respond. Maybe it wasn''t that she''d forgotten- maybe the memories had simply blurred together.


    After all, he looked so much like Nichs. Sometimes, she wasn''t sure which face belonged to which memory.


    Nathaniel must''ve sensed her uncertainty. He gave a short, wryugh. "There was that one time-you got into a fight with a ssmate. Ended up crying your eyes out. We crossed paths, and you ran straight into my arms, sobbing about being bullied. I beat the guy up and made sure he got transferred to another school."


    The memory, once vague, slowly came into focus. "Oh... That was you," Cecilia said.


    "No wonder she''d thought Nichs was acting strange that day.


    He had always been gentle-soft-spoken, steady. But that time, he''d snapped at her. "Why are you crying? How useless. If someone bullies you, fight back."


    Cecilia hadn''t questioned it then, brushing it off as his bad mood. She hadn''t realized it wasn''t Nichs at all. It had been someone else entirely.


    Then, she had stubbornly dragged Nathaniel to this ce.


    Back then, Nathaniel had leaned against arge tree, arms crossed, his posture brimming with impatience. He watched her cry, eyes sharp with disdain. Not once did he reach out tofort her.


    "If you keep crying, I''m leaving," he''d said coldly. "What a godforsaken ce. There''s not even a single soul around. I didn''te here to stand around like an idiot."


    Cecilia had cried harder at that. She was certain he would walk away. But he didn''t. Despite the harsh words, Nathaniel stayed. He stood there, grumbling under his breath, waiting until the sun dipped low behind the hills. Then, without a word, he walked her home.


    Cecilia snapped out of her reverie and returned to reality. When she looked at Nathaniel again, she found herself at a loss for words.


    "If that''s the case," she said quietly, "the person I liked as a child might not have been Nichs after all."


    A pang of jealousy hit Nathaniel. "So you liked both of us? That''s pretty low, you know. That''s called two-timing."


    Cecilia burst outughing. "I was a kid! How can that count as two-timing?"


    At that age, she probably didn''t even understand what love meant. It was more likely blind admiration for both Nathaniel and Nichs.


    After all, they were strong. And they had helped her.


    The two of them were caught up in their conversation,ughing and chatting,pletely unaware of Nichs'' arrival.


    From a distance, Nichs stepped out of the car and spotted them. He paused, watching as Cecilia and


    didn''t move forward.


    A taxi pulled up behind him.


    Nichs turned around, surprised to


    see Jocelyn stepping out, an


    umbre in hand-and another


    tucked under her arm. She hurried


    over to him. "Mr. Nichs, you


    forgot your umbre."


    He blinked at the sight of it, caught off guard. "There''s already one in the car. You


    didn''t need to bring it all the way here."


    Jocelyn''s hand, mid-gesture, faltered and froze in the air.


    Only then did it hit her-how absent-minded she''d been. How could I forget there


    is already one in the car?


    "Sorry, I forgot," she murmured.


    She looked away as she spoke, and that was when she noticed Cecilia and Nathaniel,ughing together in the nearby pavilion.


    Her gaze dropped quickly, and she said, "I should head back to the office now." Nichs nodded. "Okay."


    He took an umbre and started walking toward the pavilion.


    Jocelyn stood there for a moment, watching his figure retreat. Then, without a word, she turned back toward the taxi.


    The car had barely gone a short distance when she told the driver to pull over. She got out-and without really thinking, began walking in the same direction Nichs had gone.