Never Forgive Never Forget (Celeste and Philip) novel Chapter 166

He wanted to refute Viola's words. His lips parted, searching for an argument to defend Celeste, but nothing came to mind.

Could it be true? Had she really fallen for someone else?

…

In the car.

Celeste turned to Claud, her voice apologetic.

"I'm sorry. I should've handled my personal matters better. I didn't mean for you to get caught up in that mess."

Claud shrugged it off, easing his foot off the gas and slowing the car a little. A faint smile played at his lips.

"If it's personal, I won't pry. Besides, you're Alfred's wife. I'm sure when he gets back, he'll sort things out for you. I'm not worried you can't handle it—I'm just relieved you weren't frightened earlier."

What he didn't dare say out loud was that if Celeste had been upset, Alfred would've made him pay for it.

He kept that thought to himself. The way those two acted around each other—like a pair of shy, not-quite-official lovers—made him feel like an outsider who ought to keep his mouth shut.

Celeste was a little taken aback.

She hadn't realized Claud and Alfred were so close. Alfred, who always seemed so cold and mechanical at work, almost like some kind of automaton—he actually had a friend like Claud? Someone gentle, someone who trusted him so easily?

She thought back to her time with Philip. He'd never really trusted anyone, let alone had a friend he could rely on.

Lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed Claud's next question.

"You look tired. I can handle the kiln firing if you want to head home and rest."

She shook her head.

"No, I'd like to go back to the studio and get a bit more work done."

"In that case, back to the studio it is." Claud smiled, completely respecting her wishes.

They returned to the studio. The kiln would take a long while yet.

Celeste slipped on her apron and rolled up her sleeves, settling in at her workbench with a fresh lump of clay.

Before long, a small bowl began to take shape under her careful hands.

"Get ready for your surprise."

No sooner had he hit send than Celeste wiped the sweat from her brow with her forearm and asked,

"Claud, do you think this bowl's big enough for the cat to drink water from?"

Wait—what?

It wasn't a gift for Alfred at all. It was a giant water bowl for her cat!

Claud hastily deleted the photo and message, only to realize too late that the message had already been marked as read.

"Y-yeah, it's definitely big enough," he stammered, silently praying Alfred hadn't seen his blunder.

But on the other end of the line, Alfred had already saved the photo in a flash, his thumb tracing the gentle expression on Celeste's face through the screen.

For the first time, he realized just how torturous business trips could be.

If he could, he'd give anything to watch Celeste create something with her own hands, right there by her side.