Chapter 272

Chapter 272
After setting off the fireworks , Celeste and Jamie bid farewell to the family elders and headed out .
Their destination was the Baumond Broadcast Tower , one the best places to take in the city’s nightscape .
The night before the Ember Festival , it would also feature stunning light show and other festivities .
As they arrived at the broadcast tower , a crowd had already gathered .
The air buzzed with laughter and excitement .
The light show hadn’t started yet .
Hector and a few of his classmates had made plans to celelite the Ember Festival at the tower .
Not long after they arrived , he found his friends and joined them .
When they saw Celeste and Jamie , Hector’s classmates politely greeted them . But soon , they couldn’t help sneaking glances at Celeste and whispering to Hector , “ Your cousin is beautiful – like , really beautiful ! ”
Hector grinned . “ Obviously !
The group was swept up in the festive energy . They goofed around , taking photos and recording videos .
Celeste and Jamie stayed back , letting them enjoy themselves .
Just then , Celeste’s phone buzzed .
It was a text from Beck . “ Will you be at the broadcast tower for the light show tonight ? ”
Celeste was a little confused . Still , she replied , “ I’m already here . Why ? ”
Beck responded almost right away , “ Shanice and I are on our way as well . ”
Upon reading the text , Celeste paused for a second . “ I see . ”
What a coincidence .
Beck left the conversation at that .
Not long after , the light show started .
Celeste watched in awe , completely absorbed – until a familiar voice rang out . “ Ms. Celeste ! ”
She turned and , sure enough , spotted Beck and Shanice .
The moment Shanice saw her looking , she beamed with excitement , stretching out her arms .
Celeste pulled Jamie along as they wove through the crowd toward Shanice and Beck . When they reached them , she scooped Shanice into her arms .
Shanice wrapped her arms around Celeste’s neck , eyes glued to the light show , shrieking in delight . “ Ms. Celeste , Jook ! ”
Celeste chuckled . “ I see it . ”
The festive energy was contagious , and she found herself smiling the entire time .
Beck watched her , then , worried she might get tired from holding Shanice for too long , gently took the little girl back . “ Where’s Hector ? Didn’t he come with you ? ”
“ He did , he’s over there . ”
Celeste gestured toward Hector and his group , who hadn’t wandered far
Just as she was about to turn away , she caught sight of three familiar figures .
Her smile disappeared .
It was Harvey , Lilian , and Calvin
She wasn’t sure what they were saying , but Harvey tousled Calvin’s hair with a warm , affectionate gesture . The three of them stood close , looking every bit like a happy , loving family
Celeste’s expression changed in an instant .
And Beck noticed it immediately .
He followed Celeste’s gaze and noticed Harvey and the others .
Before he could look away , Calvin spotted them too .
Seeing familiar faces on a festive night like this , Calvin lit up with excitement . He waved eagerly and called out , Beck ! ”
At his voice , Harvey and Lilian turned .
Their expressions warmed when they saw Beck .
But as soon as their eyes landed on Celeste , the warmth drained from their expressions .
Especially Lilian .
Her brows knitted almost right away upon seeing Celeste standing beside Beck .
Since they had already run into each other , it would be rude to ignore them completely .
Beck hesitated for a moment and turned to Celeste . “ I’ll go say hello . ”
Celeste’s response was flat . “ Go ahead . ”
Beck gave her another glance before carrying Shanice toward them .
Jamie had noticed the shift in Celeste’s demeanor as well .
She wasn’t entirely sure what had happened to Celeste in the past , and Harvey was little more than a vague figure . in her memory .
However , the way Celeste’s expression cooled in an instant Jamie’s sharp intuition told her exactly who Harvey and Lilian were .
A pang clenched in her chest . Jamie grasped Celeste’s hand and asked , “ Maybe we should go ? ”
Celeste didn’t want to ruin their Ember Festival .
Thus , she shook her head . “ I’m fine . ”
Her mood shift had nothing to do with lingering feelings for Harvey .
It was just … Seeing him with Lilian brought back thoughts of her mother .
Especially tonight .
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Chapter 272
Why did they get to enjoy Ember Festival together happily while her mother-
Oh , right . Not just the three of them . They were a family of four .
Wynn was probably off on a date with Trevor ,
They had destroyed her mother’s life , yet their family of four kept thriving . What a cruel joke .
Jamie squeezed Celeste’s hand but said nothing .
She had known their family wasn’t like others .
For them , holidays weren’t a time of celebration – they were a time of grief .
Visiting Isabelle was painful ; so was not visiting .
Every trip to the nursing home forced thein to relive the past in excruciating detail , leaving them restless .
Moving on was painful , and so was refusing to move on .
Their family had been scraping by – not great , not awful , just surviving .
But then Wynn came back out of nowhere and took Trevor away from Celeste . And now , to top it all off , her entire family had relocated to Baumond . It just made their lives even harder .
Noticing Celeste and Jamie’s expression shift , Hector excused himself from his friends and headed over .
He wasn’t sure what was going on . “ What’s wrong , Celeste ? ”
Before Celeste could reply , Jamie shot a look toward Harvey’s group and said , “ The ones talking to Beck are the Lockets , ”
Hector instantly got the message , his lips pressing into a firm line .
Meanwhile ….
Beck had just finished exchanging pleasantries with Harvey and the others .
When he turned back , he saw that Celeste and the others were gone .
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