Divorce Him, Then Dazzle novel Chapter 2

For as long as Camilla could remember, everyone in the neighborhood, all their relatives and friends, talked about how kind and generous Barbara’s family was. But what Camilla heard the most was, “Barbara went through so much. She was taken by traffickers, she suffered, and now that she’s finally back, you really should just accommodate her, don’t you think?”

Barbara’s wishes always came first. It was like her needs were a priority before anyone else’s, and Camilla was just supposed to keep up, to serve, to do whatever Barbara needed. For years, Camilla did exactly that. Whatever Barbara asked, she gave. Whatever Barbara wanted, she did. She’d tell herself it was because Barbara’s parents had raised her, so this was the least she could do.

Then three years ago, Barbara suddenly decided she wanted to study abroad. Nobody wanted her to go. Everyone asked her to stay. But Barbara didn’t hesitate. She left, just like that. Suddenly Camilla was left alone, and all eyes were on her. People whispered, pointed fingers. Because right before she left, Barbara made a little speech. She’d said, “For Camilla’s happiness, I have to leave.”

Those words followed Camilla everywhere, turning into a quiet kind of pressure she couldn’t shake. Suddenly she was the villain, heartless and ungrateful. People believed Barbara had gone abroad because of her—some even thought Camilla had forced her to leave. Camilla tried to explain, but nobody would listen. It was like speaking into a storm.

Then Daniel asked Camilla to marry him, and for a moment she was sure life was finally turning around. She was happy. Giddy, even. Only after the wedding did she realize the truth—Daniel’s proposal wasn’t about love. It was his way of punishing her. In the quiet after all the celebrations, Camilla found out Daniel’s heart belonged to someone else. He was in love with Barbara.

Daniel wasn’t the only one holding a grudge. Some of their friends, people Camilla had trusted, started pulling away, looking at her through a lens of blame. From the day Barbara left, Camilla felt like she’d been thrown into an endless, suffocating nightmare.

What hurt most was knowing Barbara, even from across the ocean, was reaching out to Daniel. She called him, told him to look after Camilla, to love her. With Camilla, Daniel was harsh, overbearing, sometimes even cruel. But when he picked up the phone for Barbara, he turned gentle, patient, almost nervous, as if just the sound of her voice mattered more to him than anything else.

One day Daniel looked at Camilla and told her the truth. The only reason he’d ever been nice was because she was Barbara’s sister. Camilla’s heart had twisted at his words. As a teenager, she’d misread everything, every smile, every kind gesture. She’d fallen for him hard, convinced he was her forever. Admitting her feelings had taken everything she had, but Daniel had turned her down. She cried herself to sleep that night.

The next morning, Barbara decided she was going abroad. At the airport, Barbara hugged her and said, “People can change. If you’re good to Daniel, he’ll come around. He’ll love you.”

Camilla had believed her. She’d married Daniel, thinking love would grow if she just tried hard enough. But three years slipped by, and Daniel had never even touched her. One night, he stood across from her and said, “If it wasn’t for you, Barbara wouldn’t have left. If it wasn’t for you, maybe Barbara and I would have had a chance. You’ve ruined my happiness. For a lifetime.”

But she wasn’t that person anymore. Not after everything.

She typed back, slow and steady, feeling like each word cost her a year of her life.

I want to divorce Daniel.

Barely a second passed before Barbara’s incoming call lit up her phone.