There were simply some things she could never say to Catheleen.
If Catheleen had just been a regular friend, perhaps she could have confided in her.
But Catheleen was also Lambert's sister.
That alone sealed Camilla's lips forever.
To make matters worse, she was technically still a married woman.
Her divorce was still stuck in absolute limbo.
And yet... she had somehow managed to fall for another man.
It was incredibly shameful.
Secrets like these could only be buried deep within her own heart.
She could never share them with anyone.
And so, Catheleen watched helplessly as Camilla drained glass after glass.
Even the bartender eventually had to step in.
"Look, your drinks might be on the weaker side, but if you keep chugging them like that, you're going to pass out in no time," he cautioned.
"It's fine," Catheleen said, her heart aching for her friend. "She wants to get drunk. Let her."
Even though Camilla fiercely denied it, Catheleen could feel the heavy burden weighing on her mind.
The two of them were usually completely open with one another.
For Camilla to clam up like this meant it was something far too painful to voice aloud.
She wouldn't force Camilla to speak, but she would absolutely sit right beside her through it all.
From that point on, Catheleen stuck exclusively to juice, acting as a quiet sentinel while Camilla steadily drank herself into oblivion.
Watching her suddenly reminded Catheleen of last night—her brother had been drinking with exactly this kind of manic desperation.
Did all heartbroken people share the exact same self-destructive drinking style?
The thought of her own drunken antics the previous night, and being chauffeured home in Lambert's car, made Catheleen wince with guilt.
Seeking a small distraction, she stealthily snapped a photo of the cocktails on the table and fired it off to Lambert through a messaging app.
She knew Lambert rarely checked his phone, and he used the messaging app even less.
So when she hit send, she didn't realistically expect a reply.
She set her phone down. Sure enough, it wasn't until a dozen minutes later that it finally pinged.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Divorce Him, Then Dazzle