Divorce Him, Then Dazzle novel Chapter 5

“Take it easy for a second.” Barbara kept her voice soft and even, the way you speak when you’re trying not to set someone off. “What’s going on with you two? Did you have a fight or something?”

“No.” Daniel yanked at his tie, his frustration obvious. “Barbie, you already know who I really care about…”

“Daniel.” Barbara cut him off before he could finish. “You know I’ve always respected a man who takes responsibility. Since you and Camilla are married, that’s what you need to do. Take responsibility for your marriage.”

“I know, but…”

“Camilla’s my sister,” Barbara reminded him, her tone calm but firm. “If you weren’t my brother-in-law, there couldn’t ever be anything else between us. Do you get that?”

Daniel got it. He knew exactly what she meant. But it didn’t make swallowing the truth any easier.

“Barbie, if it wasn’t for her, you and I would’ve ended up together. You know we’re the ones who really belong together.”

“But you’re married to her now, right?” Barbara let out a quiet sigh, the kind that made Daniel’s chest tighten. “If you care about my feelings at all, then do right by her. Love her, spend your life with her. Promise me. Please?”

Barbara was always like this, soft and warm, always thinking about everyone else. Daniel couldn’t help loving her even more because of it, but it just made him resent Camilla even more. His feelings for Camilla twisted into something close to anger.

Barbara never stopped worrying about her sister. Meanwhile, Camilla was just… selfish, mean, impossible to like. She twisted everything, tried to blame the ugly parts of the past on Barbara, pretending she’d done nothing wrong.

No one in their right mind could believe that. Barbara was pure and kind, almost impossibly good. She could never have done those things.

Honestly, Daniel wanted a divorce too. But Barbara would never agree. And now Lambert knew about the marriage and had even invited them both to some party. The last thing Daniel needed was for drama with Camilla to get out and ruin his reputation.

The whole room glowed with afternoon sun, the light filtering in like it wanted to catch her without interrupting. It made the scene lazy and perfect, almost too pretty to touch.

For a second, Daniel just watched her. Lost. If he was being honest, Camilla’s looks were something else, way beyond Barbara’s. She had striking features, eyes that sparkled, a smile too bright to ignore. Even without makeup, she had the kind of beauty that could blow movie stars out of the water.

He remembered, before Barbara came home, Camilla was the girl he’d liked most. But once Barbara was back, everything changed. Camilla started acting out, supposedly did cruel and infuriating things out of jealousy. She tried to explain, said it wasn’t her. Who’d believe it?

Little by little, Daniel’s fondness for Camilla faded away. Still, even now, he couldn’t say she wasn’t stunning. Not that it mattered. He wasn’t the kind of guy who cared only about appearances. If his feelings for Barbara weren’t as strong as they were, maybe he would’ve had a harder time resisting the pull of someone like Camilla.

Three years. Three years he hadn’t touched her, out of loyalty to Barbara. For Daniel, that was the clearest proof of where his heart really belonged.