Divorced the Cheat Married the Fleet (Camilla and Lance) novel Chapter 17

Barnard was getting annoyed with the way Camilla treated Davina, but since today’s mess with Jasper was mostly his fault, he kept quiet about it.

For years now, Camilla and Barnard had slept in different rooms. After Jasper was born, her doctor told her she needed to rest and that sharing a bed wasn’t a good idea. Barnard claimed he was worried he wouldn’t be able to control himself and might hurt her, so he moved out of their bedroom.

Back then, Camilla actually felt touched by how thoughtful Barnard seemed. Now, she realized she felt… something else. Whatever his real reasons had been, it worked out for them. With their relationship basically just for appearances at this point, not having to spend the night together made everything less complicated.

Camilla got up early that morning. When she and Jasper were about to head out, Daisy and Davina were still asleep, but Barnard appeared on the stairs at just the wrong time.

He glanced at the empty dining table and called out, “You’re not making breakfast today?”

“I’m taking Jasper out to eat. If you’re not in a rush, you can wait for Susan to get here,” Camilla replied, not even looking at him.

Sometimes Barnard left for work before Susan started her shift, and Camilla always made sure he had breakfast. She was such a light sleeper any tiny sound in the living room woke her up. No matter how early he left, she’d never let him miss breakfast.

This was the first time he’d even mentioned it and the first time Camilla refused.

She watched as Barnard frowned, his face tightening with something like irritation. He seemed about to say something but swallowed it down.

Maybe, he thought, he really had been ignoring Camilla. Maybe that’s why all of this was happening…

Just then, Davina heard the commotion and came out rubbing her eyes. “Barnard, you’re heading out already? You can’t skip breakfast. Wait, I’ll make you an egg.”

Barnard stopped her right away. “No need, Davina. It’s early, why don’t you go back to sleep?”

Camilla, already on her way out, heard the whole exchange. Hearing her husband treat the nanny with so much kindness, while snapping at her, made Camilla pause for a second. She couldn’t help but give a little sarcastic smile.

It was obvious enough who mattered more to him. He was fine ordering her to make breakfast, but made sure the nanny got to sleep in. The truth was right there. There was nothing left in this marriage worth holding onto.

Dahlia had studied design with Camilla in college, but after graduating, she threw herself into animal care, got her vet license, and filled her house with cats and dogs. These days, all her design skills went into making cute pet clothes and accessories for her online shop.

“That’s nothing,” Dahlia said. “And you can’t take Jasper to the office with you. How about he stays with me during the day for a bit, and I’ll teach him everything he needs to know about puppies?”

Before Camilla could say anything, Jasper was already nodding excitedly. “Please, Mom! Let me go with Dahlia! I’ll learn everything and take great care of Snow.”

Snow was the name he’d picked for the little Westie. Jasper had been counting down the days until he could finally bring his puppy home.

Seeing how happy he was, Camilla agreed. If looking after the puppy could distract Jasper from his worries, it was totally worth it.

So, for the next stretch of days, Camilla dropped Jasper off at Dahlia’s every morning. After work, she’d meet up with Dahlia to check out new places to live.