Divorced the Cheat Married the Fleet (Camilla and Lance) novel Chapter 223

“Do I really have to check in with you every time I go somewhere, Barnard?” Lance asked, his eyes locked on Barnard’s anxious face. Then he added, a teasing edge in his voice, “Though honestly, I should probably thank you. This has been a pretty entertaining spectacle.”

Barnard picked up on Lance’s mocking tone, his eyes shifting uneasily to Mahoney—the one person who definitely shouldn’t have shown up in person tonight. Emotions flickered across Barnard’s features. “Mahoney, you’re only here because Lance asked you to come.”

Lance gave a lazy shrug. “Why get so worked up, Barnard? I just thought your little performance could use a new main character. It’s been... interesting, don’t you think?”

Barnard’s jaw clenched so hard you could hear his teeth grind. Not even getting tricked by Davina had made him this angry before.

He glared at Lance. “Listen, I don’t remember ever wronging you. We’re all part of the same crowd. There’s no reason to turn this into a vendetta. You’re dragging me over Abelard? That’s a low blow, man.”

Abelard?

Lance’s eyes drifted almost lazily to Camilla, but a hungry, possessive glint sparked deep down. How ridiculous that Barnard still thought Abelard was the one pining for Camilla.

No wonder he treated the help like hidden treasure. With judgment like that, it made sense.

Honestly, Lance could barely wait for the moment Barnard finally figured out the truth. Too bad Camilla hadn’t given him the green light to spill everything, so he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he just arched an eyebrow and shot back, “Who told you I’m doing this for Abelard?”

“And about when you supposedly offended me—Don’t rack your brains now. You’ll have plenty of time to work it out in your holding cell.”

The police didn’t bother arguing. They just grabbed Barnard and walked him off the yacht.

Davina, maybe afraid of being rounded up too, didn’t protest for once. She just started dabbing at her tears and turned to Calvin, panic all over her face. “Calvin, why are they taking Barnard away? You have to do something. Please, save him!”

Calvin was barely keeping himself upright as it was. Hearing her plea, something inside him snapped. He just stared at her, his anger boiling over. “You’re actually crying? This is all because of you! What were you thinking, calling the cops? You...!”

He was ready to really let his anger loose, but then he noticed Mahoney still standing nearby. He swallowed the rest of his words and just shot Davina a dark look. “Come with me. Stop crying in front of everybody. Whatever needs to be said, we’ll say it at home.”

This was humiliating.

Calvin, who prided himself on handling every storm life threw at him, realized he’d finally met his match in Davina. He honestly couldn’t tell if she was just incredibly thick-skinned or if she simply didn’t care about anything at all. She’d stirred up a complete mess and didn’t even seem fazed about it.

Mahoney then made a point of inviting Lance, too.

He headed home to change into casual clothes before meeting them again, this time at a cozy diner nearby.

Surprisingly, the infamously rebellious Lance was downright polite around Mahoney. “Mahoney, it was enough that you came all this way yourself. Now you’re treating us to dinner... Honestly, I feel pretty guilty.”

“Enough. Who said I was treating you?” Mahoney cut him off, shaking his head. “I’m treating Camilla. But since we’re on the subject—what’s really going on between you and her?”

Lance’s answer was quick. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m trying to win her over... Haven’t managed it yet. You and Camilla go way back, right? Maybe put in a good word for me?”

Mahoney fixed Lance with a stern look and rolled his eyes. “Do you know how lucky you are that I’m not telling Camilla to stay miles away from you? Lance, I used to ignore your wild streak, but Camilla isn’t someone for you to mess around with. If you even think about treating her like a joke, I’ll go straight to your dad and lay it all out.”

“Mahoney, you’re way off on this one. I’ve never been more serious about anyone in my life. I’m talking... the real deal. Like, ‘plan a wedding right now’ serious. If Camilla would say yes, I’d marry her tomorrow—license and all. You can talk to my dad or even my grandpa, it’d be the same answer every time.”