Divorced the Cheat Married the Fleet (Camilla and Lance) novel Chapter 344

“We’ve always been perfect together. If you just say yes, if you agree to be with me, I swear nobody will ever mention Jasper’s past again. He’ll be my son, and my son alone. For Jasper’s sake, you should really think about it, shouldn’t you?”

Camilla let out a laugh, but there was nothing happy about it. The sound was pure sarcasm.

Looking at Barnard’s face right then, all she could think about was how she’d wasted five years married to him and how the memory of it made her skin crawl.

Five years.

Five whole years, and she had never seen Barnard for who he truly was. Even now that they’d been apart for so long, he was still reciting all that talk about love, but there wasn’t a trace of real feeling. Every move he made was just another trick to keep her trapped by his side.

Barnard reached out, trying to pull her close by the waist. Camilla sidestepped him, and his hand froze in midair. It didn’t even seem to faze him. He just forced another smile and said, “The Charles family isn’t easy to deal with. You’re smart, Camilla. You know being with a guy like Lance is asking for trouble. Even if you somehow managed to marry him, his family would always make life hard for you.

But with me, it’s different. We have history. Five years of marriage. My parents adore you. If you come back, I’ll tell them it was all just a misunderstanding and that Jasper is our son. See?”

“Are you done?” Camilla cut in, ice in her voice. “Do you really know me, Barnard? Or Lance? Everything you just listed is just your own imagination. Lance isn’t like you. He doesn’t play games, and he didn’t want to marry me just to use me for something. He’d never let his family treat me badly. What you’re saying makes no sense at all.

So don’t look for me again, and don’t bother making these ridiculous suggestions. No matter what you say, my answer will always be the same.”

Barnard’s eyes burned with anger, but even more obvious was his refusal to accept her rejection. He scowled at her. “You think you know him so well even though you’ve barely known him? Camilla, you always say I’m manipulative—what about you? When you were with me, were you ever sincere? Did you ever love me?”

“No.” Camilla’s answer came quickly and without hesitation. “Before I learned what you’re really like, I felt grateful to you, and I put up with you and your family, but that’s all it ever was. Just gratitude. That’s the truth you wanted, right? We never had love between us. So don’t contact me again. I mean it.”

No love.

Barnard had always told himself he didn’t really love Camilla either. But hearing her say it out loud, so calm, so cold, was like a punch to the chest. His heart felt squeezed, his throat tight, his vision blurry with the sting of tears he would never admit to. He realized he’d been wrong. He did love her—he just never realized it. And by the time he figured it out, Camilla had already taken a place in his heart.

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