Divorced the Cheat Married the Fleet (Camilla and Lance) novel Chapter 55

“Camilla, how can you say that about Davina? I told you before, Davina—”

“Yeah, I know. She raised you. But what does that have to do with me? Barnard, let me make something clear right now. Don’t bring up your so-called debts of gratitude to me anymore. How you treat Davina is your business, not mine. I don’t owe her anything, and I have no reason to tiptoe around her for your sake,” Camilla replied.

Barnard just stared at her, eyes wide, honestly looking at her like he didn’t even know who she was anymore.

Camilla didn’t bother arguing. “Didn’t the front desk say you had a client with you? Where are they?”

“The client had something come up, so they left early. I’ll introduce you another time,” Barnard said, waving it off. “That’s not what’s important right now. Camilla, I think we need to talk about us first. I’m not asking you to bend over backwards for Davina. I just feel like you have this weird hostility toward her. She’s always kept her place, just the nanny, never overstepping. So why do you always seem to go against her? Yesterday you even hit her. I need to know why.”

He made himself comfortable on the small sofa, crossing his long legs, clearly planning on staying until they hashed this out.

Camilla just shook her head. “That client story was just your excuse. Let’s be honest, you came here for Davina, didn’t you? To stick up for her?”

“Don’t be so extreme. I just want an answer,” Barnard insisted. “Ever since you insisted on moving out, Davina’s been so miserable and guilty. Even after you slapped her yesterday, she kept telling me to let it go. I honestly don’t get it. She’s always so patient and careful. Why can’t you just let her be?”

So it was true. He really was here to stand up for Davina. Just because she hadn’t apologized for that slap, he’d shown up at her office, ready to make a scene, just to get an answer for Davina.

The idea that Barnard’s feelings for Davina were just some childhood gratitude was laughable to Camilla.

“Because I’m just a terrible person. Does that answer work for you?” Camilla shot back. “I don’t want to have this conversation at work, Barnard. If you’ve got nothing else, please leave.”

“Camilla!” Barnard was actually angry now. “Why do you always avoid this? What exactly do you have against Davina? You could just say it. Why do you always act this way around her?”

Say it? As if it would matter. In his eyes, Davina could do no wrong. No matter what Camilla said, he’d think she was the unreasonable one. There was nothing left to talk about.

“If that’s all, please go. Or I’ll get security to escort you out,” she said calmly.

Dread hit Camilla right in the chest. She rushed to the hospital, only to find out that Elise’s condition wasn’t triggered by anything external this time. It was just her own body giving out.

Camilla’s dad had disappeared when she was little. Elise raised her on her own, for years working as many jobs as she could get, taking whatever she could to make ends meet. When Camilla was in college, Elise was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Back then, it was caught early. But Elise kept putting off treatment, trying to tough it out, until it reached the middle stage. Then she found out she had heart disease too. Her health kept taking hit after hit, and she never had a chance to really get better.

There was finally enough money for proper treatment, but it didn’t matter anymore—the cancer had gone too far. No amount of cash could fix it now.

When Camilla arrived, the nurse caring for Elise took her aside and explained everything about her mother’s condition.

Camilla had told herself for years that she needed to be ready. But hearing the truth still left her feeling hollow, like she’d just stepped into ice water that wouldn’t let her escape.