Chapter 2

Jameson did not come home all night.

Early the next morning, Camille got a call from her professor, Ryan Zach.

He sounded excited. “Camille, are you really willing to go abroad with me for this exchange program? Our first stop is a battlefield, where we will be working with Doctors Without Borders. It’s dangerous, and we might lose contact with home for a long time!”

Camille’s voice was soft but determined. “Yes. I’ve made up my mind.”

Ryan hesitated for a moment, surprised by her determination. “You turned me down before. Didn’t you say you were planning to get married? What changed…”

Camille answered, “I’m planning to break up.”

He immediately understood something had gone wrong in her relationship. He let out a sigh. “You’ve thought this through? No regrets?”

Camille replied, “None.”

He immediately said, “Alright then. Get your documents and credentials together in the next couple of days and send them to me. I’ll handle the paperwork. We’ll leave in a month.”

As soon as she hung up, Camille received a message from Jameson: [Camille, something urgent came up at work, and I had to travel. I’ll contact you once I’m back in South City. Be good and wait for me at home.]

She stared at the message, let out a bitter smile, then set the phone aside and began organizing her documents.

She grew up in a remote mountain village and was practically cut off from the rest of the world. There were only a dozen families there, and her grandmother was the only person in the village who could treat the sick.

At three years old, Camille began learning about plants, minerals, and alternative medicine from her grandmother.

When she found Jameson, he had lost his sight and was injured. She swore she would cure him, so she applied to a clinical medicine program at a top college without hesitation.

Back then, Jameson had genuinely treated her well. He used every connection the Hart family had to get her accepted as a student under the nation’s top medical experts.

Camille had the talent, and under that kind of guidance, her skills in medicine grew rapidly.

After she restored Jameson’s vision, Ryan noticed her and accepted her as his final apprentice.

Six months ago, Ryan announced plans to take three students abroad for a global medical exchange. The idea was to expand their knowledge and help treat patients around the world.

Their first mission was to assist Doctors Without Borders.

Once Camille left with him, Jameson would never be able to find her again.

After Camille organized her documents, another video message from an unknown number came in. She opened it.

In the video, Sylvia looked pale and frail in Jameson’s arms.

Her voice was soft and pitiful. “Jameson, I just want to be your wife for one month. After that, when I’m gone, you’ll belong to Ms. Fields again. This is my only dying wish. Please, say yes?”

Jameson lowered his eyes and looked at her with pity. “Sylvia, I’ll do it.”

Her face lit up with joy. “Thank you, Jameson! I knew you’d say yes.”

Someone off-camera whispered, “Jameson, what if Camille finds out you and Sylvia registered your marriage?”

Jameson replied, “She won’t know. Once Sylvia… passes, I’ll go back to Camille’s side and be the Jameson who loves her with all his heart.”

The video ended. Then, another message came through. It was a photo of a marriage certificate.

Camille felt her heart bleeding.

She closed her eyes.

She remembered when she graduated college, she had once impulsively proposed to Jameson, but he turned her down.

He told her that when it came to proposals and marriage, he wanted to be the one to do it properly and give her a perfect ceremony. It had to be special. It had to wait.

It turned out that it was not the timing that was the problem but the person.

With Sylvia, he had no problem registering their marriage immediately.

…

Two days later, Camille resigned from her hospital position and handed her documents to Ryan to prepare for the trip.

The moment she got home, another video message came in.

Sylvia clung to Jameson and whispered, “Give me a child, please? I’ll take him with me when I go, then I won’t be alone.”

Jameson looked at her tenderly. “Okay.”

After the video, Camille sat there in silence for a long time before chuckling bitterly to herself.

She got up, gathered all the matching items she and Jameson shared—toothbrushes, mugs, clothes—and dumped them into a trash bin outside.

Jameson’s voice suddenly came from behind her. “Camille, what are you doing?”

He was standing next to her.

Without turning around, she said quietly, “Just throwing out some old stuff.”

Back inside, he quickly noticed many things were missing from their home. Even their matching toothbrushes were gone.

He asked, “Didn’t you just buy those electric toothbrushes? Why toss them too?”

Camille paused for a moment and replied, “That brand got embroiled in a nasty scandal. I don’t want to keep using their stuff.”

He gave a helpless smile and reached out to tousle her hair, just like always. “Still as picky as ever, huh?”

She stepped away from his hand and met his eyes. “You know I don’t overlook things, Jameson. I never have.”

However, he did not catch the meaning behind her words. Instead, he pulled her into a hug.

“Alright, alright. My Camille is the most honest, upright girl there is.”

Camille recalled the video of him and Sylvia tangled together and suddenly felt sick.

She pushed him away, turned to the side, and could not help but gag into her hand.

The expression on Jameson’s face changed. “Camille, are you pregnant?”

She looked up. “And if I said yes?”

Without hesitation, he replied, “Then get rid of it. Now isn’t the right time for a baby.”

Yet he had said yes to giving Sylvia a child. Who could be less suited to have a baby than someone with cancer?

And that cancer diagnosis turned out to be a lie to manipulate him.

Camille gave a small, mocking smile. “I was joking. I just haven’t been eating well these past few days. My stomach is acting up.”

Jameson let out a sigh of relief and immediately gave her a worried, tender look. “Your stomach again? Camille, were you not behaving while I was gone? Next time I travel, I’m shrinking you and putting you in my pocket.”

He sweetly brought her medicine and a warm glass of water, holding it to her lips. He even made dinner. They were all her favorite dishes.

If she had not heard it with her own ears and seen it with her own eyes, she never would have believed this man had already married someone else and was planning to have a child with her.

That night in bed, Jameson wrapped an arm around her waist, reaching to take off her pajamas.

At that moment, every hair on her body stood on end. Without thinking, she moved to the edge of the bed. “I don’t feel well. I don’t want to.”

He stretched his arm out and pulled her back into his embrace. “Okay, okay. It’s my fault, babe. I won’t touch you. Just rest.”

Camille buried her face in his chest. The corner of her lips curled into a cold, mocking smile.

Just who was his sweetie?

She shut her eyes and pretended to sleep. A few moments later, she felt him quietly reach for his phone.

“Camille? Camille?”

She did not respond.

Jameson got up, and she soon heard the door quietly click shut.

She then heard her phone buzz.

It was obvious where Jameson had gone.

Camille lay there in silence, tears sliding down her cheeks as she stared into the dark. She did not even know when she fell asleep.

The next morning, she woke up groggy and exhausted.

She checked her phone. There were photos of Jameson meeting Sylvia late at night from the same unknown number and a message from Jameson himself.

[Camille, it’s your grandma’s memorial day. I went to the office last night to finish up some work. I’ll be home by 9:00 am to pick you up so that we can visit her grave together. Wait for me.]

Two messages side by side... It was cruelly ironic.

Camille simply got up and placed a cold compress over her swollen eyes to bring down the puffiness.