Having survived a chaotic marriage, Camilla felt she’d left it behind—until the past caught up with her. Once the hidden heiress of an illustrious fortune, she concealed her true identity from Lucius, the man she loved fiercely but ultimately lost when he impregnated another woman. After their divorce, Lucius chose an unexpected path that left Camilla devastated but determined to reclaim her life. Now, having returned as a new woman, married and with a child she conceived before her marriage with Lucius ended, Camilla is ready to write her own story. She’s a mother and a force to be reckoned with—no longer hiding from her rich lineage or the love she deserves. Single and wealthy bachelors compete for Camilla’s heart as she bravely and elegantly adjusts to independence. But Lucius, in a twist of fate, finds himself at the end of his rope and suddenly desperate for forgiveness. As he chases after Camilla, pleading for a second chance amidst the ruins of his own life, she faces an impossible choice. Torn between the memories of a love that once was and the promise of a future filled with joy and stability, Camilla must decide—who is truly deserving of her heart? *** "Silly Camilla, I loved you before knowing who you are, and I'll love you until my last breath. You're the only thing I can never sacrifice. If I have to burn the world down just for you, I'd do it in the blink of an eye. I'd take every blow just to keep you safe."
View More•CAMILLA•
“Alisha.” I was about to get inside my car and drive home when someone called my name. I turned around and looked at the person. “Hi,” I replied, with furrowed brows, because she was wearing big shades that made it difficult for me to see her face. “I wanted to confirm that it was really you,” she smirked as she leaned closer to me. “You don’t know me, but I’m sure you have an idea now about why I’m here. I don’t even have to say his name.” Then it clicked. Well, I’d be damned. The last time she and I talked was when she called my husband while he was in the shower, and I answered the call. I could recognize her voice since it was a few days ago when she called. “I don’t know you, but if you don’t mind refreshing my memory, you can remind me.” I smiled at her. She narrowed her eyes at me, irritated. “We talked. Three nights ago. Do you remember?” “No, I’m afraid I don’t.” I folded my arms on my chest and looked at her. “My name is Sasha.” “Oh, you’re my husband’s mistress?” I chuckled. “What a lovely surprise. You must be a brave mistress to approach me so boldly. I thought wives had that tendency of sneaking up on their husbands’ mistresses.” “That’s not the point,” she scoffed. “Then why are you here? If you bothered me, I think I would’ve taken the first step to approach you woman-to-woman, but as you can see, I’m not bothered by your existence.” “Thought this might be a good time for me to introduce myself, since Lucius has made me the mother of his child,” she answered as she caressed her stomach, and my heart sank. It couldn’t be true. She had to be lying. If Lucius had made her pregnant, then our childlessness all these years had to be my fault. It didn’t come as a surprise that he was cheating with her because I knew for months, and as long as he came back home to me, it gave me hope he would change and realize that I was enough for him. But her pregnancy meant she successfully proved to him he wasn’t the one with the problem, and that was enough for him to leave our marriage. “You know that I’m his wife, don’t you?” “Yet, that didn’t stop him from planting his seed inside me. I’ve given him something that you’ve been failing to give him for three years. So now, tell me, what good does your title do?” I gulped and didn’t know how to answer her. It took everything in me not to shed the tears that were creeping to the corners of my eyes. I clenched my fists in frustration, and my heart raced. How dare she? As Lucius’ wife, I deserved that respect. Or was I no longer entitled to receive any kind of reverence from her because she was carrying his first child and heir? Sasha chuckled when she saw my distress. She closed the small gap between us, and when I smelled the cologne that was always left on the collars of my husband’s shirts, my blood boiled. “Lucius will make me his wife, and me and this baby,” she scoffed as she looked down at her stomach before she returned her gaze to me. “Me and this baby are going to be his family. If I were you, I would make sure that I leave the marriage before things get too bad.” “What makes you think he will leave me to be with you?” I asked, scolding. “What makes you think he wouldn’t, my love?” She chuckled. "You’re a barren woman. He can’t build a family with someone who can’t give him any children.” “Until Lucius tells me himself that he no longer wants me, I will remain his wife.” I turned to get inside my car when I stopped and turned to her. “The fact Lucius had never once said anything about you means you were nothing but his cum rag. So, you’re a fool to think that a baby will make him leave his wife to be with someone that he has never made a mistake for his wife to find out about.” “I know it won’t be easy to accept that the man is now mine, but in due time, you shall see.” I rolled my eyes, got inside my car, and drove back home. *** Walking back from the laundry room, feeling a bit lightheaded, I found the door in our bedroom slightly open. “Where were you?” He asked as soon as the door closed behind me. “I was in the laundry room doing our laundry,” I replied as I slowly walked closer to him. “I’m sorry.” “Didn’t I tell you to prepare something for me to wear before I came back from work?” He seethed as he turned around and looked at me. “Why do I always have to fight with you when I’ve clearly given you instructions before I left the house?!” “I’m sorry, Lucius, but your mother told me to cook and clean the house all day. With all the house chores I had, it slipped my mind. I’m sorry that your suit wasn’t ready when you came -“ I felt a hot slap on my face before I could finish my sentence. There was a ringing sound in my ear before it registered in my mind that Lucius had laid his hand on me for the first time since we had been married. “The next time I tell you to do something and you don’t do it, I am going to do something that you and I will regret,” he snarled as he pointed his finger at me. “I am your wife...” was all I could whisper in my raspy voice, trying so hard to hold back the tears at the corners of my eyes. “Then act like one,” he frowned before he walked out of the room and left me standing there with my hand on my cheek. I closed my eyes and couldn’t believe that the same man who loved me so much and could’ve given me the world if needed was the same man today who made my life a living hell. It suddenly became clear that I didn’t know the man whom I had married and called my husband for the past 3 years. Taking a deep breath, I fixed my dress and hair and wiped my face before I walked out of the room and went to the dining room to prepare it. But when I walked in, everyone was in their seats, including Lucius, next to a woman who looked familiar. I looked at her but couldn’t trace where I knew her from. “Oh, you’re here, Alisha!” Olivia exclaimed. “You might as well be useful and bring us sharper table knives. Seems like your steak needs a lot of cutting. Should’ve kept it on the stove a little longer for it to be tender and edible.” Everyone at the table chuckled, and I felt my heart being ripped apart. What hurt more was Lucius joining in and laughing. I swallowed the little pride that I had and went to get the table knives, and when I laid a table knife in front of Lucius, I noticed his hand brushing over the woman’s thigh next to him. “Did you get a new maid?” One of the three ladies who visited asked. “She’s an amazing cook. This food is so delicious.” “She’s Lucius’ wife,” Brandon answered, earning a frown from Olivia and Nevada. “This is your wife? I thought she was the maid.” The woman next to Lucius asked as she glanced at me and chuckled. That’s when I realized who she was. “She’s nothing but useless junk, sweetie. You don’t have to worry about her,” Olivia answered. “Lucius is only keeping her around because she has no home. You are the one who’s going to make this family happy by being my son’s wife.” “What?” I dropped the table knives I was carrying. “Tell this thing that you’re engaged to be married to Sasha, Lucius. She needs to get herself ready to leave your bedroom for your fiancé. You can’t keep inhabiting a useless thing that can’t bear you heirs,” Olivia answered. Lucius stood up from his chair and looked down at me. “You have heard my mother, Alisha. I want a divorce.”•LUCIUS•“Lucius, we need to talk about Mateo. I don’t think I’m comfortable with him being in the house. We must get him his own place.”I closed my laptop, sighed, and looked at my mother as she walked into my home office.“What now, mother?”“Mateo!” She frowned. “I can’t stand him. I don’t want him in the house anymore. You must figure something out to get him out of here.”“We talked about this, Mom. I can’t do that. I have a plan in place, and I can’t afford to go against it. If you don’t like Mateo, then try to avoid him.”“What will happen if he tries to sabotage you in your company? You can’t trust him. His mother fueled him into doing something absolutely ridiculous to get all the things he couldn’t get before your father died.”“I guess I’ll figure that out when it happens.” I leaned back in my chair. “Right now, everything’s going well, and I won’t ruin my plans.”“You’re my son,” she leaned toward the table. “I don’t want you to lose everything you’ve worked hard for.”“Y
•SANTINO•“I still think you shouldn’t chase after that girl, Val. She’s with Santino, and there are sick rumors about him.”“Santino? Ugh, please. He wouldn’t do anything to me, not even in my sleep.”“You shouldn’t be sure about that. The guy could hurt you if you tried another one of your stunts again. As a friend, I don’t want you to risk your life.”Valentino and his friend were in the bar, drinking whiskey and talking about my wife.“Howard, I got this. Camilla is not just any girl. She’s from the Ross family and very different from all these girls on the streets. Where do you think you can find a woman as beautiful, ambitious, and goal-driven as her? She’s never portrayed herself as richer than anyone else, and I want that for a wife and mother to my kids.”Luckily, I caught that in the recording before I got off the stool in the bar and walked out.After getting inside my car, Mario sent me a text asking if Camilla and I were on our way to New York.I didn’t answer.I tossed m
•CAMILLA•When I walked into the living room, everyone turned their eyes and stared at me as I took each step toward a couch, the only noise being the clinking sound of my heels on the floor.Cecilia’s eyes burned with rage as she glared at me, barely able to hide her contempt.I gracefully sat down next to Sakai, who told me a few days ago that he was leaving Chicago, but there he was, sitting on the couch with his wife and daughter.“You’re late,” he whispered.“What did I miss?”He clicked his tongue as he looked at Daniel standing up from the couch.“Oh, what a pleasure to have the family together again. Look at us, three generations in one room.” He grinned. “I am most happy to see my brother’s sons and —“ he stopped as he looked at me, narrowing his eyes. “And all of you. I hope you won’t waste our time, Cecilia.”“Oh, not at all,” she chuckled as she stood up, her growing belly even more visible. “As you all know, Don and I were married for twenty years before he died and left
•CAMILLA•I was so surprised when I woke up in the morning and heard muttering from the bathroom and groaning.I got up, my eyes barely opened, and tried to find out what was going on.“Babe, is everything okay?” I got up from the bed, heading toward the bathroom.I was hoping he wasn’t mad about what happened with Valentino last night because we had just gone through one hell of a ride, and I didn’t think we could face another one.“If you want to ask if I’m jealous about what that punk bought you, then yes, I’m fucking jealous!” He snapped. “How dare he come into our house and think it’s okay to bring you gifts when you’re married to me?!”“I don’t know, baby, but he means nothing to me. Valentino is just some guy I dated before, and I don’t think he knows you were home with me when he bought those gifts. You seriously don’t have to worry yourself about him because I’m with you. He did what he did for a show. He wants me to react, but I won’t do that to make him happy.”“I’ll react,
•CECILIA•“We should just give up. Camilla has proven to the world who she is, and there’s no going back. We’ll look like fools if we object to her article. She’s Camilla anyway.”“SHUT UP! Will you, Paxton? No one wants to hear that pathetic excuse. Camilla must pay for humiliating me in front of the world! She challenged me in front of everyone!”“I am trying to help here, Cecilia. We’ve lost this battle, so it’ll be better to let avoid more humiliation.”“SHUT UP!” I yelled as I turned to him in the living room.I didn’t know why he thought it would be okay to raise his stupid views when we had to come up with a good plan on how to make that witch pay for releasing the article without consulting me.She risked my standing in getting my rightful position in the Ross family and ensuring that I inherited everything my husband left.I fell pregnant because I wanted to have a proper say in everything concerning the Ross family, and now that I was carrying Don’s heir through his son, I wo
•SASHA•While on the phone with Cora, I waited in the car for Mateo to leave the house after the article about the Ross family was released, bluntly proving I lied about Daniel being my father.“If Lucius sees this, he’s going to use it against you so he doesn’t give you everything you asked for in the divorce settlement, and all the five years with him will be in vain.”“Yeah, I’m sure he saw it. So, I have to play it rough. I’m going to get Mateo on my side, and once the baby is born, I’ll convince him to support me. Then I’ll take Lucius to the maternity court and claim everything he has left.”“What if he gets enough time to move all his assets, and then you’ll be left with crumbs? Lucius is a smart man, Sasha, and he won’t let you take his things that easily after seeing this article. He’s probably questioning everything you’ve ever told him.”“I know, Cora. But you’re my friend, so you should help me instead of pushing me into the corner. You know why I did this, right? If —“ I
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