Chapter 0007

•CAMILLA•

After the wedding ceremony, I pulled Santino aside in the library and closed the door.

"What did you mean he's about to sell his company to you?" I whispered, just enough for people not to overhear our conversation.

I didn't want to risk anyone eavesdropping on our conversation, especially Cecilia.

"He's the reason I ran you over that night, so I can't let him get off easily. This is the only price that he has to pay. You're going to be in charge of his company."

"Camilla?!" Francesca called down the hallway.

I looked at Santino and sighed. "My goodness, this was never part of the plan."

"Don't worry, you don't have to thank me now, but so you know, you can thank me in many ways when that time comes. I can't resist seduction," he whispered before he leaned back and smirked, and then opened the door.

"Ugh," I rolled my eyes with a groan.

"Oh, you guys were here all along," Francesca breathed when she saw me approaching behind Santino and closing the door behind me.

Santino only smiled at her before he walked down the hallway and disappeared out of sight.

"I told you that you're going to fall for him," she gushed. "The way he looked at you when you walked down the aisle, it was obvious that he was in trouble as well."

I rolled my eyes. "You were looking for me. What is it?"

"Oh, it's your father. He asked me to find you for him."

"My father?" I was quite shocked.

I had been home for over a week, but my father had never asked to speak with me ever since. A part of me thought that maybe he found out about my old life with Lucius.

"Fuck. What do you think it's about? Is he with Cecilia? That woman hates me."

"He's alone in his study, Cam, and don't worry, I don't think that he knows. As far as I know, there's no way that anyone will find out."

"That's better. Otherwise, I'll be toast." I sighed as I walked to the staircase and went upstairs to my father's study.

When I got outside the door, I took a deep breath before I knocked and walked inside.

"Hey, Dad. You called for me."

"Yes," he got up from his chair behind his desk and sat down on the couch, prompting me to sit down next to him.

I sat down next to him and looked at the door for a moment, expecting Cecilia to walk inside and sweep my father away, just like she had done for the past 15 years.

My heart broke at the thought of how much I had missed sitting with him, even for a moment, and not saying anything to each other.

"When your mother died, you were just 8 years old, and I remember how heartbreaking it was telling you that she couldn't fight the cancer. I only took your older brother, Sakai, to check up on her because she didn't want you to see her in that state. She didn't want the last memory in your mind to be of her in the hospital bed, barely able to get up and go to the bathroom. That day when she died, she gave me something to give to you when you found out that you were expecting a child."

"What is it?"

He leaned over to the drawer next to the couch and pulled out an envelope, and gave it to me.

I breathed when my fingers brushed over it, imagining her face and how lovely it would've been if she were still alive.

I opened the envelope, and it was a letter with a sonogram scan attached on top of the letter.

It was of me when she found out that I was a girl after she had 3 boys. I cried as I read it. I then folded it and slipped it back into the envelope, and looked at my father.

"Thank you, Dad, for keeping it for me. I needed this," I leaned over and wrapped my arms around him.

I cried when I felt his arms around me.

The door creaked open, and my little time with my father was cut short.

"Honey -" Cecilia furrowed her brows when she saw me. "Oh, is she done? You and I need to talk. I was on the phone with -"

I gracefully got up from the couch and left the study, closing the door behind me. When I got inside my room, I found my cell phone ringing, and it was Penelope.

"Hey, Penelope."

I placed the envelope inside the bedside drawer and closed it.

"Where are you? There's a newspaper article trending about your divorce from Lucius, and he commented that you're going to come back to him when you realize all that he did for you."

"What?"

"I'm holding the newspaper in my hand, Alisha. What's going on? Is it true that you left him to be with someone else?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Lucius and I are divorced, Penelope, but that wasn't because I wanted to be with another man. Anyway, whatever, I don't care what's being said about me."

Penelope chuckled. "My goodness, I knew this was coming! You wanted his money all along, Alisha. I can't believe that you just divorced him because you met another big fish. If I were you, I would stay wherever I am and stay there. If you come back here, you will be done for."

"Penelope," I scoffed. "I thought -" I sighed. "You know what? Send my kind regards to Lucius and his new bride. I heard that they tied a knot just 3 days after I left Brooklyn."

Of all people to call me, I didn't expect it to be Penelope. She was like a friend to me, and whenever I needed someone to talk to when Olivia made my life difficult.

She was a sister I never had, and I trusted her to have my back whenever I needed her, but now, I was disappointed that she would say such things to me.

"His new wife is Don Ross's niece. She's the richest female in the world right now after Don Ross's daughter. Can you believe that?"

"No," I scoffed. "I don't believe it. That's - that's great news. Thank you for letting me know, Penelope."

"I'm sorry, Alisha, but I just have to say things the way they are sometimes. I'm sure Lucius loved you, and if you had been faithful to him, he wouldn't have brought you so much embarrassment by marrying someone ten times better than you."

"Okay."

"Bye, Alisha, do call me sometime to talk about your new man. I hope he's an upgrade from Lucius."

I hung up the call and sighed as I walked to the door and went out to find my new husband.

When I found him in the garden having a drink while people were busy socializing and having food and drinks, I tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey. I wanted to say thank you for my wedding present. When is the handover ceremony going to be?"

Santino smirked as he looked at me. "Well, I didn't think that this would come this early, but the handover ceremony can take place whenever you're ready, wife. I'll be having a meeting with his board members in two days to finalize the news."

"Is there anything that you would like from me as a wedding present, of course, and as a 'thank you' gift for your wedding present?"

"That's a tempting question," he smirked. "Well, how about a honeymoon night in Beverly Hills? I have a villa there that can be prepared for our arrival."

"Honeymoon night? I thought you and I -"

Santino shushed me as he placed his finger across my lips. "Camilla, I won't touch you unless you want me to."