chapter 7

Camilla couldn't sleep.

She sat in the guest bathroom of the Voughn estate in Connecticut at 4:15AM, she wakes up and took her phone; she was so surprised.

The photo of her and Sebastian was all over the Internet.

Sebastian.

His arms around her.

Her, pale and shaking, in a hospital gown, at St. Mercy in Manhattan.

And above it, the headline from _TMZ New York_:

*“BILLIONAIRE CAUGHT WITH NEPHEW’S WIFE. IS THE VOUGHN MARRIAGE OVER?”*

Her system changed; he was afraid, tried and shocked at the same time. “I am so tired of this kind of life,” she said to herself.

Five months. That’s all she had left on the contract.

Five months until she could walk away with the settlement and start over.

But Clause 8 glowed in her head like a warning sign:

_“If either party is found in a compromising position with another individual during the term of this marriage, said party forfeits 50% of the agreed settlement.”_

Fifty percent.

That was her mom’s surgery. That was a new apartment. That was freedom.

The door slammed.

“Camilla!”

Trent. He didn’t knock. He never did. Four years of marriage. And never gave her any form of respect.

She didn’t answer. She lost her voice at that point.

He kicked the door open. Bella was behind him, phone in hand, lips painted red like blood. Smirking.

“Did you see it?” Bella held up her phone. “It’s everywhere. I*******m, PagePix, T*****r. My God, Camilla. You really did it.”

“I don't understand. What did I do wrong? Helped in the hospital”

“Save it.” Trent snatched the phone from her hands. His eyes were cold. The same cold he used when he told her to abort their baby.

“You stupid girl. Do you know what you’ve done?”

Camilla stood. Looking so confused and weak. “He saved my life, Trent. I was bleeding. The baby—”

“I don’t care about the baby,” he shouted. Then, quietly, he said, “I care about my money. And my reputation.”

Bella laughed softly. “Oh, Trent. You should’ve married me. I would never embarrass you like this.”

Camilla looked at her stepsister. Really looked. The way Bella’s eyes flicked to Trent, then back to Camilla. Like she’d planned this.

“I knew you did this. You posted it,” Camilla said. It wasn’t a question.

Bella didn’t deny it. “Someone had to show the world what kind of wife you are.”

Trent turned on her. “As of today, I’m freezing your accounts. Let’s see how you pay for your mother’s hospital bills now.”

The words hit harder than the push at the stairs would later.

Camilla’s throat closed. Her mom. The surgery was next week.

“I need that money, please. My mum's surgery is next week. Didn't do anything wrong, he cried.

“You should’ve thought of that before you let my uncle touch you,” Trent said. He walked out. Bella followed, blowing her a kiss.

Camilla sank to the floor.

She thought to herself, “Trent has always been with other women, but just her sitting in the hospital with Sebastian is already all over the Internet. This world is so cruel to the poor.”

Her phone buzzed. Unknown number.

_“Are you okay? I’m so sorry. This is not your fault; I should have been more careful.”_

Sebastian.

Another buzz.

_“Don’t answer any calls. Don’t talk to the press. I’m sending my lawyer to you in 1 hour. We’ll fix this. Please don't hesitate to call me if you need to talk to someone.”

“Fix this; I don't even care about the press or whatever the public is saying about. Right now I just want money for my mother's treatment,” she said to herself, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She wanted to throw the phone. She wanted to scream.

Instead, she opened her email.

New message. Subject: *INTERVIEW - HOUSE MANAGER POSITION*

_“Ms. Camilla, we’d like to offer you the House Manager role at Sebastian Rich Enterprises. $10,000/month. Start Monday. - HR”_

But looking at the email again, she realized that she was working for SaSebastian

The only job she had. That Trent will still know about, and he will love to destroy it.

Since he doesn't like seeing her happy.

She hadn’t told him. She wasn’t going to.

He was never home anyway. And the last time she tried to work, he laughed and said, _"What do you even know how to do? Don't go out there and embarrass yourself."_

And if he found out she was working for his uncle, he would lose his mind.

He would make sure that before she got her first paycheck, he would force her to stop.

She closed the email quickly and deleted it from her inbox.

Her phone buzzed again.

And then a text from a number she didn’t save, but knew.

Trent: _“Stay away from him. Or I’ll make sure you leave this marriage with nothing, and you will be miserable.”_

Camilla stared at the ceiling. The marble, the chandelier, the contract that was supposed to set her free and give her a better life, is now a burden to her.

She had 5 months left.

And now the whole world thought she was cheating.

Her account was frozen.

Her new job was at risk.

And the only person who showed up for her was the one man she was threatened to stay away from.

Outside, she heard it. The sound of camera shutters. Flashes.

The paparazzi had found the Voughn estate gate.

Camilla looked at the mirror this time, to see how miserable she was already. “The baby is just one month old; he can still use this little energy to secure this job, so she really needs to be strong and stop crying.” She said to herself

She had survived Trent's coldness, Bella's humiliation and also survived losing her baby.

She wasn’t going to survive being broke and homeless in 5 months, but she was sure that with this job, she was going to secure a better life for her and her baby.

She picked up the phone. Dialed the only number that had ever answered at 3 AM.

“Sebastian,” she whispered when he picked up on the first ring. “I need your help.”