Chapter EightyRaphael’s POVI was going round, making sure to greet all the guests and to thank them for coming. The children were playing around having fun. I was with a group of some of my friends when I heard a cry. It was from Rory, she was calling for her mother.I looked around and spotted her sitting on the floor with a group of people around her. Camilla had already gone to her. I rushed to where she was.“What happened?” Camilla asked, picking her up from the ground.“He pushed me.” She said pointing to one of the bigger kids.“No, I did not.” The boy said.“Then how did she end up on the ground?” I asked.“I don’t know. I didn’t do anything to her.” He responded.I didn’t know what to do. Rory said he pushed her and he was saying he did not. Who was I supposed to believe?“Rory, are you okay?” I asked and she shook her head. She had a scrape on her knee. “Did he push you?” She nodded yes.I looked at all the children who were gathered and then I asked Jason what had happen
Chapter Seventy-NineCamilla’s POVJason’s birthday party was supposed to start by 2:00pm. It was currently 12:00pm and Rory and I were getting ready to leave. She was insisting we leave early so we could get there before others.Raphael had already mentioned the possibility of me running into people who I knew from the past or other public figures. He suggested I just drop Rory off and leave of I was not comfortable but I refused. I didn’t want to hide anymore.We got in the car and then made our way to the house. By the time we got there, all the decorations were already put up and some guests had already started arriving. I dropped our gift at the table and went to look for something to keep myself busy with.The house was busy. With music playing in the background and children running around, it was like chaos. I walked to the kitchen to get a bottle of water from the fridge.I got the water and was turning around to leave when I bumped into someone.“Sorry.” I quickly said.“Cami
Chapter Seventy-EightRaphael’s POVIt was just Jason and I chilling in the house. We spent the whole day making plans for his birthday. We had already sent out invites to most of his friends and our extended family.We were in his room watching TV when I got a text from Camilla saying I should come outside the house. I was a bit confused but did as she asked. I opened the front door and saw she answered Rory standing outside. “Daddy.” Rory ran to give me a hug.“What the heck. You didn’t tell me you would be arriving today.” I said with a smile on my face. “It was a surprise.” She said as we went into the house. “Where’s Jason?”“He's upstairs. I’ll go get him.” I went upstairs to Jason’s room. “I have a surprise for you.” I said to him.“What is it?” He asked excitedly.“Come on.” I said to him and we both went downstairs. When he saw Rory, he ran to her with excitement and hugged her. I smiled.“Can I get you something to drink?” I asked Camilla.“Water’s fine.” She replied and I
Chapter Seventy-SevenCamilla’s POVThe days were passing by fast and Rory still hadn’t returned to school yet because I hadn’t made a decision. The plan was to go to New York for Jason’s birthday and then figure out if I wanted to stay there or return to California.We went to the store last night to get a gift for Jason. Rory asked me to get Spider-Man themed toys because that was what Jason liked. We were on the plane to New York. I didn’t tell anyone that I was arriving that day, not even my grandpa or Skye.We finally landed and the driver was already waiting to pick us up. We made our way to my grandpa's house.When we got there, we got out of the car and made our way to the front door. I already knew he would be home since he hadn’t resumed work yet.We went inside and went to the study. I knocked gently on the hard door and heard a response from him to go in.I opened the door slowly and walked inside with Rory.“Pops.” Rory screamed excitedly.“Camilla, Rory. What a surprise.
Chapter Seventy-SixRaphael’s POVWe were finally able to go home after a week at the hospital. He still needed regular checkups and doctor appointments, but for now, we were in the clear to leave the hospital.He was still so happy even after going through one of the most traumatic things a child can go through. He was most excited for his birthday on Friday, which was three days away. He got even more excited when I told him Rory would be attending.We got to the house and I carried Jason upstairs to his room so he could rest. He was awake so I stayed with him until he fell asleep.“Is he asleep?” Audrey asked when I went back downstairs.“Yes.”“When are you going to speak to Sam?”“I don’t know. I don’t have the energy to have that conversation.”“Raph, you can’t keep putting that away. You need to have a conversation with him while your feelings are still fresh so you can get everything out of your system and you guys can return to your friendship.”“What if we can’t return to th
Chapter Seventy-FiveCamilla’s POVIt had been two days since James told me the truth about everything. We hadn’t spoken since then. I didn’t know if I wanted to be angry at him. Like he said, he didn’t have a choice, they were going to kill him if he didn’t give them what they wanted.There was some good news at least, Jason had woken up and was recovering in the hospital. Rory was asking about him, she didn’t know he had been in an accident and was in the hospital. I wasn’t planning on telling.I’d been doing a lot of thinking these past few days. I’ve been thinking about Rory, myself, my grandfather, and also Raphael. I kept thinking about whether I wanted to raise my daughter here, especially after what happened with James. One of my closet friends here had betrayed my trust and compromised my daughter’s safety.I didn’t tell Raphael about what James told me. He had enough on his plate already, I didn't want him to worry more.“Mummy, can I talk to Daddy?” Rory asked.“I don’t kno