Chapter 2

Camila’s POV:

“Daniel?” I mumbled, stumbling backward as my grip loosened, and my purse slipped from my numb fingers, crashing against the hardwood floor with a deafening thud. 

The sound ripped through the office and Daniel quickly pulled out of Samantha, his chest heaving as he frantically began tugging his pants back up while Samantha scrambled backward across the desk, her face flushing deep red as she hurried to drag her skirt down to cover herself.

I stood there completely stunned, staring at my husband of three years and the woman I had called my best friend since highschool. My brain was firing wildly, trying and failing to make sense of the puzzle before me.

Finally, I forced my trembling legs to take a single step forward into the room. “Is she the reason you coldly demanded a divorce this morning?” I asked, waiting for an apology. 

Instead, Daniel straightened his tie, looked directly at me, and said. "Yes, Samantha is the reason I’m divorcing you."

“Why?" I whispered, turning to face Samantha. "You... you actually told me to come here tonight. You told me to drive down here just so I could witness this?"

Samantha wouldn't look at me. She kept her eyes glued to the floor, her fingers nervously picking at the hem of her skirt. "Look at me!" I screamed but she remained frozen, looking down. 

I realized then that her silence wasn't true guilt; it was a performance. She had called me here to mock me, to ensure I saw her taking what was mine. 

Sensing the futility, I whipped back around to face Daniel, the man I had built a life with. "And you." I choked out, a sob ripping from my chest. "Why would you even think of doing something like this to me after all the sacrifices I made just to be with you?"

"I didn't have a choice, Camila.” He said, dragging his hands roughly across his face.

“The company is close to bankruptcy, and I have debts piled up so high I can barely see straight. I’ve spent the last several months running myself into the ground trying to find investors, but everyone turned their backs on me."

He paused, glancing briefly at Samantha before looking back at me. "But Samantha was willing to convince her father to invest millions into my company, wipe out my debt and save everything I built. But on one condition that I divorce you and marry her."

“Have you forgotten that I was the one who invested every single penny of my savings into your company when it was just an idea in a cramped college dorm room! I worked three part-time jobs, exhausting myself to the bone, just to pour that money into your dream! I am the reason you could even grow this business to this height.”

I pressed my hand against my chest, my heart breaking into a million jagged pieces. "And now you're telling me you have to leave me for her?"

To my absolute horror, Daniel didn't deny it, he just nodded slowly. "I haven't forgotten what you did, Camila. I admit you made massive sacrifices for me. That’s exactly why I’m not going to leave you empty-handed. In the alimony agreement, I am willing to triple the exact amount of money you ever spent on me or the company so that you can start your life over, comfortably."

He took a step toward me. "But you have to understand, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. Samantha is an only child and her father has no other heirs. If I marry her, then I will inherit his entire empire at the end of the day.”

"You think this is just about money?!" I shrieked, tears blinding my vision. 

"My family despised you but I cut them out of my life entirely just to stand by your side! I endured your mother's cruelty for years, and when she fell sick, I spent over a year of my life sleeping on uncomfortable hospital chairs, taking care of her every single day until the exact moment she died!”

“Don't be selfish, Camila." He said, his voice cutting through my screams. "I appreciate everything you did for my mother. I really do. That's why I'm giving you a massive settlement. But right now, I need to think about myself."

Pausing, he added. "If you truly loved me, as you’ve always claimed all these years, you would just let me go."

‘If you truly loved me, you would let me go.’

The words echoed in my ears, bouncing around the hollow spaces of my skull as I glanced back and forth between Daniel and Samantha, two monsters disguised as the people I loved most. 

Suddenly, the room began to tilt and I stumbled backward, my balance completely failing. "Camila!" Daniel blurted out, reaching his 

hands out to steady me. "Don't touch me!" I screamed, summoning every ounce of strength I had left to shove his hands away. 

“Don't you dare touch me!" I spun around, blindly bending down to grab the strap of my fallen purse from the floor and stumbled out of the office, down the hallway, and into the elevator.

The drive away from the building was slow at first because tears had blurred my vision but then, the image of them on the desk flashed in my mind and my foot slammed down on the gas pedal. 

The engine roared, and the car shot forward at full speed. As the car hurtled down, my eyes caught the flashing, distorted sign of a dive bar and the urge to to completely erase the last two hours from my mind, took over so I slammed on the brakes, pulled a sharp U-turn, and parked over the curb.

Then, I threw the door open, stumbled into the dark bar, and crawled onto a stool at the far end of the counter. "Give me a drink." I told the bartender, wiping a mix of rain and tears from my face. "The strongest thing you have. Please."

"Miss, are you okay?" The bartender asked, looking at my ruined makeup and trembling frame with concern.

"Just give me the damn drink!" I screamed and soon a glass was placed in front of me. 

"One more.” I demanded, slamming the empty glass down but just one more led to many until darkness finally rose up to swallow me whole.

<<<<<<

The next morning, the first thing I felt was a sharp pain behind my eyes that felt like a sledgehammer hitting my skull so I groaned softly, shifting my weight, only to realize that I wasn't wearing a single stitch of clothing.

“Shit!” I gasped, forcing my heavy eyelids open, squinting against the morning light filtering through unfamiliar curtains to see that I wasn't in my bedroom. 

I quickly pulled the heavy duvet up to my chin as I realized I wasn't alone. Lying right beside me, beneath the same covers, was a man whose back was turned toward me. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs as I struggled to piece together the fragments of the night before but before I could panic further, the man let out a deep sigh, stretched his long limbs, and slowly rolled over.

He was still deep in sleep but he was now facing me. I froze instantly on the mattress and my eyes widened in shock because for whatever insane, and impossible reason, the man sleeping naked in bed next to me looked completely, utterly familiar. 

I didn't know his name, and my alcohol-fried brain couldn't place it, but as I stared at this stranger who wasn’t quite a stranger, his face tugged at something deep in my memory.