The Dawn Of Camilla

The restaurant was warm, so I booked the VIP session. A private room where I would feel comfortable enough to have a conversation. My lawyer and I ordered a wine to drink, but his gaze stayed locked on me. As if trying to suspect something.

"You don't need to stare at me that much, Thomas." I told him, taking a sip of my drink.

He remained quiet, still staring at me, probably wanting me to spill the reason I called him. But I wanted to wait for Lucas to arrive.

Thomas and I had gone a long way. He grew up in the same neighborhood as I did, alongside Daniel and Lucas. Funny enough, he was one of the men that desperately asked me to be his girlfriend, and I rejected him.

It didn't take long before Lucas Walked into the VIP room, and sat down close to Thomas, directly opposite me.

"Hello, Thomas" Lucas greeted as he sat down.

"You invited Lucas?" Thomas asked, looking confuse. "What exactly is going on here Camilla?"

I crossed my leg, sat up right, folded my hands, but with a glass of wine on my right. I took a heavy sigh.

"We don't have much time to waste. Thomas?" I faced him " I need a divorce--"

"What?" He screamed.

"You heard me. I am divorcing Daniel Valdez."

Thomas stared at Lucas, muttering out words that I could not understand.

"You just got married two days ago Camilla--"

"She's very much aware of that" Lucas responded.

"And how are you agreeing to this Logan?" Thomas questioned. "You both know what will happen to your brother if he gets divorced? It will ruin his life."

"Why are you concerned about that Thomas? You are my lawyer, you should do as I have said not the other way around." My voice, thundered and condescending.

Lucas kept quiet. He remained calm. Just focusing on me without flinching.

"I know... I know that." Thomas replied with a calm voice this time. "Okay. Fine, I'll draft out a divorce paper, but I need to know, on what Ground if I may ask. Why the divorce?"

"Do you really need to know--"

"It's fine Lucas. He's the lawyer anyways, he has the right to know." I cut in. I turned to Thomas whose face showed desperate curiosity. "Physical Abuse. I am divorcing Daniel Valdez for physical Abuse."

"What if he refuses." Thomas asked.

I scoffed. "Thomas, seeing that you are not surprised. It means that you both knew the kind of man Daniel is and clearly refused to tell him--"

"You were deeply in love with him--"

"He cheats too, Logan!" I yelled. "I gave Daniel everything, my heart, my body, my virginity. And he just--" My voice broke, I couldn't finish. I shifted the glasses from my eyes and used the handkerchief to wipe off the tears that shimmered inside my eyes.

"I need the divorce papers tomorrow morning Thomas. I need him to sign it as soon as possible. And if he refuses, we will go to court." I said, and stood up.

"Do you have evidence to prove your claims?" Thomas asked.

"If she doesn't, we will make one" Lucas interrupted. And then turned to me. "I'll drive you home Camilla." He dropped some dollar bill on the table, then we walked out of the room.

Our drive home was quiet and peaceful. Truth be told, I hadn't wanted to go back to that house. I couldn't take one more moaning sound coming from that room.

Lucas kept glancing at me like he had something to say but wouldn't

"Just say it already," I told him, finally catching one of his glances.

Instead, he simply looked at me and smirked without saying a word.

When we finally reached home, Lucas insisted on coming inside with me. I didn't know why, but he wasn't the type to explain himself. He barely spoke as it was.

The moment we stepped inside, the first thing that caught my attention was a piece of underwear lying on the floor.

Then came the loud moaning of a woman from the room.

That was it. I couldn't take it anymore.

I was about to storm into the room and ruin whatever Daniel was doing, but Lucas suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Don't," he said firmly.

"Are you crazy?" I screamed, shoving him away and trying to pull myself free.

But he caught me again. His grip was surprisingly strong, and the look in his eyes had completely changed. He wasn't joking anymore.

"Why?" I demanded.

"This is evidence, Camilla," Lucas said calmly. "If we record him having sex with another woman, you can use it against him. Don't let your anger get the better of you."

I understood everything Lucas said. It was almost as if he knew that if I went up there myself, I would lose control. So he went upstairs to our room, followed the voice, and recorded the scene.

The moment he came back downstairs, he told me we should leave.

“This is my house Lucas. I’m not running.” I told him.

“Hey. Hey! Look at me, Camilla.” His voice softened. “This is your house. No one is asking you to run. But I don’t want you staying here, listening to all of this—”

“I listened to it for two whole days before I came to meet you, Lucas. So I think I’m good—”

“You don’t have to act all tough and strong—”

“Are we really doing this right now?” I cried, tears spilling down my cheeks. “Do you know how hurtful this is? Lucas, you of all people know how much I love your brother. I loved Daniel more than I loved myself.” My voice cracked as the words left my mouth. “I gave him my entire life, and this is how he chose to pay me back?”

The moaning grew louder with every passing minute.

“Let’s get out of here and wait for Thomas to file the divorce papers,” Lucas said softly.

He pulled me into a tight hug, then cupped my cheek in his palm. His eyes stared deeply into mine, our faces only inches apart, as he gently removed the glasses from my eyes and wiped the tears that kept dripping down my cheek.

I nodded in agreement and followed him.

The next morning, I walked straight into Daniel’s office, ignoring the greetings from his employees. One look at my face, and they could tell something was wrong.

I had the divorce papers clutched tightly in my hands. The moment I reached his office, I shoved the door open and slammed the file onto his desk.

I didn’t even bother closing the door behind me.

But when Daniel noticed his employees staring, he quickly walked over, shut the door, and pulled the blinds closed.

“Have you gone mad, Camilla Valdez?” Daniel thundered.

“Valdez?” I yelled. “Don’t you ever call me that again. Starting today, I am no longer a Valdez.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? You’re my wife. All your life, you wanted to be a Valdez, and I made you one—”

“Open the file on your desk, Daniel,” I interrupted, folding my arms across my chest.

He glared at me for a moment before returning to his desk. He picked up the file and pulled out the papers.

The moment his eyes landed on the words divorce papers, he scoffed.

Then, to my surprise, he burst into laughter.

“You must be out of your mind,” Daniel said, shaking his head.

“Oh, I am out of my mind, Daniel.” I took a slow step toward him, keeping my eyes locked on his. “And that’s exactly why I need you to sign those divorce papers.”

His laughter faded.

He stared at me for a long moment, then looked down at the papers in his hands.

Without saying a word, he tore them into pieces.

One sheet after another.

Then he dropped the torn pieces onto the floor and looked at me coldly.

“Over my dead body,” Daniel Valdez said.