Chapter 19
1171 Words
"I should have looked at my daughter properly…"
Isabella muttered to herself, stumbling down the road.
Her voice cracked.
Her thoughts were a chaotic storm.
People passing by stared, some with pity, some with confusion, others with that cold detachment strangers always have when misery isn't theirs.
But Isabella didn't see any of them.
She was too lost in her own collapse.
Tears blurred her vision as she walked, not caring where her feet were taking her. The sky was getting darker, the road emptier, yet she kept moving as if running from her own shadow.
Finally, her shaking legs gave out.
She sank onto a rock by the roadside, her body folding into itself.
Her hands trembled against her face.
"What happened to Sophia!" she whispered.
She had no idea.
Alex didn't give her a single answer, only blame.
Food.
It had something to do with the food.
Isabella's breath stilled.
"Wait… did she eat sardine?"
She closed her eyes, forcing her mind to replay the scene.
Ana…
Ana adding something into the meal.
Isabella had asked what it was.
"Seasoning," Ana had replied.
A lie.
A clean, easy lie.
Isabella's heart dropped.
Was it Ana?
Was Ana the one who tried to implicate her?
"But why?" Isabella whispered, the betrayal cutting deeper than any insult Alex had thrown at her.
Ana, the only maid who had been decent to her.
Ana, who smiled with her.
Ana, who acted like they were going to face storms together.
Why would she betray her…
Why her, of all people?
A cold disappointment washed over her, heavier than fear, heavier than anger.
She felt small.
Alone.
Like the world kept tightening its grip just to see how far she could be pushed before she broke.
Isabella wiped her face with the back of her hand, but the tears kept coming.
"What did I ever do to deserve this…" she whispered to the darkening road.
————
Camila woke to a splitting headache and a strange stillness in the room.
She walked towards the window.
The sky outside the window was pitch-black, the moon barely hanging on the horizon.
"Wait… I was dancing a few minutes ago… right?" she whispered, rubbing her temples.
Her memory came in broken flashes, music, lights, her own wild laughter.
And then…
Warm arms.
A familiar scent.
A man's voice that dragged her back to a past she buried with blood and tears.
Her breath hitched.
"Who brought me here? Was it… Alex?"
For a moment, hope flickered.
But then reality punched her.
No.
Not Alex.
Him.
The realization hit her so hard her legs wobbled.
She scanned her body, heart pounding, her clothes were intact, untouched.
"Life isn't," she muttered bitterly. "Life will never be intact again."
Had it been a drunken hallucination?
Or did she actually see him… feel him?
Her gaze drifted to the table.
A small folded note sat there.
She recognized the handwriting instantly.
Her blood ran cold as she picked it up.
I'm back for you, Cam.
Her hands shook violently.
The words were simple, but they crushed the air out of her chest.
Her heart felt like it was sinking into a pit she'd vowed never to return to.
"No… no… why now?" she whispered, backing away.
She needed to find Alex.
She needed someone, anyone, to anchor her before her past swallowed her alive.
Why didn't Alex come for her?
Where was Nora?
Camila burst out of the room and found her assistant standing in the corridor, head bobbing as she dozed off.
"Nora!" Camila snapped.
Nora jerked awake immediately. "M-ma'am!"
"Where is Alex?"
Nora swallowed. "Sir Alex didn't pick any of my calls. I've tried for hours."
Camila clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached.
So Alex was ignoring her now?
Rebelling?
Pretending she didn't matter?
Fine.
If the world wanted chaos, she would give them chaos.
If Alex wanted to distance himself, she would make sure he regretted it.
Camila straightened her clothes, wiped her face, and lifted her chin.
"We're leaving," she said coldly.
Nora scrambled after her as Camila stormed out of the bar, heels clicking like warning shots, a hurricane brewing around her.
Camila sat in the backseat of her car, fingers tapping restlessly on her knee.
Her mind wouldn't stop spiraling.
Is Isabella really this capable of holding Alex's attention?
Is she truly better than me?
The questions gnawed at her. First, Isabella barged into the wedding she'd built from scratch.
Then, she ruined every carefully laid plan.
If Camila had already been legally married to Alex… would her past still have clawed its way back to her?
No.
She refused to let her life crumble because of Isabella.
Camila looked out the window, watching the bright city lights blur together.
Normally she loved this view; it made her feel powerful.
Tonight, it felt meaningless.
Then something, or someone, caught her eye.
A lone figure curled on a roadside rock.
"Reverse," Camila ordered sharply.
Nora, who had been silently driving, obeyed immediately.
She reversed with practiced precision and stopped right in front of the shadowed figure.
Camila squinted.
"…Isabella."
Her lips curled into a cold smirk.
Of course.
Who else would be pathetic enough to sleep outside like a stray?
Camila stepped out of the car, Nora following closely.
"Isabella," Camila called, voice dripping with mock sweetness.
Nora tapped Isabella's shoulder repeatedly until her eyes slowly fluttered open.
For a moment, Isabella wondered if everything had been a nightmare, but the darkness, the cold air, the ache in her body… all of it stayed the same.
Then she noticed the looming shadow.
Camila.
Isabella jolted up, nearly falling, but Nora caught her.
Camila laughed softly. "Why are you trembling? Did Alex throw you out after your little morning rendezvous?"
Isabella stiffened at the word.
"What rendezvous?" she asked, forcing her voice steady.
"Oh, don't act innocent." Camila's smile faded into a sharp, icy expression. "I'm not Alex. I see what's underneath."
Something clicked in Isabella's mind.
The food.
The strange ingredient.
Ana's reaction.
The looks everyone gave her.
Helena.
And Camila standing here now, smirking like the devil herself.
Before she could stop herself, Isabella grabbed Camila by the collar.
"What did you do to Soph?" she shouted, eyes blazing.
"Why did you attack my daughter?"
Camila didn't flinch.
Not even a blink.
Nora stepped in instantly, dragging Isabella off with surprising strength.
Isabella stumbled and slammed her back against a metal pole, pain shooting up her spine.
She grit her teeth, refusing to cry out.
Camila crouched to her level, face inches from hers.
"Let me give you a ride, little kitten," she whispered, a wicked grin stretching on her lips.
"No thanks," Isabella muttered, inching away. "I… I know my way around."
Camila chuckled, unimpressed.
She turned to leave and Nora opened the door for her.
Then Nora grabbed Isabella by the arm and shoved her, hard, into the backseat of the car.
The door slammed shut like a trap.
- Writer
