Kamille
Hell burned right before my eyes.And no, it was not some fiery hot pit. It was in the form of a towering, delicious man who my entire life revolved around, and the divorce papers in his hand. The deep blue of his eyes burned colder than artic glaciers, pinning me with an intensity more dangerous than hate, like I was nothing but filth in his path.“Sign them. Now.”He threw the papers across the bed and they fluttered in front of me, taunting me with words boldly spelled on them.Divorce.My blood had fizzled out, leaving my veins empty. A loud, repeated knell of doom reverberated from one ear to the other, but I was frozen stiff. I refused to believe this was happening. I had never filled myself with delusions of Ezekiel ever loving me, but I had truly believed we could both tolerate our obligations to each other.Perhaps I was just blinded by love.“You cannot just order me to end this marriage, Ezekiel.” I said in a trembling voice. “I am not one of your employees. I am your wife, and I deserve the barest bit of consideration at least. I just buried my grandmother three hours ago. I am already grieving.”A cruel glint entered his eyes as he tilted his head at me. “What makes you think you deserve that? I have no time to waste exchanging words with you, Kamille. Sign the papers now that I ask nicely. Don't fucking piss me off.”A spike of fear cracked down my spine.The fear wasn't just for me. It was for the innocent baby slowly forming in my womb. One that I had to protect with my life, one that he had no idea about. My trembling hand rested on my abdomen, but of course, he didn't care enough to notice.“I will not sign them.” I said, strengthening my voice.He let out a dark chuckle that sent the temperature of the room various degrees lower. He raked a big hand through his dark hair, sending strands falling out of the slicked-back hairstyle. His other hand loosened his tie.When he looked back at me, a vein was throbbing in his forehead, promising me that he was close to exploding into an ugly fit of rage.“You will sign the divorce papers, Kamille.” He nodded darkly. “Your old fart of a grandmother was the only thing fucking holding us together. Now she's dead, thank the bloody heavens, and this marriage is going to follow her to the darn grave.”Tears burned my eyes, turning my vision blurry.How could he speak about a poor old woman in such manner? She was still warm in her grave, yet this was how he spoke about her, to my face. Not even a slap across the face could hurt worse than this.“Don't blame my grandmother for your decisions.” I whispered. “You're not breaking this marriage because of her, you're doing this because of Ellen. You never got over her, did you? It's pathetic that after three years of marriage—”“Shut your fucking darn mouth, Kamille!” He slammed his fists on the mattress, “You have no right to utter her precious name through that foul mouth of yours! She's the woman I've always loved! I want her in my life, not a free-loader like you! You can resist all you want, but I will make you sign those papers. It's up to you.”He looked unhinged, I had never seen him like this.His anger was usually cold, like the still waters of the sea hiding the vicious creatures lurking underneath. But now, it was a raging tempest.How could I love such a man? Our marriage had been an arranged one, but the moment I caught sight of him for the first time, I was arrested. He was sculpted by the gods, a product of superior breeding and rare genes. He wielded power, influence and confidence. A man women scrambled for without shame or dignity.So I fell helplessly, with no one to catch me. He, on the other hand, was already in a relationship with Ellen, my half-sister. She held his heart in her palms.Why not? She was a skilled violinist, elegant, graceful and famous among the elite circles of the royals and billionaires of London. She was a white swan, pure and lithe, the epitome of feminity. At least that's how it seemed from the outside. Her true self, was terrible, twisted and ugly. No one but me seemed to see that.Ellen was studying in France at the time of my engagement to Ezekiel. His grandfather and my grandmother were lovers, but could not be together for undisclosed reasons, and decided to bind themselves through their offspring, settling as best friends instead.I fulfilled my grandmother's last wishes to give her peace in the last years of her life. Ezekiel, on the other hand, had to marry me to become CEO of the powerful Reid Conglomerate. It was a deal solidified since we were mere children, after I was adopted into the powerful Manor family.“You used me. And this is how you end things? No regard for my grief, no ounce of respect, nothing—?”“—oh, he has given you plenty of respect, Kamille.” A nauseous voice snapped from the open door. My eyes whirled to the side, and it was Ellen, my half-sister and archenemy. “If it were up to me, this would have been done and over with ages ago! Isn't that right, baby?”She cast a sultry smile at Zeke, strutting straight into his strong arms. His face underwent an instant transformation, from rageful to serene, his eyes following every movement of hers like he was transfixed.“You're far more effective at dealing with difficult leeches, baby.” He held her closer, running his aristocratic nose along her smooth cheek.It felt like an invisible foot was stomping my heart into a splatter.Her fingers massaged his muscles, “Oh, you feel so tense. What kind of bloody woman did you get mixed up with, my goodness.” She sent me a contemptuous, dirty and repulsed glance. “Here, let me kiss it better.”She went on her tiptoes —even with her skyscraper heels— and slanted her lips against his. He held her tighter and deepened the kiss, their mouths moving hungrily and in sync, devouring each other right in front of me. The tears that were burning in my eyes finally spilled onto my cheeks, making wet paths down my chin.My throat constricted in a fight against the sobs pushing upward, and my breaths trembled.It dawned on me then.I had no place in this marriage. I could refuse to sign the divorce papers, but I could never stop Ellen and Ezekiel from humiliating me, parading themselves in my face. I did not deserve that. My unborn child, did not deserve such a home.Only once, had Zeke and I shared this bedroom which he was currently desecrating. Perhaps something had gone wrong with him and Ellen that night, he got drunk and forced himself on me. I remembered the pain, the fear, the violation of my body that I felt. But the love I felt deluded me from seeing the monster that he truly was.So I had held him, silently crying when he spilled his seed into me, whispering Ellen's name in my ear.A part of my soul went permanently black since then. Dead.He remembered nothing of it. But here in my belly, a lifetime reminder grew, innocent and pure. I would give the child my all, and I had to start by giving Zeke what he desperately wanted. A divorce.I picked up the pen and gathered the scattered papers in trembling hands. They paused their snogging to look at me in triumph.Ellen let out a snort, “There you go. Not so difficult now, is it? Anyway, everyone is waiting for grandma's will to be read, back home. You're delaying us.”I ignored her, wiping my sweaty palms against my drab black dress. When I was done, I straightened up and dropped the pen, barely holding in the tears, yet, my voice was strong when I spoke again.“You do not have to worry about seeing me again, Ezekiel. I will come get my things tonight.”He barely acknowledged that I spoke, all his attention was focused on the signed papers. I picked up the tatters of my heart, and walked out of the bedroom.KamilleFather, and mother sat on one of the couches, with forlorn expressions on their faces. His arm was thrown around her shoulders, as she sobbed into her wad of tissue.From an outsider's perspective, this was just a normal grieving family. From my perspective, however, this was all a performance. Grandma's death meant nothing to them, if anything, they were glad. In silence, I moved to sit on the couch in the farthest corner of the room. Father's phone began to ring, and he raised it to his ear, “What?”There was a moment of more silence, before he got up from his seated position, hung up and threw the phone on the couch. “Honey, what's wrong?” Mother sniffed, standing.“Bad news. Why now, of all times?” He exclaimed, crossing his arms and tapping his feet in obvious agitation. “It's the lawyer! The call came from the hospital, claiming that he got into an accident on the way here. And he's currently having emergency surgery.”“He has no replacement to send here to get Gran
KamilleI woke up feeling nauseous.My entire head seemed to be spinning, while a splitting headache travelled from ear to ear. I let out a groan and turned to the side, bile filling my stomach. There was an incessant beeping noise somewhere above me, making my disoriention even worse.“Miss? Can you hear the sound of my voice?”The nausea subsided after a few deep breaths. I dragged myself back to my previous position, only to realize that my entire back ached liked I'd been laying on it for far too long. My eyelids felt so no heavy, it by took thrice to the effort to crack them open into a squint.A bright light hit me immediately. I winced.“She's responding to the light. Good.” A womanly voice said, “Get the doctor, she might want to speak directly to him.”I finally opened my eyes wide enough to take in my surroundings. It was white, sterile. A hospital room. I was on the bed, with my arm spread out on the mattress, with different tubes attached to it. There were two nurses in t
KamilleFour Years Later.The electric bell went off within the school building, just as I parked the car in the school driveway. Finishing up the last of my iced Americano, I pushed the door open and stepped out. Other parents were stepping out of their cars as well. Some housekeepers. Some nannies. Some chaffeurs. Assistants. It was a large variety of people in the school at this time.And that was normal, after all, this was a very excellent kindergarten where many of the parents who worked cooperate jobs were too busy to come pick up their children.I counted myself lucky, that I was able to give my kids all the time and attention they needed, and pay our bills as well. All thanks to working from home.Aross the driveway, kids were already milling out through the doors, all noisy and excited to be done with the day's work.My job as a weather content creator and article writer took off so suddenly, and so well that my bank account was overflowing in no time. I was heavily pregnan
KamilleThe dark, gloomy clouds were the hallmark feature of London's weather.If anything else, that sent a cold chill down my spine, solidifying my split second decision to return to London, after seeing grandma's will in my mail. I was so shocked that I had suffered all of this isolation and mistreatment for years, when I was never supposed to.So, I made the life-changing decision to return to London with my kids, to deal with everyone who hurt me, and also find the stranger that had literally saved my life, and that of my kids. It was easy to make a few calls with my American friends, and next thing I knew, I was on a one-way flight with my kids.I had made living and transport reservations to get us settled in smoothly, but the pit of my stomach still churned with uneasiness.“Mommy, my coat!” Torin whined as we got off the plane after touch-down.“Let me help you.” Reon was at his side in a second, fixing up the buttons.“Thank you, Reon.” I patted his hair and pulled Tyris and
Kamille’s POVAfter securing a ride for my kids and I, I took hurried steps to fetch them but on approaching where they sat, I stopped dead in track as my light brown eyes fell on that same unapologetically handsome man with well defined abs and captivating deep blue eyes who served me hurt and shame, smiling with my children. It was the most unbelievable sight of my days.Of all days, why the hell should Zeke choose today to be here?As the wave of mixed emotions surged through me, I let my eyes wander back to his face again, drinking in the sight of him. Then I looked at his fingers deliberately out of curiosity and there it was. A different wedding ring from the one we shared. Snap! I should have known better than be fooled by good looks.A smile was gradually embracing my facial muscles when his betrayal crossed my mind and canceled it. I remembered how he left me on my own and how I went through hurt alone. He made me see the cruel part of life when he left me and married Ellen
Ezekiel’s POVThe ride back was graveyard quiet, save for the steady humming from the car's engine as my driver drove us back to wherever home was for Kamille. Confusion overwhelmed me as I stared at her and the children. Could they be hers? Is there a world where she is the mother of these children? If she is, then just how much did I drink from Ellen's bowl of enticing lies.The more I thought about it, the more curious I became. Kamille must have moved on. She and the kids belong to another! I cringed in annoyance at such upsured thoughts. But what if it was true? A different kind of anger shot through my heart. Jealousy. I managed to stay quiet and continued staring until my eyes locked with the children. They too began staring at me and their mum. Curiosity engulfed their stares. Then I heard the boy who held their backpacks at the airport, whisper to the girl. “Does this gentleman not look familiar to you? I see him stealing glances at mummy.” Yeah I remember, Roen and Tyri
Kamille’s POVSettling down in a new place had to be the worst job I had tried in my entire life. It wasn't as fun as it sounded afterall.Looking at the beautifully arranged and decorated house, I smiled in satisfaction. Now I just had one more thing to do to make settling in complete.I moved to the living room, sat on a sofa close to the window where I can admire the beautiful orchids growing wild up the terrace.After a few rings, a voice came on the other end of the line, “Hello, Miss Smith on the line. How may I help you?” The voice was warm and welcoming.I smiled. “I would like to hire a nanny for my kids.” She asked a couple of other questions before our call came to an end. My children deserved the best nanny since I was going to be busy here in London. I had no plans of exposing them to dirt I had to clean up.Darkness clouded the skies in no time. I went up to the children's room. The boys stayed together in separate beds, while Tyris had a room of her own pretty close to
Kamille’s POVI got to the club at a little over 8:00 pm. Darkness had covered the surroundings save for the dim lights coming from the club. I walked briskly into the club. I scanned the crowd till my eyes landed on Amanda with Belle sitted to her right. I approached the bar where they were seated. “Hello Ladies.” I greeted them, catching their attention. They both stiffened, hearing my voice.They both turned slowly till they faced me.“Oh Kamille, it is really you!” Amanda sobbed and threw herself in for a hug. “We missed you so much Kamille.” Belle added as her doe eyes glistened with unshed tears.“I missed you both too.” I replied as I released myself from Belle's embrace.“Alright ladies. Let's grab some drinks and celebrate Kamille's return to the land of the living!” Amanda squealed.“I second that motion.” Belle said with a hearty laugh. “Belle?” I called out, surprised she concurred to drinking.“What? This is a worthy feat and I need a drink to better assimilate all t