Chapter 143


    CAMILLA’S PO.V


    As per tradition, we had to wait until the ce was cleared out before we could leave. We waited for


    thest person to return to their house and for the executioner to carry the body away. I didn’t look at it


    once, I didn’t want to see her body. I didn’t know how but I knew that I was going to throw up if I saw it.


    I had already told Ryker what I learned from her but unlike him, I still had a soft spot for people and I


    still felt like if she was dealt a better hand at life, she would have been a better person.


    “Everything has been cleared out,” Ryker told me and I finally risked a nce. The guillotine was still


    there and I could see the blood coating the de and the floor in front of it. I knew someone would


    clean it up before tomorrow but I couldn’t help but stare at it.


    “Isn’t it funny?” I asked and he turned to me.


    “Isn’t what funny, baby?”


    “One second she was terrorizing us and the next, she is dead. It was so easy and yet so hard. She was


    such a torment but at the end of the day, she was just blood and meat like the rest of us.”


    “I


    guess that is one way to look at it,” he reached out to me and helped me to my feet. “I think we should


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    just be grateful that she is gone and that we have no need to worry anymore. This is the first time in a


    long time that we have even a semnce of peace. We can finally take a break, maybe we can even


    take a vacation. The goddess knows that we both need one.”


    I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Perhaps we could go to my father’s vacation house. Christine and the girls


    never made it there. It might be good for the two of us. What do you think?”


    “That sounds like a good idea but first we need to actually find Christine. I wonder where she ran off to


    with that guy.”


    As if on cue, I heard Christine’s voice. It sounded muf fled meaning she was a bit of a distance away


    but she was clearly yelling. We followed the sound until we got to the private living room. The door was


    slightly ajar which exined why her voice carried. Juan was standing with his back to us and he was


    so tall that hepletely dwarfed Christine from our vision. Ryker wanted to go in but I grabbed my


    hand and shook my


    head.


    “No, listen,” I instructed and although I could tell that he didn’t agree, he nodded.


    |||


    O


    10:36 Fri, 23 Feb.


    Christine was the first person to speak. “You should never havee here. I should never havee


    after you. It was a mistake. I told you as much when I left in the morning. It never should have


    happened.”


    “Don’t insult your own intelligence by iming it was a mistake, cara mia, you know better than that.


    You knew what you were doing and it scared


    you because you liked it.”


    “F uck off,” she tried to shove at his chest and although he stumbled back a little. He grabbed both of


    her hands and kept them pinned. “Let me go, I have nothing I want to say to you.”


    “Good, then you should listen,” he instructed. “I don’t know who hurt you or made you feel like you had


    to put up walls but you don’t have to do that with me. I’m willing to wait as long as it takes for you. I


    don’t care how long that is, even if I have to wait until the end of my life.”


    “Stop saying that,” her voice was barely over a whisper and I knew I shouldn’t have been


    eavesdropping on their conversation. It was a private moment between the both of them but I couldn’t


    look away.


    “Why not? It is the truth,” he walked her backwards until she hit the wall. “Let me prove this to you, all


    you need to do is give me a chance.”


    “I have a mate,” she blurted out and I winced slightly. “I rejected him but he never epted it.”


    Juan stilled. “Do you want him?”


    Christine didn’t hesitate before she responded. “No.”


    “Good, nothing else matters,” I watched as he kissed her and that was exactly what had me looking


    away.


    It was their moment and they deserved to have it to themselves. I was surprised that even Ryker


    agreed because he gently closed the door. I would have expected that he would storm in there and go


    all protective on her but a small smile was ying on his features.


    “I


    guess you approve of him then,” I mused aloud once e had gone a few feet away and he nodded


    slowly. “What made you change your mind?”


    “He didn’t run when she said she had a mate,” he said simply. “A lesser man would have gone running


    for the hills when he realized that he had a littlepetition. The mate bond is a very powerful thing


    and not many are willing to go against it.”


    “Juan was,” I finished for him and he nodded.


    III


    <


    “I still don’t know him enough to like him but I guess that he is doing well enough for himself right now.


    He still has a lot to prove but for now, I think he has done enough.”


    That was enough for me. Ryker had the best judgment in people most times and if he approved of Juan


    then so did I. Christine deserved to be happy and if Juan was that man then I would root for the two of


    them until the day I died.


    While they spent their time together, Ryker and I decided to spend some time with our daughters. They


    didn’t know what had just happened and they didn’t need to know. All they knew was that we were safe


    and that was good enough for me.


    I didn’t see Christine again until dinner time. She was walking down the hallway towards the dining


    room. I was holding Audrey’s hand because Ryker had gone ahead of us with Aurora. When she saw


    me, she smiled wide and I wasn’t sure if it was in an attempt to draw my attention away from the love


    bite on her neck or simply because she was happy to see me.


    “You look well,” I said simply and her cheeks heated slightly. “Is Juan going to be joining


    us for dinner?”


    “I don’t think so. He isn’t- we aren’t.”


    “If he is giving you love bites then I would believe that you are. What is the excuse?”


    “Mummy, what is a love bite?” I had momentarily forgotten that Audrey was with me and I scrambled


    my brain for a possible response that was age appropriate.


    “Well, it is when you love someone so much that you bite them,” was what I settled on and brows


    furrowed. “Biting people is wrong, don’t even think about it but some people don’t know how to express


    their affection for others and end up biting.”


    “Aunt Christine has a friend who bites her?” she asked again and her innocence made the entire


    situation more embarrassing then it should have been. “Why does he do that? Doesn’t he know that


    bites hurt?”


    “These ones don’t,” Christine stepped in. “Don’t worry, you’ll understandter.” She looked up at me


    with using eyes and I couldn’t stop myself fromughing. “I’ll go ask him if he wants to join us.”


    “Try not to bete,” I called out to her as she walked off and she flipped me off.


    I walked into the dining room smiling from ear to ear and I could see Ryker’s confused. face as he took


    me in. I assured him that he would understand soon enough and although he seemed satisfied with


    that answer, the confusion never left his face. When Juan and Christine walked in a few momentster,


    understanding dawned on his


    features.


    O


    10:36 Fri, 23 Feb.


    Juan looked a little nervous as he took the seat to Audrey’s right. I could tell that he was unsure of how


    to act. I wasn’t sure if it was because he hadn’t been around kids or because it was Ryker’s kid and he


    knew for a fact that Ryker was not his biggest fan in the world.


    “Thank you for inviting me for dinner. It is an honor,” he began but I cut him off.


    “Pleasantries will get you nowhere in this family. You’re better off cursing us out,” he blinked at me in


    shock and I smiled. “I’m kidding, it was no problem. You are a guest and it would be cruel of us to leave


    you alone while we ate.”


    “Are


    you Aunt Christine’s friend?” Audrey asked and he turned to her with a small smile as he nodded. “My


    mummy said you bite her. Why do you do that? Don’t you know that biting is bad?”


    Ryker choked on his food as he tried to hide hisugh, my cheeks heated pink, Christine looked like


    she wanted the ground to swallow her whole and Juan blinked repeatedly like he wasn’t sure how to


    respond.


    “Cami, what did you tell our daughter?” Ryker whispered to me and all I did was shrug. He ran his


    hands down his face and opened his mouth in preparation to talk to Audrey when Juan spoke.


    “It’s a bad habit and I promise I’ll stop. Will you help me?” Juan asked and Audrey looked stoked at


    being asked because she nodded eagerly. “I’m certain that with your help, I’ll be able to reform myself


    in no time.”


    Audrey turned to Ryker. “I like him, daddy, can he stay here forever and ever?”


    “Why don’t we eat first, hm? You’re not supposed to talk at the table,” Ryker told her and she pouted


    but listened and focused on her meal.


    I looked over at Juan and mouthed an apology but he shrugged. I was relieved that he was taking it so


    lightly. I would have been mortified if Audrey had asked me the question. He just turned to Christine


    and winked at her. Her cheeks heated and she promptly looked away.


    I didn’t know about Ryker but I liked Juan and I had to agree with Audrey on this one, I wanted him to


    stay.