CAMILLA''S POV


    I ran my hands down my face trying to wash away the images that were now permanently etched into my brain.


    Seeing Christine like that was not on my bucket list of things to do and I couldn''t help but wonder if some how I had


    made everything worse by storming into the room when she was with her mate. I waited a full five minutes before


    the door opened and Juan stepped out.


    I didn’t want to meet his gaze for fear that there would be some kind of anger or betrayal in them but then he cec


    his hand on my shoulder in a warm andfortin manner and I couldnt stop myself from looking up. His eyes didn’


    hold any of those emotions, he just gave me a warm smile.


    “She is waiting inside,” he said softly and I made to move but he held me in ce. “She can be a bit unreasonable


    and I don’t know why you chose to do this but I believe it was for a good reason. She wille to understand it,


    sooner orter.”


    I didn''t know how much I needed to hear those words until he had said them. I blinked back the moisture that had


    gathered in my eyes and with onestforting smile, I watched him start to walk away when I changed my mind


    and called out to him.


    “This will seem like an absurd statement but can you stay?” I asked and his brows furrowed. “Not inside, I just want


    to know if you can stay close by to make sure that no one is eavesdropping or listening in”


    His brows furrowed. “Does someone always listen in on your conversations?”


    “I don''t know, sometimes I think so and I don’t want anyone to overhear this. I know it sounds stupid but you have t


    trust me on this. I also don’t want anyone knowing that Christine and I are speaking. It might prove to be-"


    He waved me off. “I''ll be here, don’t worry and no one will know.”


    I silently thanked him before finally making my way into the room. Christine was seated on the bed but this time she


    was dressed in one of her night gowns. Her hands were crossed over her chest and her face was carefully nk and


    devoid of all emotion. I hated it because it meant I had to guess how she felt, I had to guess how hurt or not she was


    “Christine-" I began but she held up a hand to stop me.


    “Let me get this straight, you have been lying to all of us the entire time,” I wanted to refute her words but it was the


    truth and I wasn''t going to put Ryker in trouble by saying I had told him earlier. “So this is why Ryker asked me to


    look into them. I thought he was just being worried but in truth, you had lied to us and he knew about it


    “He didn’t, I only told him a few days ago. It hasn''t even been up to a week since I did, I swear,” I wasn’t sure if she


    believed me especially considering she just turned away from me. “I wanted to tell you, I hated hiding it from you


    but-"


    “But why and you better have a fucking good exnation for this because Cami, I am five seconds away from


    asking you to get the hell out of my room and never looking at you again. I have mourned your loss every single day


    since you walked into this pce wondering if I would ever get you back and you were just pretending the entire


    time. How could I have been so stupid?”


    “Something is up with Marie and Peggy.”


    She snorted. “Even I could have told you that”


    “No, you don’t understand.”


    I exined everything to her as best as I could and she was silent the entire time. I wanted Christine to understand


    me, I couldn''t bear having both her and Ryker pissed off at me, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to survive it. He was


    my mate but she was my best friend, she was my sister and I couldn''t do this without her. It was one of the reasons I


    wanted to keep her safe, I didn’t want to include her in whatever mess was forming. I didn’t mince any words and


    exined as best as I could. By the time I was done speaking, she had her hands crossed over her chest and her lips


    were turned downward.


    “I know it is a stupid excuse, Ryker told me as much when I told him but I truly do believe that something is wrong


    and I need to get to the bottom of it before I start making any obvious decisions. Please tell me that you


    understand.”


    “As a member of the royal family, I understand,” I let out a sigh of relief but she stood to her feet and came to stand


    directly in front of me. “But as your sister, I am pissed off as hell that you wouldn''t talk to me about this. I have kept


    all your secrets, I have fought all your battles, what made you think that I wouldn''t be willing or able to fight this


    one.”


    “Because you''re pregnant,” I whispered and she stilled. She took a slow step back and nced at the door but I


    shook my head. “It is like you said, you are my sister and I noticed. I knew you wanted to tell me and that was more


    of a reason why I wanted to hide it from you. I knew you would demand to be involved and Christine, what you need


    right now is to be happy and focused on yourself”


    I had figured out about her pregnancy less than a week back into the pce. Her movements were subtle but I


    always caught her rubbing her hand over her belly softly and then ncing at me after as if she wanted to say


    something to me. I noticed that she was more tired than usual as well and I just put the pieces together but I didn''t


    want to say anything until I had confirmed it which I just did.


    She ran her hands through her hair and sunk back into the bed. “You still should have told me. I can help without


    being involved. You did stupid as hell things while pregnant too.”


    “I did,” I answered with a smallugh. “That is exactly why I know I don’t want you doing the same. I want you and


    that child safe and I will not apologize for lying to you about it.”


    She opened her mouth to speak but a knock on the door cut her off. She turned to me in confusion but I held a hanc


    to my lips as Juan started speaking. “Sweetheart, you really need to get dressed faster. I don’t know why you won''t le


    me be in there.”


    “What is he-" she began but I cut her off.


    “Someone is close by and might be listening,” I responded in a slow whisper. “Can you open the door and poke your


    head out so it doesn’t seem like anything is going on in here?”N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    She nodded and did exactly as I had asked. Juan met my eye through the slightly open door and gave me a discreet


    nod. I knew he was going to handle everything and when she shut the door, Christine turned back to me.


    “I guess you weren''t really overreacting.”


    “Why do you say that?”


    “Marie was outside,” she exined. “Apparently she was looking for you.”


    Once Marie was gone, I snuck out of the room after Christine had promised to try and get as much information as


    possible as soon as she could. I should have gone looking for Marie after but I didn’t want to be around her just yet.


    needed a few minutes to myself to figure out what was going on so I made my way into Audrey''s room. She was


    seated cross legged in bed and when she saw me, her eyes widened to the point of saucers and she rushed over to


    me.


    “Hey, sweetheart,” I whispered carrying her in a front piggy back as I made my way over to the chair overlooking the


    balcony. “I missed you.”


    “I missed you too,” she whispered against my shoulder and without missing a beat, she started telling me everything


    she had done during the day.


    I just sat there listening to her talk and it was amazing how much it did to calm me. I didn''t realize just how much I


    had missed being able to just be with my daughters. It had been maids and work and I saw her every day but it didn


    feel enough. We just sat there together on that chair for what felt like mere minutes but in reality was about two


    hours before the door creaked open revealing Ryker. He looked between Audrey and I and I saw his eyes soften


    considerably.


    “Aurora is right next door, if she had waken up, I wouldn''t known,” I exined but he didn’t seem to need it. He just


    made his way over to me and ced both hands on my shoulders. “Are you still upset?”


    “Why is daddy upset with you?” Audrey jumped in and Rykerughed.


    “I''m not upset with your mother. I just needed some time to clear her head because she was keeping secrets.”


    “Secrets are bad,” she frowned and Ryker hummed as he ced a soft kiss in the center of my head.


    “Your mum knows that now and I am fairly certain that she won''t do that again,” he reached around me to take


    Audrey from my arms. “Come, princess, we have dinner to get to and you haven''t told me about your day yet.


    “I told mummy.”


    “Now you get to tell me.”


    They were still talking when the door flew open and both Christine and Juan rushed in. Christine had an eager look


    on her face and Ryker must have seen it too because he handed Audrey over to Juan and promised to be there soon.


    “What is it?” I asked once Audrey was gone and she held out what looked like a sealed letter.


    “I wrote to the mayor of the town about Marie and Peggy. I just heard back from them.”