Chapter 130
CAMILLA’S POV
As soon as I left the room, I rushed over to find Christine. She had gone to her room and locked the door. I knocked but she was content to ignore it. I didn’t quite blame her, she wanted to be alone, I would too after everything that happened. I had just considered giving up and leaving when I saw Riley walk up to the door. Her tears had dried but her eyes were atill a little red and swollen. I glanced at her warily but she just walked over to the door and knocked.
“It’s Riley, please open it.”
There was silence on the other end of the door for a full minute before I heard the lock turn. Christine pulled the door wide open and I got a good glimpse of her. She wasn’t crying- at least there was so sign that she was- but she looked exhausted. There looked to be a thousand years worth of weight in her eyes. She glanced at Riley and I before pulling the door open and letting us both in.
“You really need to learn to take a hint, Camilla,” she drawled once I had walked into the room. “I don’t mean to be rude but I have things that I need to do so if there is a specific reason why you want to be here then-”
“Can we just call a ceasefire and put down our weapons for five minutes?” Riley asked making us both turn to her. “We’re women, we should be supporting each other and not fighting. I just want to talk and once I am done, I will be out of your hair. You do not have to worry about that at all.”
Christine watched her with wary and narrowed eyes for a second before nodding. She took the seat at the edge of the bed with her hands clasped in front of her. “I’m listening.”
“I just wanted to apologize. That outburst was completely uncalled for and I should have never pushed him to making that decision in front of you. It was selfish and a complete disregard of your emotions. I knew what he was going to say and I wanted you to hear it because the truth is that I was jealous. I thought that maybe if he said it in front of you then maybe it would help. That was wrong and I apologize.”
“There is nothing to apologize for,” Christine said after a beat of silence. “I needed the reality check, I rejected him. All he has to do is accept it. I should have never come between you in the first place. I should have done this since day one.”
There was silence and a look passed between the two women. It felt like I was intruding on a personal moment but I couldn’t find it in myself to lift my legs and leave. I wanted to be sure that everything was settled under good terms. A fight between the two of them would be disastrous, not just for them but also for everyone else involved. It could wreck the very foundations of our family.
“I really hope that you two are happy together,” Christine spoke softly and what hurt the most was that I knew she meant it. She was truly going to drop everything and leave them to their devices.
“I’m not sure if I want to be with him anymore,” Riley admitted and I turned so fast that I almost got whiplash. “I just feel like he didn’t respect me enough to make a decision on his own. I wasn’t enough for him to choose and I understand because look at you,” she gestured at Christine. “I wouldn’t want to choose either. I was living off a childhood fantasy and ! think it is about time that I moved on from it.”
“So you don’t want to mate with him anymore?” I asked to be sure that I knew what she was saying.
“No, I do, but I’m not going to blindly walk into it and pretend like he has no faults which is what I have been doing. I am an adult and I think it is about time that I started acting like it,” she exhaled deeply. “I had the best example of what a male figure should be like in Ryker and he would have never done this so if he doesn’t meet the mark then I’ll just let it go.”
“I like that for you,” I whispered and she gave me a small watery simile.
“It’s going to be really difficult” she whispered with a small laugh but I think I can do it. I’m going to make sure that I do it.”
“I hope it works out for you,’ Christine told her honestly, “and if you ever need space from him then the palace is open to you. Your brother is a ruler. I don’t think anyone would bat an eye.”
Riley shook her head. “I think I am done running from my problems for a while. That pack is my home and I’m not going to let anything chase me out of it.” She smiled. “Thank you for listening to me and talking to me. I really hope that at some point, we could be friends.”
It took a beat of silence before Christine said, “I hope so too.”
Riley left immediately after while I stayed back for a minute to check back on Christine and make sure she was okay. Once I was sure that she wasn’t going to burst into a fit of tears, I decided to leave. I pulled the door open when I noticed Alara standing a few feet away and walking down. Normally, it shouldn’t have been suspicious but I was already on edge when it came to her due to the amount of times I had seen her lurking in places she shouldn’t.
“Do you need something?” I asked and her eyes widened for a second before she shook her head. “You’re not supposed to be here, at least, I don’t think you are.”
“You’re right, I was actually just asked to clean a few things,” she chuckled awkwardly. “The person who was supposed to do it wasn’t available and I just stepped up.”
I hummed under my breath as I watched her squirm. “Well, I am sure it would please you to know that the threat with the vampires has been extinguished. It would be safe for you to leave to meet your uncle soon. Perhaps you could come with me so that we can pen a letter to him to inform him of your potential arrival?”
She looked stunned for a second but she quickly nodded with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Of course, that would be amazing Thank you for hosting me this long. I can’t wait to go home. I hope he responds quickly enough.”
“Well then, shall we?”
She walked with me to my office where I penned down the letter. I gave it the royal seal and personally handed it over to be delivered. She had been smiling during the entire ordeal but something about her smile didn’t quite sit right with me. It was edgy and almost too perfect. Once we were done, she bowed and excused herself before disappearing into the palace. I made a mental note to keep an eye on her but that was quickly forgotten when Ryker walked up to me holding Aurora in his hands.
“This little one was crying and didn’t want to be put down,” he mused aloud as he came over to me. The corner of my lips broke out into a smile and a I blew a raspberry at her which made her giggle. “I think that after what they have been through they need a second to unwind, don’t you?”
“I think that would be an amazing idea. What do you have in mind?”
“Nothing special or dramatic, perhaps we could just spend the weekend together doing nothing. It has been a very long time since we did nothing.”
“I think I would like that,” I blew another raspberry in Aurora’s direction before straightening. “What about Damien? What did you say to him?”
“Nothing he didn’t already know or suspect,” he shrugged. “I just told him to get his shit together. I hope he actually listens.” “When is he heading back?”
“Soon, probably later today, he took a lot of guards and with Riley here, the pack is undefended. Linformed him that Riley wouldn’t be going with him though. If she wants, she can leave tomorrow but I don’t want them to be stuck on a journey that long with this unresolved issue between them,” I sighed deeply and he reached out for me. “They’ll work it out, somehow.”
“I know that,” I assured him. “I am just worried about how long it will take before that happens and what could potentially be lost on the journey there.”
“Fortunately, that is not for us to worry about. We have done our parts and the rest is up to them. All we need to do is be supportive no matter what they choose.”
There was a look in his eye, one that told me he already knew or suspected what the end result would be and he didn’t like it one bit.
“What is it?” I asked but he shook his head. “Tell me, please.”
“I think it is better if we just let things play out,” I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off. “Come, Camilla, we have the entire weekend to ourselves. I want us to spend it with our children and not talking about the weird love triangle going on in our family.”
I realized he wasn’t going to budge at all so I sighed deeply and took his hands. He gave me a small smile to thank me for not pushing and we made our way further into the house together.
“What were you even doing outside?” he asked after a minute of silence. “I went to Christine’s room and then your office to look for you but she didn’t know where you were.”
“I went with Alara,” his brows raised. “I took her to send a letter to her uncle so that she could leave as soon as possible.”
He was quiet for a second before nodding. “Good, she hasn’t done anything yet but I don’t trust her as far as I can throw her.”
“Neither do I,” I admitted. “There is something off about her and I would rather not find out.”
