5. Camille

Chapter 5

Camille

T he fluorescent lights in Kage’s hospital room buzzed faintly, amplifying the crushing silence. I stepped inside, Bianca’s warning still spinning through my mind like a storm. My chest felt tight, as if I were carrying the weight of the entire night on my shoulders.

Dante was leaning against the wall, his dark eyes sharp and assessing as they locked onto me. His presence, normally steadying, felt like a lifeline I wasn’t ready to grab.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice low, pulling me into his orbit. His hand slid to my waist, a touch that was more grounding than intimate.

I forced a nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Just a lot to think about.”

“A lot?” He tilted his head slightly, his grip firming as if he could tether me in place. “Like what?”

Before I could respond, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, his jaw tightening.

"Is it that woman Jane?"

Dante sighed. "Yeah."

"Are you going to tell me who she is to you?"

He clenched his jaw. "You have nothing to be jealous of, Camille."

"So you haven’t slept with her?" I pushed, unable to stop myself.

Something flickered in his expression—regret, maybe shame. "It's not like that.” The phone stopped buzzing when he declined the call.

The bitter laugh that bubbled up caught even me by surprise. “Then what is it like?” I asked, unable to keep the sharp edge from my voice.

His phone buzzed again, and he swiped to decline the call, muttering under his breath. “She’s from my past. Someone I knew before I ever met you. She doesn’t matter.”

Doesn’t matter? That’s not how it felt, especially when she kept calling.

“You should talk to her,” I said, managing a brittle smile. “I’ll be fine here.”

“Camille—”

“Go,” I interrupted, turning my back on him. I moved to sit beside Kage’s bed, taking his hand in mine.

Dante said nothing, his gaze boring into me. Finally, he said, “I’ll be right back.”

As soon as the door clicked shut, my composure cracked. I squeezed Kage’s hand tighter, like it could transfer some of my own strength to him.

So what if Dante slept with Jane? He’d probably slept with hundreds of women before we met. I was probably just a novelty for him and his interest would pass soon.

Suddenly, the door burst open.

I flinched, my head jerking up. Moira, Kage’s mother, swept in, her face a mask of grief and fury. Behind her, Callum and Seamus followed, their postures stiff, their eyes darting around the room like they were walking into a battlefield.

I stood instinctively, my heart racing. “Mrs. O’Hare?—”

Her gaze pinned me in place, sharp and unforgiving. “Don’t.”

The single word cut through the air like a knife. Callum stayed by the door, his eyes unreadable. Seamus stood behind Moira, his presence imposing but silent.

Moira crossed the room to Kage’s bed, her hands trembling as she brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. For a moment, her mask cracked, and the raw pain on her face was almost unbearable to witness. Then, as if sensing my pity, she turned to me, her grief hardening into anger.

“What happened?” she demanded, her voice low and dangerous.

I opened my mouth, but the words tangled in my throat. “T-there was a car chase,” I managed. “Kage was shot. The man chasing us—Officer Davis—he went off the road and?—”

“This is your fault,” she snapped, her voice rising with every syllable. “My family has suffered nothing but pain since you walked into their lives.”

“No, I?—”

Her hand came out of nowhere, the slap landing with a sharp crack. My head whipped to the side, my cheek stinging as the room seemed to tilt.

“Ma!” Callum stepped forward, grabbing her wrist before she could strike again. “What the hell are you doing?”

“This is all her fault!” Moira hissed, her voice shaking. “Ava, now Kage?—”

“We don’t know that,” Callum interrupted, though his voice was tight. He glanced at me, his expression guarded but not outright hostile.

I straightened, ignoring the pain in my face. “I love Kage,” I said, my voice steady despite the tremble in my hands. “I would do anything to protect him.”

Callum’s gaze softened slightly, but Moira was unmoved. “You’re nothing but a distraction. A toy. Leave.”

I shook my head. “He’d want me here.”

Her laugh was cold and sharp. “You think that means something? You’re just another temporary fix. The only people Kage needs right now are his family and his fiancée. ”

I flinched back harder than when she’d hit me.

“What?” I whispered, the word barely audible.

Fiancée? Kage was engaged?

No, he wouldn’t have kept something like that from me. She had to be lying. Saying whatever she could to get rid of me. Her eyes slid past me.

“Oh my God, Kage!”

I whirled around at the female voice. A girl walked in. She was tall, her body a silhouette of curves that seemed to draw the light toward her, her near-black hair cascading in waves that shimmered like liquid night. Her beauty was so stark but that wasn’t what knocked the air from my lungs – it was her saying Kage’s name and the look of possessiveness on her face. She dropped down to his side, into the seat I’d been using, winding her fingers around his as though they belonged there.

Hurt, betrayal and anger coursed through me.

Was she why Kage had been okay with my attraction to Dante and Ty? Because he had a woman of his own waiting for him? Had he been with her? Had he fucked her?

Had he loved her the whole time he was with me?

"Who are you?" I managed, my voice sounding far away even to my own ears.

"I'm Daniella," she said, looking down her nose at me. I wished her voice was discordant and as ugly as what I was feeling but it was sweet, a melody that clashed with the chaos churning inside me. "Kage's fiancée."

My heart stopped then started again at a frantic pace. I searched her face for any sign of a lie but found none. My gaze lowered to her hand and the engagement ring on her finger – a heavy diamond planted atop a gleaming gold band.

Only the best for Kage’s women, just like all the lavish gifts he’d given me...

This was real.

But still, I denied it.

“Kage isn’t engaged.”

Daniella frowned. “You’re very wrong.”

I felt like I was drowning, back in the river with Ava as the water pulled me under. Fearfully, I looked at Callum.

It was written all over his face.

Guilt.

Pity.

It was the confirmation I didn't want.

How could Kage have kept this from me? How could he have looked me in the eyes and held me and promised to protect me and never once mention he was promised to another?

Moira's voice, sharp and commanding, cut through the fog of my disbelief. "Leave. Now.”

Callum said something but all I heard was the finality in Moira’s voice. Leave? Just like that? As if what Kage and I had shared didn’t matter?

I looked at Kage, his face peaceful in sleep. Betrayal, sharp and bitter, twisted inside me. I wanted to scream, to wake him, to demand answers. But what was the point? The truth was staring me in the face, and it was wearing a sparkling diamond ring that flashed in the room’s fluorescent lights.

Without another word, I turned and stumbled toward the door, my vision blurred by tears. The sound of my own heart breaking was deafening as I ran into the hall. I kept running until I hit something solid. Strong arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly. I looked up into Dante’s concerned gaze.

“Peaches?”

“Did you know?” I demanded, narrowing my eyes at him.

His brows furrowed. “Did I know what?”

“That Kage was engaged.”

Dante’s eyes widened. And then he hesitated.

He hesitated.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I cried, wrenching myself away from him.

Everyone was in on this. Everyone knew but me. I felt like I was back on campus again, all eyes on me, knowing what I didn’t, judging me, loathing me. Laughing at me behind my back, because I was foolish enough to believe Kage truly cared about me.

“Sweetheart, I didn’t know. Not for sure. I’d heard rumors, but you know what rumors are like. They take on a life of their own. I didn’t want to add more fuel to something I didn’t even know was true. Especially because…”

His words faded, but I knew what he was about to say.

Especially because Kage and I were temporary.

He’d told me how it was from the very beginning. But I’d also hoped things had changed since then.

“Who told you he was engaged?” Dante said gently.

All the pain and emotion of the last twenty-four hours suddenly crashed over me like a tsunami. “First his mother, then his fiancée. Right before Kage’s mom kicked me out.”

“I’m so sorry.” Dante slid his arms around me, and I burst into tears. I clung to him. I couldn’t stop it. I just stood there in the hallway, crying in Dante’s arms for a long time until I realized Moira could come out any moment and see me. So could Daniella.

And I couldn’t let them see me like this.

“Let’s go.”

Dante pulled back with a frown. “Don’t let them drive you away. I know you want to stay with Kage.”

I shook my head. “I don’t. Not anymore. What’s the point? He’d just wake up and try to justify why he lied to me.”

When Dante still hesitated, I scowled and pulled away. “Are you going to take me home or should I call a ride?”

“Of course I’ll take you home, Peaches."

I closed my eyes. I love that nickname. Just like I’d loved Kage calling me Rebel. Now both were a reminder that they were just words meant to convey a familiarity and intimacy I couldn’t trust.

Then I remembered what Bianca said about the chateau possibly being bugged. I had absolutely no energy to search for cameras and mics right now, and even if I did, I couldn’t do it in front of Ty or Dante without alerting them that something was up. “No. I don’t want to go to the chateau. Can we go to your place instead?”

“Whatever you need, Peaches.”

Dante tried to hug me again. Even though it hurt me to do it, I stepped back. I couldn’t bear for him to touch me.

I couldn’t bear for anyone to touch me right now.

I was a fool, and I deserved to be isolated. Alone. Miserable.

It hurt to know that I could only count on myself, but it was the stone-cold truth.