Chapter 58: Lost in her thoughts

Camila POV

The smell of eggs and bacon that Samantha was making filled her small kitchen, but I barely noticed. My mind was somewhere else entirely—back in that dark alley. I still couldn't believe she dropped dead right before my eyes.

“Camila?”

I stared at the grain patterns on the wooden table, whilst tracing them with my eyes. They looked like tiny rivers flowing nowhere… or maybe that's what my head was imagining. Couldn’t tell.

“Camila?!”

I looked up immediately.

“Sorry, what?” I blinked at Samantha who had been standing by the stove with a spatula in one hand and her other hand planted on her hip.

“Are you okay?” She turned down the flame under the pan. “You've been staring at that table like it's owing you a fortune.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. What was I supposed to say? That I was still reminiscing about last night? Or the fact I nearly died too? Or that every time I closed my eyes, I saw her die over and over again?

When I didn't reply, she turned off the gas completely, wiped her hands on a dishcloth and moved closer to me.

She sat opposite me. “Cam, where did you go just now? I've been calling your name but you weren't responding.”

I forced a smile. “I’m fine, Sam. Really.”

“Yeah, and I'm very good at detecting lies.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Try again.”

I let out a long breath and slumped back into the chair. "I just... I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

“Trying to find evidence against Edward. I mean, every single time I get close to something, it all goes sideways. And somehow someone always ends up getting hurt.” My voice cracked on the last word. “Always.”

Samantha exhaled, and placed her hand over mine. “Camila, I've been telling you to stop this. From the very beginning. We talked about this last night, Cam. This whole revenge quest—is just not going to end well.”

“But—”

“No buts.” She squeezed my hand tight. “You're going to get yourself killed, and then what? Will it be worth it?”

I wanted to argue. To make her understand that my father deserved justice, that Edward Reyes shouldn't just get away with murder. But the words stuck in my throat because somewhere deep down, I was starting to see reasons with her.

I exhaled calmly. “I understand that…”

Samantha’s phone buzzed loudly on the counter. She glanced at the screen and her entire face lit up.

“Hold on…” She grabbed the phone and swiped to answer. “Hey, babe.”

Babe? It was no other than ‘Josh’.

I couldn’t hear what he was saying on the other end, but I could tell from Samantha’s expression that he wasn’t happy.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking genuinely apologetic. “I meant to call you back, but—”

She paused, listening.

“No, no, nothing’s wrong. I just…” Her eyes darted to me, and her expression changed… you could tell she was trying to figure out what to say. “Camila showed up last night and we—”

I shook my head frantically and waved my hands in a very definite no motion. The last thing I needed was for Josh to know what happened. He was a good guy, she and Samantha were just beginning to know each other. The last thing I wanted was to keep dragging him into my life dramas.

Samantha caught my signal and course-corrected without missing a beat. “—and we ended up having this whole girls' night thing. You know how it is. Lots of wine, lots of talking, lots of laughing.” She let out a light laugh that sounded almost convincing. “Lost track of time completely.”

More murmuring from Josh's end.

“Yeah, she’s still here actually.” Samantha glanced at me with a small smile. “Uh-huh. Yeah, I will. Love you too. Bye.”

She ended the call and set the phone down with a sigh.

“So…” She was about to say something when she suddenly turned to look at the wall clock and immediately, her eyes went wide.

“Crap! Crap, crap, crap.” She jumped up from her chair. “I’m so late. My boss is going to murder me.”

“Sam—”

“Make yourself comfortable, okay?” She was already halfway to the bathroom. “There's food in the kitchen. Help yourself to whatever. Your ‘loving husband’ should be here to pick you up soon anyway.”

I rolled my eyes inwardly. “Oh, please. Come off it, it's not like that.”

Samantha stopped dead in her tracks and turned around slowly to look at me.

What now?!

A wicked grin spread across her face. “Not like what, exactly?”

“Don’t start, please.”

“Start what?” She walked back toward me with that weird smile still glued in her face. “I’m just asking a simple question, Cam. What exactly isn't it like?”

“Samantha—”

“No, tell me Mrs Camila Reyes. Because from what I observed this morning, it looked pretty ‘like that’ to me.” She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. “That man practically sprinted to the door when I opened it. And that hug?” She whistled low. “That was not a ‘Hey, how’s it going, contractual wife’ kind of hug. That was a ‘Thank God you’re alive, I was losing my mind’ kind of hug.”

“You're reading way too much into it.”

“Am I though?” She tilted her head. “Camila. Be honest with me right now. Are you falling for him?”

“What? No way!” The word came out way too loud and faster than I intended. “Absolutely not. That's insane.”

“Uh-huh.” Samantha didn't look convinced. “So you're telling me that when Asher Reyes—Mr. Tall, Dark, and Emotionally Unavailable—showed up at my door this morning looking like he’d barely slept, and then wrapped you up in his arms like you were the most precious thing in the world, you felt absolutely nothing?”

“I—”I opened my mouth, then closed it again. “It wasn't like that.”

“That's the second time you've said that, and you still haven't explained what it was like.”

I could feel her staring at me, waiting for an answer I didn't have. The truth was, I didn't know what I felt anymore. Everything was too tangled up—grief, anger, fear, and something else I refused to name.

“Sam, he's the son of the man who killed my father.” My voice came out quieter than I intended. “How could I possibly—”

“Fall for him?” She finished the sentence. “I don't know, Cam. But feelings don't exactly follow logic, do they?”

I looked away.

Samantha sighed and pushed off from the counter. “Look, we'll talk about this later. I really do need to get ready before I lose my job.” She pointed a finger at me. “But this conversation is not over. Not even close.”

“Can't wait,” I muttered.

She grinned and grabbed a piece of bacon from the pan, then popped it into her mouth. “Help yourself to breakfast. There’s orange juice in the fridge. And try not to spiral into an existential crisis while I'm in the shower, okay?”

“No promises.”

"That's my girl." She winked and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving me alone with my thoughts and a kitchen full of food I had zero appetite for.

I heard the water start running a moment later. With a heavy sigh, I stood up and walked over to the stove. I stared down at the eggs and bacon that were probably getting cold. My stomach growled, but I couldn't bring myself to eat.

Instead, I just stood there, Samantha’s words echoing in my head.

“Are you falling for him?”

No. I wasn't. I couldn't be.

Right?