Camilla was officially on leave for three weeks.The first two or three days of her leave, she would just be relaxing at home, getting things in order. While she was busy the first day, which was the day after she had spoken to Bradford, she received a text message. "Hi there, it's Bradford, I'm just checking in to see how you are doing!" he stated.A smile lit up on her face, "I'm okay," she responded."So what are your plans today?" he asked, "I didn't see you get on the bus this morning."She laughed, "I'm on leave for a few weeks," she told him, "you, keeping tabs on me now?" she couldn't help but chuckle. This man was so easy to talk with. She felt so comfortable speaking with him. When she spoke with him or read a message from him, she would get butterflies in her stomach, and her heart would race. She couldn't understand why he had this effect on her. Every day for the next 3 days, Bradford and Camilla would spend a few hours chat
As the first week of her leave drew to its end, Camilla was more excited about her new, up-and-coming venture. She was ready to absorb and take it all in. She sat for hours during the day designing a few different structures for her meeting that Friday with Bradford and his grandfather. After all, did Bradford really think the patriarch of the family was going to give his grandson full control while he was still alive?That Friday, Camilla headed over to the Hemmingway offices. As she entered the building, she was met by her cousin Tamara as Tamara was exiting the building. Greeting her cousin, she asked in a low, subtle voice, "What are you doing here?" After all, Camilla didn't want to let on to Tamara that she was well aware of her skanky antics with her husband.Tamara responded, "I had an interview with the managing director for the position of personnel assistant. What brings you down here?""I'm dropping off some documents, I have a meeting with the
That evening, after the children had gone to sleep, Steven confronted Camilla regarding her meeting with the Hemmingways. "Camilla, I don't know what you are doing, but having lunch with the Hemmingways is just unacceptable!" he shouted at her. "Why is that?" she asked, "it was a meeting I had to attend."Being in the realty business, Camilla often went to a luncheon with prospective clients in order to seal a deal for the sale of a property. This meeting would seem to be no different. However, this was during her leave. "Steven, I am on leave, yes, but if a client needs to have a meeting regarding property, I will still take time and meet with them!" she bit back, "what is your issue anyway?" questioning his judgement."I don't like the idea of you meeting with those people!" he stated."Are you jealous?" she asked sarcastically, "that's very rich, coming from you!" Camilla was so dying to open up her can of worms but held her tongue b
The weekend had finally arrived. Camilla wasn't particularly looking forward to the weekend. It was their seven-year wedding anniversary. They had originally made plans to go away for the weekend and leave the children with her aunt and uncle. In light of the constant abuse, Camilla had cancelled the trip but let the children still go away for the weekend.On Friday afternoon, Uncle Toby picked the children up at school with Camilla and then dropped her home. Steven was still at work despite saying he would get off earlier. The children were so excited about their weekend away.On arriving home, Steven pulled up in the car. Uncle Toby left with the children. "Kids going away for the weekend?" he asked. "Yes, even though our plans are cancelled, they were looking forward to going, so I let them go," she responded. Camilla was too exhausted to fight. "Okay," he responded, "what's for dinner?""I'm making steak and salads," she replied, op
After the whole embarrassing situation at the bar, Camilla had decided that instead of going with James and Bradford out, she wanted to stay the night at Michelle's but decided otherwise and went home. "Bradford, can you drop me off at home instead?" she said softly.Her heart was broken into a thousand pieces of glass shards. "No problem. We'll drop Michelle, then James, and then head back to our street," he said."Thank you," she responded.On arriving at her place, Bradford turned to her and asked, "Are you sure you want to go inside?"Calmly, she responded, "Yes, I'm sure.""Okay then, but if you have any problems, and I mean any problems, just message me, and I will come. It doesn't matter what time it is," he said."I'll be okay," she assured him, not wanting to lead him on in any way.She thanked him for the ride and walked into the house. The place was quiet, cold, and miserable. It was about as miserable as she
On entering the house, Camilla looked around, and the realization that her home would, from now on, only consist of her and the kids, hit her. She unpacked the groceries she had bought and went to the bedroom to take off her clothes and shoes and go shower. As she entered her bedroom, the reality for the second time hit her. Steven was gone. He had packed his clothes and toiletries as well as all other belongings and left just as she had asked him to do. As she was about to step into the shower, there was a knock at the door. "I wonder who this could be," she thought. Camilla headed for the door, and on opening, it saw her Uncle Chris and Aunt Ruby (Tamara's parents). She greeted them with a hug. They weren't extremely close, but they were not that distant either, and family meant everything to Jones's. "You're probably wondering why we are here!" her aunt said. "Not really," she responded, un-surprised that they came. After all, she knew that Tamara's brother would have told
That Sunday, Michelle and Camilla got up, cleaned the place, and started preparing food for when the children came home. Camilla had called her aunt and uncle and invited them to have something to eat with them as well, because she had something to speak to them about.When they arrived at Camilla's, the children ran into the house and hugged their mom. "Mummy, where's daddy?" Marshall asked."I will explain everything just now," she said.As if in tune with her mother's thoughts, Meghan responded, "it's okay, mummy, we'll be okay."Shocked at how mature her daughter was for her age, she drew them both into her embrace, "I missed you both so much," she tickled them, "now go unpack your bags and prepare your clothes for tomorrow. I need to speak to Uncle and Aunty quickly.""Come children," Michelle said, "I'll help you." Michelle was just like a real aunt to the kids. She loved them as her own. The kids went with Michelle and left Camilla to speak to her aunt and uncle. Uncle Toby lo
The weekend had gone by so quickly. Thankfully, for her, she had been surrounded by good friends and family. Her day started out as it regularly did. However, today, she was going to look at buying a car. She would, after all, need one. Back at Tamara's, Steven got ready for work. He and Tamara would have to figure things out now that her parents had cut her off from any financial services they had been providing her with. "Tamara, I think it's time that you also found a job, otherwise we may not make it to the end of the month," Steven said to her, putting his arms around her waist and kissing her deeply."I have been looking already," she said. Steven had thought that her parents would eventually come around.On arriving at work, Steven settled in behind his desk in his office. Matthew greeted him, and they spoke for a while. Matthew asked him about the weekend and their anniversary.Steven hadn't had time to catch up with his friend and tell him that he and Camilla had separated.
Just two days were left before the wedding day. Michelle and Camilla had been very busy with the finer details. Camilla had taken James' mom and Aunt Joyce to the boutique to get their dresses for the wedding, and Michelle was at the beauty salon doing pre-bridal test runs of makeup before the day. That afternoon, Bradford and James treated all the women, Michelle's mom, James' mom, Aunt Joyce, Michelle, and Camilla, to a spa afternoon with massages. Enjoying the two hours, the ladies discussed a lot of the ideas for the reception. "Where's Tamara?" Michelle asked. "She's coming down with Frederick tomorrow morning," Aunt Ruby said, "Apparently she has something planned for you and Camilla." Camilla's eyebrows rose, "I hope she's going to behave." They all laughed. In the past, this may have been something of a warning, but Tamara had changed, and she was more placid than before. The morning before the wedding. Tamara and Frederick arrived at her parents' place around 7 that mo
Tamara and Frederick started attending the University of Bolton. Both were studying as per the specifications from Bradford. It was nearing the wedding of Tamara's brother, James, and his fiancé, Michelle. James had given his sister permission to bring a plus one to the wedding. One Friday afternoon, after lectures had ended, Frederick had invited Tamara out for dinner and drinks. "This could be the perfect time to invite him to my brother's wedding with me!" she thought. "I'll swing by your place. Be ready by 6 p.m.," Frederick informed her. Smiling, she said, "Anything specific?" she asked. "Nothing major," he responded. By 6 that evening, Tamara was ready and nervous. They'd been out with friends in a crowd, but this was their first official date. "Wow, you look beautiful," Frederick said as she opened the front door. Tamara was wearing a long, black pencil skirt with a white, long-sleeved blouse and a black jacket. "Thank you," she smiled coyly. She was blushing at the att
For the next three days, Bradford was forced to stay in hospital despite the fact that he wanted to get back home. Camilla remained at the hospital with him while they had frequent guests in and out. While lying on the bed, Bradford asked, "Can you please continue the audiobook. I want to hear what Desmond has in store for Theresa next."Camilla laughed, "Bradford, you really are something else I tell you. So do you want to listen for the sake of listening, or is it to conjure up something in that devious mind of yours for when you get home?"A devilish smile grew across his lips at the thought of what he would plan for his wife. Camilla saw that smile, and she knew what he was up to. Shaking her head, she responded, "I have no words for you, my husband." Camilla continued to play the book as they sat snuggled together on the hospital bed. Some of the scenes were excellent, and Bradford said, "Just imagine that this was us and Desmond was me," he smiled. His manhood getting a high-r
There was a long wait till Bradford was wheeled out into the ICU. "Doctor, how is my husband?" Camilla asked, tears rolling down her cheeks. "We will have to see. We managed to remove the bullet," the doctor said. Judith's father arrived at the hospital. "Tell me, is Bradford okay?" He asked, sincerely concerned about the young man. "He's still unconscious, Mr Brown," James said. "Please keep me updated on his progress," the elder gentleman said and left the hospital. Camilla went into the room, "Babe, please wake up, I need you," she said, crying as she sat beside his bed. The family popped in briefly, one at a time, to see him. "Thank you all for coming," Camilla said, "you can all go home. I will keep everyone updated on the family chat group." Nodding, they said goodbye and left.Later that evening, James and Michelle took the children in to see him. "Dad Brad, you need to be okay. We all need you, but mom and Morgan need you more," Meghan said, holding his hand. Marshall w
After finally settling on moving to Alderley Edge, Camilla and Bradford discussed attending the funeral for Jessica. Camilla had suggested that Bradford go alone, but Bradford wasn't having anything of it. "No, my love, where I go, you go. You are my wife. I'm proud of you being next to me," he uttered, putting an arm around her waist.In the past, when Camilla was married to Steven, he would definitely not have encouraged this. He would have left her behind and gone alone, but this was Bradford Hemmingway, the CEO and heir to the Hemmingway fortune. Plus, he was a different type of person altogether. He loved his wife.Meanwhile, the wedding for Michelle and James was coming quickly, and there were many preparations to be made.That Monday Camilla decided to go to the office late. Michelle had asked her to accompany her to the bridal shop for a dress. "Okay, honey, I will see you later in the office," Bradford said as he left, kissing his wife goodbye. When Michelle arrived, they wen
The next morning, James awoke with the news playing on the television. Michelle had gotten up slightly earlier to prepare breakfast for them. The news report said, "Breaking News MHP Styal Prisoner found dead in her cell. Investigations are underway, but it looks like suicide." Michelle looked up and saw a picture of the woman who had passed away. James came down the stairs at this notable point, and Michelle gasped in shock. "James, isn't that, doesn't that look like, Jessica. Bradford's ex?" she stammered in disbelief. Looking at the picture on the television, he said, "it may be." James picked up the phone and called Bradford. "Hey man, listen, have you seen the news yet?" Still half asleep after the long night, Bradford said, "Brother, it's still away too early, man. What's up?" James responded, "Bradford, go turn on the tele man. There's a picture of a lady on the news from Styal. She looks like Jessica." Realizing what James was on about, he said, "James, it is Jessica. W
December had approached pretty quickly. Tamara had sold her place, bought a new place, and moved to Bolton. The nights were getting darker earlier, as was the norm in England. James and Michelle were preparing for James' wedding. While Bradford and James were looking into selling their place and buying a bigger place for themselves and all before the new year would arrive. Meanwhile, at Style Prison, Jessica was having a terrible time adjusting to life in prison, under the strict watch of the prison guards. Many heated arguments had broken out between Jessica and a few of the inmates. Jessica was not one to back down and often came up against some of the most cruel women on her block. Randy, another female prisoner, with black, braided hair and tattoos on her body, had been locked up for the murder of her mother, her sister and her sister's little baby, all because the sister's husband refused to leave the sister for her. Randy was facing life in prison without the possibility
The next day, Camilla and Bradford were in the office having coffee. Bradford said, "Babe, the family are coming around 10 they want to discuss something with us." Camilla looked at her husband and asked, "Did they say what for? And who is coming?" Bradford smiled, "it's Uncle Chris, James, and probably Michelle and I will gather Tamara as well. I suspect it has to do with Tamara and studying further, but I'm not sure what else," he said.Thinking about it, Camilla responded, "I think I do. The house Tamara owns is in Poynton." With that Judith knocked on the door, Mrs Hemmingway, Mr Buyson is on the phone," she announced. Camilla stood up and went to take the call. While Camilla was speaking to the client, Chris and Tamara walked into the offices. "Dad, I'm going to Camilla quick," she said. Chris nodded and greeted Judith. "Morning, Sir," Judith greeted him. "Morning, can you let Mister..." Just then, the office door opened, and Bradford stepped out. "Uncle Chris, it's good
While love antics are found at Hemmingway International and at Jones & Co., things between Tamara and Frederick are warming up. Bradford and Frank had spoken to Tamara's parents and Frederick's parents, respectively, regarding the idea that they had for the two of them. However, they both felt that for them to prosper within Hemingway International, they would need to both take courses at the University of Bolton. Fortunately, Frederick lived in Bolton, so it was not a problem for him. Frederick was twenty nine and single. He'd had a few women in his life, but none were serious. Not until Tamara came along. Something about her captivated him. He was drawn to her wild nature and zest for life. Frederick was average height for a male. He had sandy blonde hair with green eyes. Tamara was shorter than Frederick, not that this stopped her. On the other hand, Tamara lived in Knutsford, so for her, it would be at least a forty-minute drive each day to and from Bolton. Tamara had decided t