CHAPTER 1

Camila’s POV

It’s Gabriel’s birthday so I woke up earlier than usual because I wanted to make his birthday extra special. I had everything planned such as breakfast in bed, a surprise gift and of course, a romantic dinner when he got off from work.

After stretching, I went to the bathroom and washed my face. Then, I put on a robe before heading down to the kitchen to prepare for our breakfast. Because it’s his special day, I gave a day off to our household help so that it’s just the two of us in the house. It’s a little old style and inconvenient but I wanted to do it for him. 

Then, a few moments later, the smell of fresh coffee filled the kitchen as I worked on our breakfast. I made everything just the way he liked it and I even had his favorite flower on the table and of course, a card with handwritten words that took me days to perfect.  Actually, it felt like such a small gesture for everything he meant to me, but I wanted him to feel loved, and special. Today was about celebrating him…and us! 

But when Gabriel walked into the breakfast nook, something felt off. He was frowning and he looked pissed. He didn’t even look happy to see me! His face was tight and his movements were stiff as if having breakfast with me was the last thing on his mind at the moment. Since we didn’t have any arguments lately, I thought it was probably work that stressed him out. 

I smiled at him and greeted, “Happy birthday!” Then, I moved closer to kiss him but he stepped back before I could even do it. 

“Thanks,” he muttered in a flat voice before he sat down. 

“Everything okay?” I asked while trying to sound cheerful but he was still frowning. “Since it’s your birthday, I thought we could go somewhere today, maybe that beach we love or that new restaurant in the city?” 

He didn’t answer and then he started sipping his coffee. I waited until he put down the cup before I spoke again. Truthfully, his mood made me nervous especially with the way he tightened his jaw. 

“I got you something special too! I think you’ll love it—”

“Let’s talk later,” he said as he stood up and before I could react, I watched him leaving the breakfast nook without even glancing at the spread I prepared for him. 

Then, I heard the sound of his car leaving. At the moment, I wanted to break down because he didn’t even bother to kiss me before leaving, and he even cut me off when I was talking!   

But then, I gaslighted myself throughout the day that there was probably something urgent in the project he was handling at the moment. Taking a deep breath, I resumed eating breakfast…alone! 

Afterward, I went shopping for ingredients because I wanted to prepare a delicious meal for dinner. Gabriel and I have been married for two years so I wondered why he became distant and indifferent to me. He used to be sweet and charming. Was it because I couldn’t give him a child yet?

Well, I tried so hard to conceive but I just couldn’t become pregnant! I even went to several specialists to check on me but all of them said that there’s no problem with me. They suggested I should ask Gabriel instead because he could be the one with a problem but when I discussed it with him, we had a huge fight. 

When I got home, I checked my phone and noticed several phone calls from the clinic. Of course, the thought of calling the clinic tugged at the back of my mind, but I pushed it away. I told myself that there’s always next week and it could wait.

So, instead of visiting the clinic for my supposed appointment, I spent my entire afternoon preparing for a special dinner. Gabriel’s behavior this morning was alarming but I convinced myself it was just stress from work. 

But tonight, maybe we’d sit down and talk. I wanted to believe that. Or should I say that I needed to believe that…because the thought of losing him, or being alone was too much to handle! I had already lost so much so I couldn’t let Gabriel slip away too!

As I set the pot to simmer, I kept glancing at the clock.  Then, after I prepared everything, I made sure to look presentable and beautiful for Gabriel. I took a quick shower, chose a pretty dress, put on some make-up, and applied my favorite scent. To make it short, I dolled myself up for his arrival.

However, Gabriel kept me waiting. It was getting late and he wasn’t home yet! My eyelids grew heavy as I curled up on the sofa while waiting for him. But just as I was about to drift off, I snapped off. I shouldn’t take a nap! I shouldn’t sleep while waiting! 

"Gabriel’s not home yet. I can’t sleep," I muttered while rubbing my eyes continuously. 

Expecting that he would come any minute, I hurried back to the kitchen to reheat the stew, and I almost burned my fingers, but I didn’t care. 

“He likes his food hot,” I reminded myself. 

After reheating the stew, I even poured his favorite wine.  Then, in order to keep myself awake, I prepared a cup of coffee. I was supposed to just have one cup, but I needed another one! 

After the second cup, the house was still silent and the ticking clock was my only company. I took a deep breath as I convinced myself that Gabriel was probably just busy and then I kept waiting for his arrival. It was almost midnight when I heard the front door creak open, and Gabriel stepped inside. 

"Gabriel!" I jumped up when I greeted him but he just looked at me as if I had lost my marbles.  "I made your favorite dinner. I thought we could celebrate—"

He walked past me without even looking, and his face was unreadable just like this morning. At that moment, I could only bite my bottom lip as I followed him. I was confused why he acted so cold and indifferent to me on his birthday! 

"I’m not hungry," he said as he tossed a folder onto the table. 

He was irritated about something and it never occurred to me that I was the cause of his irritation. When he tossed the folder on the table, the force tipped the dish, and the stew spilled onto the floor. My heart sank. All that work…and it was just wasted! 

"Honey?" I whispered.

“I want a divorce, hon,” he announced out of nowhere. 

“W-what?” I stammered in shock. 

"Sign them," he said in a monotone as he gestured his hands toward the folder he tossed earlier. 

My hands shook as I reached for the folder and carefully opened it to take out the documents inside. Then my eyes blinked in shock when I read what was written on the first page. Petition for Divorce. The words blurred before my eyes before I glanced at his direction. He wasn’t really kidding when he said he wanted a divorce! 

"Hon, what is this? Why…?" I asked in a quivering voice but he didn’t look at me. For a moment, I just sat there, frozen and sure I’d misheard them! 

“I said what I said, Camila. I want a divorce!” he snapped. 

My chest tightened, and I felt the room spin. “But… why? W-What… where is this coming from?” I stammered. 

“This marriage is a mistake, Camila. I mean, it’s not working! Actually, I’ve been thinking about this for a while and I decided I just can’t do it anymore,” he said while shaking his head continuously.  

“Can’t do what? We’re fine. We’re good. Honey, we may have had rough patches, but that’s normal for a couple, right? Just tell me what I need to do, but please don’t ask me to sign this paper!” 

“I didn’t want to hurt you more than necessary,” he replied, standing up from the table and shoving his hands into his pockets. His coldness cut through me deeper than anything he could have said.

“Hurt me? You think this—” I gestured to the papers, “—isn’t hurting me? Hon, we’ve been together for years. I’ve loved you, stood by you. And you’re just... done?”

“My decision is final, Camila. I haven’t been happy for a long time…so please, let’s just end everything here,” he asked. 

"I thought we love…no, mmm, did you ever love me? All those years that we've been together, did you ever love me? ” I choked out because I wasn’t even sure I wanted to hear the answer. 

Gabriel’s lips curled in a bitter smile before he glared at me. I was shocked at the anger in his eyes. It was the first time I saw that kind of emotion when he looked at me, and for a moment, I wondered if it was always there, but I just failed to notice. 

"My mother insisted I marry you, so I did. But love? That was never part of it. I went along with it because I had to, not because I wanted to, Camila! Is that understood?”

When he said those words, I took a step back because I felt like the ground had been ripped out under me. How could he break my heart with just words? I looked at him in disbelief but then I waited for him to say it’s only a prank, but he didn’t! 

"You don’t mean that," I said, and my voice was cracking. "Gabriel, please…”

"I’m sorry, Camila, but there’s someone else. There always has been…”

My breath caught in my throat at the news that he has someone else. All this time, I wasn’t aware there was someone else! Who’s the other woman?

"Someone else…?" I asked for confirmation and he nodded with total indifference toward me.  

"I never loved you. You were just an obligation. But now? Now, I don’t need to pretend anymore. I’m sorry,” he apologized.  

When he apologized for breaking my heart into a million pieces, that’s when my tears started rolling down. I tried to stop them but they kept on spilling down my cheeks. When our eyes met, I saw him smirking at my teary eyes. Did he just wait for his mother’s death before deciding to ask for divorce? If so, then he was just using me! 

"I gave everything for you," I choked out. “I did everything I could to make you happy, honey, but now you’re saying that you don’t love me and there’s someone else. Whoa, I can’t believe this!”

“But not a son! You never gave me a son!” he shouted before leaving me alone. 

He left me standing there while brokenhearted! How could he be so heartless? When he was totally out of my sight, I looked down at the divorce papers and my hands trembled while holding the piece of paper that broke me apart. 

Was it solely my fault that I couldn’t conceive? There’s nothing wrong with my health and the doctors could attest to that, but why was he blaming me? Or was it just to shift the blame on me? Was he just looking for ways to justify his affair with another woman? 

I wanted to confront him some more but he just left! He never even gave me the chance to argue further. He just turned his back  away from me and left without further ado. That was so disrespectful of him!  

Now, I was alone and heartbroken!

My heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces as I stared at the floor. This couldn’t be real. It felt like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. Gabriel, my husband…he had left me! 

Once again, I could feel the air leave my lungs as I stared at the papers in front of me. I read the word over and over while hoping everything was just a dream but it wasn’t! I never saw it coming that he would dare to betray me! How could he just leave while my world was falling apart? 

I wanted to scream, to beg, and to do something that would make him see how much he was hurting me, but all I could do was stare at the papers…particularly at the signature line where my name was supposed to go. 

Was this really it? Was he really going to walk away from everything we built together? Just like that? Then, as I sat there in stunned silence, my phone suddenly buzzed on the table. I glanced at the screen and saw a message from my best friend, Isabella. 

“I need to talk to you about Gabriel.”

I froze. What did she mean? Why would she need to talk to me about my husband?I stared at the message again and my gut told me something was very wrong. Clutching my phone, my heart almost skipped a beat at the thought that Isabella knew something!