All Chapters of SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Chapter 12Camille's point of view Rose had posted a "tribute" to me, a carefully filtered photo of us as teenagers, her arm around my shoulders, her face glowing while mine was partly in shadow. "Missing my angel sister every day. Your light was too bright for this world. #SisterLove #Forever"Beneath it, dozens of sympathetic comments. Friends who'd never questioned her role in my marriage's end. Acquaintances eager to attach themselves to her grief narrative.And Stefan, commenting with a simple heart emoji. The man who'd handed me divorce papers on our anniversary, now publicly mourning the wife he'd discarded."Enough," I said finally, closing the laptop. "I've seen what I needed to see."Victoria studied me carefully. "And what do you feel?"I searched myself, digging for the hurt, the rage, the betrayal that should be there. Instead, I found something colder, more focused. Like looking at specimens in a lab."Nothing," I answered honestly. "They're strangers performing in a pl

Chapter 14Camille's point of view Victoria watched with unreadable eyes as Dr. Torres led me to the large bathroom. A white cloth covered the full-length mirror. The doctor positioned me carefully, standing slightly behind my right shoulder."Remember," she said gently, "what you see today is still healing. There's swelling, bruising. The final results won't be visible for weeks. But you'll get a first impression of your new appearance."With that, she pulled away the cloth.I gasped.The woman in the mirror was me, but not me. My face but enhanced in ways that transformed my entire appearance. My cheekbones cast elegant shadows beneath them, giving my face a sculpted quality it had never possessed before. My jawline looked stronger, more defined. My brows arched slightly higher, making my eyes appear larger, more commanding.Even through residual swelling and faint bruising, I could see the changes Dr. Torres had created. Subtle individually, powerful collectively. My lips had a ne

Chapter 16Camille's point of view By four o'clock, my brain felt stuffed with French conjugations and pronunciation corrections. My third coffee of the day wasn't helping the shaking in my hands.Mrs. Harrington, the etiquette coach, noticed immediately. "A lady never allows fatigue to show," she reprimanded, straightening my already-straight spine. "Shoulders back. Chin parallel to the floor. Now, let's review the proper handling of difficult dinner conversations."For two more hours, we practiced responding to inappropriate questions, managing awkward silences, and the subtle art of steering conversations toward or away from specific topics. All skills Victoria deemed essential for navigating the society events that would soon fill my calendar.When James finally drove me back to the mansion at six, I had exactly forty-five minutes to prepare for dinner with the board members. My head pounded. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision. The thought of making small talk with twel

Chapter 18Rose point in viewBy evening, I was exhausted from maintaining the perfect balance of grieving sister and focused businesswoman. My driver took me to my parents' house for our weekly family dinner, a tradition I'd insisted on continuing "to help us heal together."In reality, these dinners served to monitor my parents, manage the family narrative, and remind everyone of my central role in holding things together post-tragedy. Tonight, however, I dreaded facing Mom's suspicious eyes.The house looked the same as always, manicured lawn, gleaming windows, tasteful luxury evident in every detail. The home I'd been brought to fourteen years ago, plucked from the foster system into privilege. The home where I'd systematically established my dominance over every aspect of family life.Helen, the housekeeper, opened the door before I could ring the bell. "They're in the sitting room, Miss Rose. Your mother's had... a difficult day." Mom was drinking again. Perfect. An inebriated

Chapter 20Camille's point of view The voice behind me sent the frame tumbling from my hands. It hit the carpet with a muffled thud as I spun around.Victoria stood in the doorway, her expression a storm of fury and pain. Her usually perfect appearance was disheveled, clothes wrinkled from travel, hair slightly mussed, as if she'd rushed home unexpectedly."I....I thought you were in Tokyo," I stammered, heart hammering against my ribs."Flight canceled due to mechanical issues." Her eyes swept the room, cataloging any disturbance I might have caused. "You didn't answer my question."I could have lied. Could have claimed I got lost, accidentally found the key, had innocent reasons for snooping. But something in Victoria's face, the raw wound exposed beneath her anger, demanded honesty."I was curious," I admitted, bending to retrieve the fallen photo frame. "About the locked wing. About why it was off-limits.""So you invaded my privacy. Searched my office for the key. Entered a spac