Chapter 397: Cutting ties [2]

"My marriage is destroyed, Damien. Mourning the loss of my husband doesn’t mean that I still love Hayden. I am upset with how my life is now. How the children’s lives are now. You must know that I am not choosing Hayden over you," Camille promised, her voice coming off desperate.

"But you did. You proved it by trying to keep him alive and take him out of town. You would have liked for this news to be buried so you could keep your perfect little reputation," Damien said, seeing right through Camille.

Camille looked down at the floor, unable to meet his eyes.

"Avoiding my gaze isn’t going to help you deceive me. You only care about yourself and how the townsfolk view you, but you forget you’re a mother. It isn’t about you anymore. You no longer get to think about yourself," Damien said.

Camille turned her back to Damien. "The children are well cared for. It is not as though I left them somewhere awful. Their grandparents might be upset with me because he died here, but they won’t hurt their grandchildren. They adore them."

"You spent years speaking of how Jane needed her mother. Now you would inflict that pain onto your children by keeping them away. Is it that you plan to remarry, so that is why you are sending them away?" Quinn inquired, hoping it wasn’t so.

"I have not thought about finding a husband, but eventually, I shall find a new husband. Do you think I can’t find a new husband?" Camille asked as she turned to face Quinn. "I am Camille Hawthorne."

"I didn’t think it was impossible, but you should be by yourself before you go searching for a new husband. Be with your children. Learn what it is to be a mother. I wouldn’t suggest entering a marriage and having more children-"

"I will find a man who shall love me and our children. Then the children can return here to a home full of love," Camille decided, clinging stubbornly to the image in her mind.

"Your children will have come to hate you by the time they return to your side. Don’t do this," Quinn pleaded with Camille. "Think of them. They will yearn for your company. On the days when you wish to be alone, send them to relatives, but don’t completely abandon them."

"Why are the two of you meddling as though you care for me? I know that you have come to hate me. Neither one of you came to look at me sooner. No one came to check on my well-being," Camille said, certain they both hated her.

"Well, forgive me for being so caught up in dealing with the old wounds of my parents’ deaths. Forgive me that I didn’t take the time to care about you mourning the man responsible for their deaths. How wrong of me," Quinn snapped.

Camille stared at Quinn as she realised her mistake. "I... I didn’t think before I spoke."

"You were also only thinking of yourself. There was a brief moment for our relationship to be as it once was, but you thought only of yourself. You’re foolish if you think I would be on good terms with you when you are now abandoning your children," Damien said.

"How wonderful of you to care for them now after you killed their father!" Camille fired back.

"How dreadful it must be to live without a father," Damien said in a low tone. "If only I knew how that felt."

Camille bit her tongue as, once again, she had made a grave mistake.

"I cannot speak on behalf of my brothers, but as for Jane and myself, we shall never be close. I will not allow you to get close to Jane to make her into a small version of yourself-"

"Damien!" Camille exclaimed.

"Jane is on a good path now, and putting you back at her side would only ruin her. I have no interest in ever being near you again. No matter what apology you give or what gift you might offer, it will never change my mind," Damien said, putting his foot down. ℴℴ𝘮

"When you came here that day with Zayne, I thought we were moving forward. Is it because of what I said about your father or about your wife? I can take Eloise as she is. Did I not welcome her when I first heard of your marriage?" Camille questioned Damien.

Camille was willing to play nice with Eloise and accept all her flaws.

"Unfortunately for you, we are not back in the days when you had just met her. Accept that this is the state of our relationship and stop writing to me. I have been sending your letters right into a fire. Leave me be," Damien slowly spoke so Camille heard every word.

"It is a great shame that you two would turn away from me in my time of need. I only need your help now; then we can go our ways. Just this once," Camille pleaded.

"You are fortunate that I have not asked you to leave my land. Stay if you wish, but do not approach my family nor me. Separation is best for us right now. I shall wait for you in the carriage," Damien informed Quinn before turning to leave.

Camille stepped forward to follow Damien, but Quinn blocked her path.

"That wouldn’t be wise for you to do. Let your conversation with him end on a note where neither one of you is injured. Nothing you say now will get him to change his mind," Quinn said, his hand positioned to block Camille.

"Now is the time I need my family," Camille said, her eyes glued to Damien’s retreating figure.

"Even now, you are thinking of using us for your benefit. Ignoring what we experienced after the news. It is disappointing, as your nephew," Quinn said honestly. "I was hoping this would go in a different direction, but you lost me."

"You will never be able to understand me, Quinn. A man wouldn’t stumble as I have. The town would be easy on you, but for some reason, they are all judging me," Camille said, clinging to Quinn.

"Perhaps it is because of how you are acting. It is off-putting, so others distance themselves from you and gossip. It would have been better for you to keep to yourself, but if you are like this, it might have been the best decision for you to send your children away," Quinn realised.

Quinn backed away as he didn’t want to keep Damien waiting. "From a distance, I shall wish you and my cousins well. I hope to see them still, as they are innocent in all of this, but just like Damien, I think we need some space for now."

"Good day, Aunt Camille," Quinn said, bidding goodbye.