Free Web NovelChapter 258: Chapter Two Hundred And Fifty Seven
Camilla looked at the silver spoon approaching her face. She looked at the dark purple blueberry glaze.
Her eyes widened slightly in alarm.
She reacted quickly. She reached out her hand and gently but firmly grabbed Damon’s wrist, stopping his hand in mid-air before the spoon could touch her lips.
Damon was taken aback. He looked down at her hand holding his wrist. He looked at her face, highly confused.
"I can’t eat that," Camilla said softly, shaking her head.
Damon frowned deeply. His thick eyebrows pulled together. "Why not? It is sweet."
Before Camilla could explain, Allen’s voice interrupted them from across the table.
Allen had been watching the entire interaction. When he saw the blueberry cake, he knew exactly what was going to happen. This was his perfect moment to strike back at the General.
Allen let out a loud, mocking scoff. He shook his head slowly from side to side in disbelief.
"Cousin," Allen spoke out loud, his voice dripping with condescending pity. "Didn’t you know?"
Damon slowly turned his head to glare at Allen. "Know what?"
Allen smiled a wide, smug smile.
"Sister-in-law cannot eat blueberries," Allen stated clearly, exposing Damon’s ignorance. "She has a bad reaction to blueberries. If she eats even a single bite of that cake, it causes her to break out in a severe, painful skin rash."
Damon stopped breathing.
His dark eyes widened slightly. He stared at his cousin. He felt a sudden, cold shock hit his stomach.
"She prefers mango," Allen continued smoothly, picking up the box of pastries he had sent the servant boy to buy. He opened his box proudly. "That is exactly why I bought these specific mango tea cakes for our celebration today. I know what she likes."
Camilla looked at Damon’s shocked face. She gently let go of his wrist. She felt a tiny bit bad for him, but she really could not eat the blueberries.
"It’s fine, my lord. Thank you for the effort," Camilla said softly, trying to ease the awkward tension. She pushed his hand away gently. "You can have it. I will just eat the one Allen bought."
She turned away from Damon. She walked over to Allen’s side of the table.
She reached into Allen’s pastry box and picked up a small, bright yellow mango tea cake. She took a happy, generous bite of the soft fruit pastry.
She chewed the cake slowly. A wide, genuine, delighted smile spread across her face.
"Mmm," Camilla hummed happily. She looked at Allen. "It’s delicious, Allen. Thank you."
Allen smiled back at her, looking pleased with himself.
Then, Allen turned his eyes back to Damon. The smug, mocking look on his face intensified. He was fully enjoying his revenge.
"Cousin," Allen asked loudly, his voice full of fake, dramatic surprise. "How come you didn’t know your own wife isn’t supposed to eat blueberries?"
Allen shook his head in mock sadness.
"And you claim that you care for her?" Allen scoffed bitterly. "You don’t even know her basic things that are bad for her health. You could have made her terribly sick today."
Allen took another bite of his own mango cake. He looked at Camilla, and then he looked back at the General. He delivered his final, boldest insult.
"Well, it doesn’t matter," Allen stated proudly, lifting his chin. "She has me now. We are business partners. I can take care of sister-in-law much better than you can."
The fabric store fell into a dead, terrifying silence.
Damon stood frozen on his side of the table. He was still holding the silver spoon filled with the rejected blueberry cake.
His dark brown eyes stared blankly at the dark purple glaze.
He heard Allen’s mocking words echoing loudly and violently inside his brain. How come you didn’t know? You claim you care for her? I can take care of her better.
A crushing weight of inadequacy dropped directly onto Damon’s shoulders.
Damon realized, with a terrifying clarity, that Allen was right.
Damon thought to himself, his internal voice filled with a desperate, agonizing panic.
"I don’t know anything about her," Damon realized in his mind, his heart beating a frantic, terrified rhythm against his ribs. "And I lived with her in the same house. I don’t know her favorite food. I don’t know she has reactions to some certain foods. I didn’t even know she liked cats until a few days ago."
He slowly raised his head. He looked at Camilla.
She was standing next to Allen. She was eating the mango cake Allen had bought. She was smiling at Allen. She looked happy next to the polite younger cousin.
A sudden cold fear gripped Damon’s heart tightly. It was a fear much darker and much deeper than any battlefield terror.
It was the fear of losing her forever.
"She is going to leave me," Damon’s panicked thoughts raced wildly. "She already wanted a divorce before, what if she brings it up again? What if she finds a man who actually pays attention to her. A man who knows her preferences. A man who makes her smile without terrifying her."
Damon glared at Allen. He saw the smug, victorious smile on his cousin’s face.
Damon felt his chest tighten painfully. The intense, burning possessiveness inside his soul exploded. He could not let this happen. He could not let her slip away just because he had been a foolish, blind husband in the past.
"No," Damon thought fiercely, his dark eyes locking entirely onto Camilla. "She is mine. She is my wife. I have to make my claim. I have to prove it before she leaves me for not knowing her preferences."
Damon moved.
He dropped the spoon onto the table. The spoon hit the wood with a sharp, loud clatter, sending a small splatter of purple blueberry glaze across the table.
Damon took two long strides around the edge of the large table.
Before Camilla could even register the loud noise of the dropping spoon, Damon was standing directly in front of her.
He did not give her time to step back. He did not give her time to speak.
Damon reached out with both of his large, strong hands.
His left hand wrapped firmly and securely around the back of her delicate waist, pulling her small body tightly against his broad, hard chest. His right hand reached up, his fingers tangling deeply into her hair, cradling the back of her head to hold her perfectly still.
Camilla let out a small, breathless gasp of shock. Her eyes went wide. The piece of mango cake in her hand almost dropped to the floor.
Damon looked down into her wide, startled hazel eyes. He saw her confusion.
He did not hesitate for a single fraction of a second. He surrendered to his desperate, terrified, possessing need.
Damon leaned his head down swiftly.
He pressed his lips firmly, and passionately against hers.
He kissed her.
