Camila yawned tiredly as she worked on a sketch. So many papers were on her desk, and more were still coming. Her phone rang; it was her mother, and she quickly answered, having not spoken to her in so long.

“Camila, my dear, how have you been?” Sofia asked from the other end.

“I’m good,” Camila replied, squeezing another piece of paper and throwing it on the floor.

“How is marriage treating you? I hope Alejandro isn’t giving you a hard time?” Sofia asked worriedly.

“He is giving me hell, and I h@ťě it here,” Camila wanted to tell her mother, but she kept it to herself for reasons she couldn’t explain.

“Everything is fine, Mom. How is Dad doing? I hope he’s not falling sick again?” Camila asked about her father.

Sofia sighed.

“Mom?” Camila called again.

“He’s sick, Cami. He couldn’t go out today because his condition has worsened. He’s sad because the company is really suffering,” Sofia sniffed, trying to hold back her tears.

“Everything will be fine, Mom,” Camila could only say.

“I hope so. Remember to treat Alejandro well and make sure no issues arise between you both. If he leaves, then everything might be over,” Sofia said softly.

“I will make sure of that, Mom,” Camila sighed. After all, the only person her family could rely on was Alejandro.

The door opened, and Sandra walked in. When she saw Camila on her phone, her gaze darkened.

“What do you think you’re doing making calls on duty? Did you see others using their phones?” She asked angrily.

“Mom, I have to go now, bye,” Camila quickly ended the call, and before she knew it, her phone was snatched from her hand and thrown to the floor.

She gasped and stood up, her gaze shifting from her phone to Sandra.

“How dare you?” Her eyes widened in anger, but Sandra showed no remorse.

“I’m your boss as long as you work under me. Since you think you can use your title as the CEO’s wife to act however you want, I’m putting you in your place,” Sandra smirked.

“After all, your husband doesn’t even care about you, so I don’t think he minds,” she added.

Camila couldn’t hold it in anymore. She slapped Sandra hard across the face.

“Don’t ever disrespect me as long as you work for my husband, do you understand?” Camila warned her.

Sandra held her face in shock, not believing Camila had actually slapped her. She raised her hand to return the slap…

“Sandra,” a stern voice called, making her hand stop in mid-air.

Alejandro stepped in with a cold look. His eyes went to the shattered phone on the ground and then to Sandra, who was visibly shaking.

“What’s going on here?” He demanded.

Sandra slowly put her hand down.

“I caught Mrs. Ruiz fooling around during working hours, and I tried confronting her about Ruiz Estates and how seriously we take our work. But she slapped me because she wasn’t ready to take correction,” Sandra faked tears as she lied to Alejandro.

“I was just calling my mother, and she broke my phone. I thought you trained all your workers to be professional, Alejandro?” Camila said.

“Are you questioning the boss and how he runs his company?” Sandra turned her gaze to Camila.

“You—”

“That’s enough. Camila, come with me!” Alejandro ordered.

“You don’t believe me?” Camila looked hurt.

“I won’t ask you to come with me a third time,” Alejandro replied and walked out of the office.

Camila glared at Sandra, who had a smug look on her face, before following Alejandro.

★★★★★★★

PARKING LOT★

Alejandro walked to the parking lot. He used his remote to open his car while Camila hurriedly followed behind.

“Where are we going, Alejandro?” She asked, but he did not reply.

“Alejandro—”

“Get inside the d@mn car,” he ordered.

They both got in, and after fastening their seatbelts, Alejandro began driving at a reckless speed.

“Where are we going?” Camila demanded, but he refused to answer.

“Why are you like this, Alejandro? How can you believe your worker over your wife? Are you taking me to the strip club so you can punish me again?” She asked all at once.

Alejandro responded by increasing his speed, now moving at 182 kilometers per hour, which made Camila scream.

“Slow down, Alejandro!” She held the door, her heart beating fast, but he did not slow down. He began racing other cars.

“Please slow down, Alejandro!” Camila cried.

“Alejandro, slow the f-__-k down!” Camila pleaded again, but he didn’t listen until a trailer was moving towards them at speed.

His eyes widened, and he quickly swerved to dodge the trailer, losing a little control. Camila screamed and shut her eyes tight, waiting for the car to crash, but it stopped moving.

Her eyes slowly opened. Alejandro was breathing heavily, and she had dried tears on her lashes.

“What the f-__-k was that?” She demanded, but he did not reply.

“What is wrong with you, Alejandro? Will it make you feel better if you see me dead? You already have your way. You married me, made me walk naked in front of other men, gave your employees the right to disrespect me, and now you want to ki|| me?” She shouted.

Alejandro still did not say anything.

“Fine, let me plead with you. If taking my life is part of your scheme, please reconsider. I have my family to take care of, and I’m not ready to leave them yet,” she said angrily before opening the car door and stepping out.

“Where are you going?” Alejandro asked.

“Home, and don’t follow me,” she replied.

“You don’t know your way home,” he told her.

“You don’t get to tell me that,” she replied before storming away.

Alejandro sighed and took his phone. He dialed a number and called someone.

“Make sure my wife gets home safe and sound,” he ordered.

★★★★★★★

BRIARWOOD SCHOOL★

“Isa, have you heard the latest news today?” Chappell asked as soon as Isabella arrived.

“What news?” Isabella asked.

“There are pictures of you and Elijah from Cyber Boys holding hands, and everyone is going crazy!” Gloria quickly told Isabella.

“Hey, I was going to tell her that,” Chappell glared at Gloria.

“You were too slow, sorry,” Gloria mocked, and they both started slapping each other’s hands.

Abby rolled her eyes and moved toward Isabella.

“Seems like things are starting to move for you and Elijah. You’ve waited for two years, and I thought it was just a fantasy,” Abby said.

“Well, it’s happening now, and nothing is going to spoil things for me,” Isabella smirked.

“Yeah, nothing except for… her,” Abby looked forward, and Isabella followed her gaze. The person coming was the blond, perfect Valeria Ruiz. It felt like a heavenly light shone specially on her, making her entrance even more dramatic.

👥 Valeria, I love your hair!

👥 Oh my God, she’s using Debbie Wingham bags!

👥 Does her skin glow every day?

👥 Why does she get prettier every time I see her?

👥 I’m already a huge fan of you, Valeria!

Valeria had a proud smile as she made her entrance, waving at some girls, including Abby, who quickly waved back.

“Abby!” Isabella angrily hit her.

“Sorry, I can’t help it. She’s just so pretty. I’m afraid Elijah might fall in love at first sight when he sees her,” Abby said, causing another glare from Isabella.

“And in case you don’t know, she’s just opened her school profile and already has half of your followers. It took years to achieve that,” Gloria added, and Chappell nodded.

“She can have all she wants, but I won’t let her take Elijah from me!” Isabella angrily marched to the classroom but found Valeria sitting in her seat.

“What do you think you’re doing here?” She demanded.

“What do you mean?” Valeria gave her a pitiful look.

“That’s my seat!”

“But Miss Abigail told me I can sit wherever,” Valeria pouted her lips and batted her lashes, but all Isabella could see was a snake.

She badly wanted to pull her shiny blond hair but controlled herself and angrily walked to the back where Brett was sitting alone.

She sat beside him and angrily brought out her notebook. He was looking at her, which made her angrily turn to him.

“Am I owing you something?” She asked angrily.

“No, sorry,” he shook his head and quickly faced his book.

Isabella scoffed and faced her books too.

★★★★★★★

Camila knew it was a bad idea to walk alone. She should have just allowed Alejandro to drop her home, but she was too angry with him and herself for not being able to do anything about him.

A Bugatti Divo stopped before her, and the back door window rolled down. A well-dressed man in a business suit popped his head out.

“Hello,” he waved at Camila.

Camila tried ignoring him, but the man kept looking at her. She had no choice but to answer.

“I have been watching you for about ten minutes now, and it seems like you’re lost,” he said.

Camila looked left and right as if there was someone else beside her.

“I’m not lost,” she lied, but the man looked at her so intensely that she knew she couldn’t lie anymore.

She sighed. “I might be a little lost,” she admitted.

“Tell me where you are going, and I’ll drop you off,” he offered, but she refused to answer him.

He smirked. “I’m not going to hurt you. If you think I’m a bad person, you can check my ID card,” he opened his wallet and showed her his ID card.

“I’m Rafael Marcus, CEO of Marcus Global Ventures,” he introduced himself.

“So what? Should I give you a medal for the announcement?” Camila rolled her eyes, and Rafael just smirked.

“If you personally give me the medal, then I’d accept it,” he replied, and Camila only rolled her eyes.

“Julian, open the car and lead the lady inside,” Rafael ordered.

“Yes, boss,” the driver came down. He was also dressed in a suit. He opened the back door for Camila to step in.

Camila thought for a while but entered.

“Where do I drop you, ma’am?” Julian asked.

“Drop me at the nearest bus stop. I will find my way home,” Camila replied, and Julian nodded, returning to the driver’s seat to drive.

Rafael nodded at Julian, and he began driving. Camila felt nervous, pressing her sweaty palms together, which Rafael noticed. He also noticed her smooth skin and the smirk on her face, exposing a little of her thighs.

He began imagining what it would feel like to touch, squeeze, and caress her.

“We’re here,” Julian announced, bringing Rafael back to reality.

“Thank you,” Camila pressed her lips together, her cheeks turning pink. “Er… Do you have a little cash that I can use to take the bus? My phone got spoiled earlier,” she asked slowly.

“Sure,” Rafael agreed. He checked his wallet and handed her some money without counting it.

“It’s actually too much; I just need a little,” Camila mumbled.

“If it’s too much, you can give it to charity,” Rafael replied.

Camila nodded and stepped out of the car.

“Thank you for your help, Mr. Rafael,” she thanked him.

“Calling me Rafael is fine, and you’re welcome. May I know your name?” he asked.

“I’m Camila…” She thought for a moment. “Just Camila.”

Rafael nodded and watched as she walked away, her hips swaying. He didn’t know much about her, yet the little he did intrigued him.

“Julian, I want to know more about her,” he told his assistant.

“I will look into it, boss,” Julian replied.

★★★★★★★

RUIZ MANSION★

It was evening. Camila sat alone at the dining table as the maid served dinner. Alejandro was later than usual, and she wasn’t planning to wait for him.

The main door opened, and Alejandro stepped in. The maids greeted him, but he climbed the staircase and returned after a few minutes, dressed casually.

Camila dropped her cutlery and stood up, but before she could move, his deep voice stopped her.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m full,” she replied without looking at him. She was still too angry to face him.

“Why didn’t you wait for me before eating dinner?” he asked angrily.

“Why? Do you want to punish or maybe try to ki|| me again?” she retorted, and he angrily hit the table, making her shiver.

“Just get out,” he sighed.

Camila did as he said and left. When she was out of sight, he angrily threw the food on his table away and left the dining room. The maids had to rush to clean up.

★★★★★★★

NEXT MORNING; RUIZ ROYAL ESTATE★

The first thing Camila saw was a brand-new phone package on her desk with a letter that said, “For Camila.” She slowly picked it up and opened it. It was an iPhone 15 Pro Max.

“Who dropped this here?” she asked, looking around.

“It’s from me, Mrs. Ruiz. I broke your phone yesterday, and I regret my actions,” Sandra said respectfully.

Camila was still confused. Why was Sandra speaking to her with respect? What was she missing?

“I also want to give you this. It’s my badge as the lead architect; you can have it,” Sandra added, handing Camila her badge.

Camila confusedly took it. Did Alejandro do this? She couldn’t help but wonder.

💍💍 TBC 💍💍