Page 60 of The Love of Priest

"Man, how long as it been?" He reached over, giving her a hug to her dismay and against her preference to keep a foot of distance between them. "Last time I seen you, you weren't this big. You look… how can I say this?" He thought to himself momentarily, unaware that he was already breaking Britain down piece by piece. "Healthy." He snapped his finger with an accomplished smile since he thought he found the word that best described Britain’s appearance.

Again, Britain cleared her throat. The weakness within her just wanted to burst out and cry, but remembering all she'd learned in the years of being away from him, she kept face and remained strong. "Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself." She waved a hand over his appearance.

Cameron never left the house unless he was dressed to perfection. His jewelry was always right, and his outfit always looked like he pealed it straight off the front cover of a GQ magazine. This time, he was wearing a black turtleneck that accentuated his toned midriff. He paired it with a storm gray overcoat. His charcoal black chino slacks were secured around his waist by a designer belt with a medium-sized gold face buckle. A pair of Alexander McQueen sneakers adorned his feet. Accessorizing his attire were his gold chains, gold Movado watch, and his solid gold wedding band.

The sight of the ring on his ring finger caused Britain’s stomach to churn and twist into knots. He’d moved on from her so easily, while she was still battling all the baggage and damage he left her with. "So, what's happening with you? Anything change over the years?" Cameron asked with his beguiling smile prancing his face. She noticed he had enhanced his appearance with a set of pearly white veneers that only made him even more irresistible.

Britain shook her head. "Not much. Just been relaxing a whole lot more and not overdoing it with work." As much as she tried to make her life seem more interesting, she couldn't. Her life really hadn't changed much. She wasn't married yet. She hadn't signed off on her dream house or her dream car. She wasn't expecting her first child. She hadn't opened her own magazine company like she dreamed of.Nothing had changed.

Cameron chuckled. For some reason, Britain felt like he was belittling her. "That's good to hear. I was sad to see you didn't show up for the wedding. I would have loved to have you there, Brit."

Britain gulped at his shortening of her name. Luckily for her, it didn't cause any butterflies in her stomach anymore. In fact, it actually made her feel sick.Gioiawas the only nickname that now made her heart flutter.

Gioia.

That was what she needed to do at the moment. Channel her innerGioia!

"Well, for starters, congratulations." Britain smiled widely at him, showcasing the gap that Priest found so much beauty in. She ran her fingers through her hair, untucking the strands from behind her ears and letting her tresses cup her face beautifully. "I really couldn't make it. It clashed with my travel schedule with Jadey. I remember you had your wedding during my birthday week," Britain let out cattily.

She could tell he was bothered by the sight of her radiating smile and the leisurely placement of her hair. He even noticed her starting to slouch a little, which made him want to squirm. "Your birthday week?" Cameron asked for clarification, causing Britain to nod.

"It all worked out, though. I got my trip to Tulum, which you failed to take me on after planning to go year after year, and you got married, something you said you weren't interested in. I guess the stars aligned differently for the both of us." Britain continued to flash her smile. She felt liberated by her freedom to talk to Cameron in any manner she pleased. Now, she held the control and all the power. The cycle was in her hands. He no longer had the luxury of toying with her emotions and feelings.

Cameron’s brown eyes peered down at Britain. He wanted to be abrasive and correct her on the fact that he was interested in marriage, he just wasn't interested in marrying her, but he was going to let her have her moment of redemption. He knew exactly what to say to bring her back down to her empty levels of confidence so he could pity her. "I guess things did work out," he shrugged with a slight smirk. "You like wine, right?"

Britain nodded. "Well, I am on the wine aisle," she pointed out sarcastically.

"Right," Cameron chuckled. "My wife, she just closed on a huge account, and I want to celebrate with her. What was your favorite again? That one was delicious." He smiled, recalling the numerous times she cooked and served him with a hefty plate and a glass of wine.

Britain wanted to scream; however, she maintained her composure. Grabbing one of the wine bottles she had placed in her cart — one of the same bottles she wanted to crack Cameron over the head with— she held it up for him to read the label. "Meiomi Rosé," he read aloud with a smooth chuckle. "Hopefully, a bottle of this won't be a complete waste. She doesn't really drink much after having the baby."

Swallowing hard, Britain fought to keep herself together mentally and not allow Cameron to see her in shambles. "Baby? Congrats. I didn't know you were a kid type of guy," Britain eased out.

Cameron shrugged his built shoulders. "I mean, I wasn't—well, not at the time I was with you of course— but now, my baby girl Dreux is my pride and joy."

"You named her Dreux?" Britain asked with a hint of shock invading her tone.

"Yeah," Cameron eased out, acting as if he was embarrassed by it. "I hope you don't mind. It was a nice name. Didn't think it should go to waste."

Scorching in anger, Britain concealed her pain with another smile. Her smile was a bandage for all the rough shit she went through in life. "I guess there are two Dreux's now."

Cameron chuckled, agreeing with her before halting his light laughter. "Well, one," he corrected. "Our Dreux is no longer with us, but me and Avery's Dreux is still here blossoming." He had just twisted the knife he impaled into her heart with absolutely no remorse.

Britain cleared her throat. "Right." She nodded. "I should get going to prepare dinner for my boyfriend?—"

"Boyfriend? You're still dating?" Cameron asked.Britain nodded in confirmation, no longer wanting to continue the conversation with him. As much as channeling her inner Gioia was working at first, Cameron saw through all that bullshit and hit her where it hurt the most. She had failed miserably once more. "Really? Who is he? I may know him." Cameron was more than ready to downplay whoever Britain called herself moving on to. He knew there was no one who could captivate Britain the same way he captivated her.

Britain let out a sigh. She prayed what she was about to say next wouldn't jeopardize how well things were going for her at the moment. "Priest- Priest Justice," she informed him. "Again, I should really get back. It was so nice seeing you." She quickly began pushing her cart out of the aisle. As she turned to the next aisle, she took a quick glance at Cameron. He looked absolutely stunned by the name that fell off her tongue. He stood there processing as if he couldn't even believe Britain in the first place. However, one thing he knew about Britain was that she never lied, especially about things pertaining to her life.

Still standing in the wine aisle, Cameron extracted his phone from the pocket of his overcoat, heading straight to the search tab. Still shaky from shock, his thumbs tapped against the screen, typingPriest Justiceinto the search engine, resulting in a numerous different articles and photos popping up on his screen.

A tightness surfaced in Britain's chest as she tried her best to keep her cool so she could finish her shopping. She decided to cut her shopping short and just grab the things she needed for a quick dinner for her and Priest. She scurried over to the checkout, hoping and praying to God above she didn't run into Cameron again. Once she was out of Whole Foods, she rushed to her car, practically tossing the groceries inside.

As she slid into the vehicle, the dam she constructed to prevent any tears from cascading down her face came crumbling down. Loud cries erupted from her as her shoulders slouched, and she buried her face in her hands.She didn’t mean for her cries to be so loud, but she couldn't help it. Since breaking up with Cameron, Britain vowed to never cry over him. Her entire healing process consisted of her acting like he didn’t even exist. That was the only way she knew how to cope without wanting to crawl back to him.

Ceasing her cries rather quickly, Britain desperately wiped her face, trying her best to leave no signs of her tears for Priest to pick up on. Taking in a deep breath, she pulled down the sun visor and flipped open the mirror, examining the look within her eyes and the trail of tears that stained her face. "Get it together, Britain," she mumbled to herself before flicking the sun visor back up.

On her way home, she tried her best not to let her thoughts drift off to Cameron, and they didn't. Instead, they began drifting off to a matter that was much heavier than Cameron: Dreux. The fact that he found it appropriate to name his daughter with another woman Dreux was just beyond Britain. She felt disrespected, like he had just hacked up the nastiest ball of spit he could brew and spewed it right into her face.

---