Page 62 of Camilla & Dallas
“I said I should have never left.”
“No, not that. About the note.”
“Well, it was more like a letter. I told her how much I loved her and that I was making this decision for both of us so we could have a future together.” He moved to lean against the couch and flipped open the ring box to stare at the delicate piece of jewelry. “I told her that I knew she’d be upset with my decision but that I would make it up to her when I came home. I wanted her to write to me, call me, tell me she forgave me. I waited and waited for any contact from her, but it never came.”
When Isabelle didn’t speak, he finally forced himself to meet her gaze, and she looked sick to her stomach.
“What?” he asked, standing again, alarm bells ringing in his head. “What’s the matter?”
“Camilla never got a letter, Dallas.”
He blinked. Then he shook his head. “No, that’s not right. I gave it to Cheyenne to give to her.” He started pacing, then stopped abruptly. Based on the way Cheyenne had reacted when he’d found the ring, it was entirely possible that Cheyenne hadn’t given the letter to Camilla at all.
He froze in his place and stared at Isabelle, his heart shattering all over again. “Are you sure?” he rasped. “Are you absolutely certain that Camilla never got the letter?”
Isabelle nodded. She looked as numb as he felt. “She would have told me.” She swallowed and looked away. “Those first few weeks she tried calling, too. She called and called, but it only went to voicemail. Then one day there was a message that said the number was no longer in service.”
The world was officially crashing down around him. “Before I left, I got on my own cell phone plan and had to get a new phone number. I couldn’t message Camilla my new number without drawing attention to my leaving, so I told Cheyenne to pass that on, too. She said she would.” His voice sounded hollow even to him. “Cheyenne didn’t tell Camilla any of it.”
“Doesn’t sound like it,” Isabelle said bitterly. “What’s wrong with your sister?”
He met Isabelle’s ferocious gaze.
“Apparently, she doesn’t like to share.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Dallas shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I never liked her that much to begin with. Clearly, she wanted to sabotage your relationship.” Isabelle was quiet for a long moment, and then she gasped, causing his eyes to meet hers once more. “How much do you want to bet that she’s the reason Camilla’s other relationships didn’t pan out?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
Isabelle folded her arms, her features twisted into a mask of fury. “Camilla never had a successful serious relationship. Not after you left. The longest one only lasted a month at best. Eventually they all stopped coming around. They’d ghost her. Desert her.”
The frantic beating of his heart was the only thing that registered at that moment. Dallas didn’t want to believe his sister was so desperate that she’d do such a thing to the person she claimed to love. Isabelle was right to question everything about Cheyenne. This wasn’t normal, healthy behavior.
“What are you going to do?” Isabelle spoke quieter this time. “Are you going to confront Cheyenne?”
He shook his head. “She’ll just lie. That’s what she’s been doing all this time.”
“What about Camilla?”
His chest ached. His head still pounded. Even the muscles in his body screamed in protest from how tense he’d been. He hadn’t gotten any sleep, and he was running on fumes. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know? For heaven’s sake. You have to tell her. She can’t keep thinking that Cheyenne has her back.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” he snapped. “What do you expect me to say? She probably won’t believe me. I’m a liar, remember?”
Isabelle winced. “But you have to try.”
Dallas shook his head. “It’s Cheyenne’s word against mine. She’ll spin it to make me look crazy or manipulative. I don’t have any proof about any of it.”
Dark laughter was the last thing Dallas expected to hear from Camilla’s younger sister. She sounded borderline deranged. “I never thought of you as the quitting type.”
What was he supposed to say to that? Maybe that was exactly who he was. He could have easily reached out to Camilla years ago. But he hadn’t. He could have asked to see her or speak to her over the years, but he’d let his fears of rejection hold him back.
“You have to stay,” Isabelle finally muttered.
