Chapter 99
“I don’t agree,” Camilla said without hesitation, immediately shutting Barnard down.
No matter how convincing Barnard tried to be, she would never sacrifice Jasper’s happiness just so Daisy could get ahead.
Barnard’s face darkened for a moment as he took another rejection. “Camilla, can you not be so stubborn? This is actually good for everyone, why do you have to make it difficult? Besides, did you even ask Jasper about it? How do you know he doesn’t want to go to the international preschool p>
“I don’t want to,” Jasper piped up right away, not even waiting for Barnard to finish. Barnard’s expression froze briefly.
He tried to calm down, taking a long breath. Then he looked at Jasper and tried to sweet-talk him. “Jasper, you haven’t even given it a try. Maybe the international preschool is better for you. You love learning, and staying at your current school is just holding you back. Listen to Daddy. Once you feel better in a couple of days, Daddy will take you to check it out p>
At that, Jasper clung tighter to Camilla’s arm, looking frightened. “No! I don’t want Daddy to take me! Daddy is mean p>
The last time Barnard dropped Jasper off at school was the day Jasper got hurt. Now Jasper was terrified to go anywhere alone with him. Even before Camilla arrived at the restaurant, Jasper had been on edge, barely saying a word.
The muscles in Barnard’s forehead tightened in irritation, clearly not happy about Jasper’s reaction.
Camilla bent down and scooped Jasper up. “If that’s what you wanted to talk about, my answer is already clear. I’m not changing my mind p>
“Camilla!” Barnard jumped up, wanting to go after her, but she didn’t even look back. She strode off quickly, leaving him calling after her. The whole restaurant turned to stare.
Barnard clenched his teeth and had to let her go.
Back at the car, once Jasper was buckled in, he turned to Camilla and whispered, “Mommy, I didn’t really want to go out with Daddy today. He told me you’d be there, and that we’d all go have fun together, so I p>
“I know, Jasper. I’m not upset with you,” Camilla said gently, running her fingers through his hair and speaking softly.
Jasper always ended up caught in the crossfire between her and Barnard. It broke her heart every time. All she wanted was to gather enough proof to finally file for divorce, to end this whole ridiculous and manipulative marriage.
Jasper looked up at her. “Mommy, why is Daddy so nice to Daisy? If he wasn’t trying to get Daisy into preschool, would he have even come to see us p>
Barnard’s intentions were so obvious, even Jasper could tell something was off.
Seeing Jasper’s careful, uncertain look made Camilla’s heart ache even more. She hugged him close. “Jasper, you have me. I’ll always be on your side. People who don’t really matter… we don’t need to be sad about them, okay p>
Jasper blinked up at her, thinking hard, then nodded. Mommy was right. If Daddy didn’t care about him, he didn’t have to care about Daddy either.
Dinner at the restaurant was ruined, so once they got home, Camilla made Jasper a bowl of noodles. When she finally got him to sleep, she realized how deep Barnard’s scheming went.
Photos of the three of them having a candlelight dinner at the western restaurant were all over the news. Social media was full of posts gushing about their perfect high-society marriage. No one knew that, behind all the smiles, things were barely holding together.
She had to admit, Barnard really knew how to work the publicity angle. Honestly, if he wasn’t running The Carter Group, he could probably be a celebrity.
It wasn’t hard to guess why he was putting on the show. He’d traveled without her, and gossip at work was already rampant. Of course the outside world was speculating even more. He was desperate to show everyone that nothing was wrong in his marriage.
But being used like that felt like a thorn sticking straight into her heart.
She’d been wondering how to use the photos her private investigator sent her for maximum leverage. Now, she didn’t have to think twice. She told her contact to sell the photos to the media immediately.
So right when Barnard was working overtime to show off his loving marriage with Camilla, pictures of him on vacation with Davina and Daisy were everywhere. All his carefully curated publicity looked like a joke overnight.
Early the next morning, Calvin called, wanting her to go to The Carter Estate. She told him she was busy with work and brushed off the invitation. By midday, Laura arrived at Camilla’s office. By then, most of the online gossip had been squashed. Laura squeezed Camilla’s hand and said, “Camilla, those stories online aren’t real. They’re just wild rumors—you can’t let them get to you. Even if Barnard took that mother and daughter on his trip, it was only to have them take care of his day-to-day life. At the end of the day, they’re just helpers. No comparison to you. That Davina isn’t even close to you in looks or ability. Barnard isn’t foolish enough to fall for someone so much older p>