Camila's POV
I don't know how and who had managed to take that picture but I was sure I was framed.
My world shattered.
"I don't know who, this man is." I tried to explain. The picture was there staring boldly at me. My face was very clear but the man in question had his back facing the camera, preventing anyone from identifying who he was.
"Hayden, trust me. I don't know who this man is and I have done nothing with him." I tried to explain to him only for him to scoff instead, shaking his head.
"I... I just don't know what to say to you right now, Camila." He said, moving away from me. "But one thing I do is... I don't want to see your face at this moment." He added and turned his back on me, walking away without a second glance.
"Wait, Hayden... I... Hayden!" I fell to my knees, sobs wracking my body. I needed to explain to him that I was framed. I needed him to believe that I never cheated. But he was not giving me a chance to.
I had never slept with that man he saw in the picture with me. I could remember that day when I woke up, I knew someone was there with me, but I had not seen his face. He had left before I woke up. Even now, I don't know who he was and I don't know who had taken those pictures.
But one thing I do know is, whoever that did that to me was out to ruin me.
I had tried talking to him again and I gave up on whatever we had after that conversation.
"Hayden, you have to believe me… I… I never cheated on you." My voice shook, my throat raw from the lump lodged there.
I stepped toward him, pleading, my hands trembling at my sides. "This baby… this baby is yours. You must believe me, Hayden. You must—"
His laughter cut through me like a blade. Cold. Hollow.
A smirk curled his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes. His gaze burned with something far darker—anger, betrayal… disgust. "Believe you?" he scoffed. "How do you expect me to believe you, Camila? The evidence is clear. You slept with that slave but up till now, you refuse to accept the truth. You're not even remorseful of what you did." He said, giving no ear to what I have to say.
How will I accept the truth of what I did not do? "No!" I choked out, shaking my head violently. "I would never cheat—"
"Lies!" His voice was thunderous, making me flinch.
He stormed toward me, fists clenched at his sides. Every step he took made my heart pound harder against my ribs. "I trusted you, Camila. I thought—" His voice cracked for the briefest second before his expression hardened into stone. "You failed me."
I felt like the ground had been ripped from beneath me.
"Please, Hayden… please. I love you. I—"
"No," he cut me off. His voice was void of emotion now, a cruel contrast to the warmth he'd once spoken to me with. "You are nothing to me."
I gasped, a sob catching in my throat.
"Now leave." His tone was final. "I don't ever want to see you again."
I tried to say something but nothing was coming out of my mouth.
"You have to leave, Camila," he had said, his voice low and desperate this time. "If my father finds out—"
I had slapped him before he could finish. I couldn't take it anymore.
I had loved him. I had trusted him. And in the end, I had meant nothing to him.
A tear slipped down my cheek as I curled in on myself, my body trembling from exhaustion, from fear, from heartbreak as I snapped out of my thoughts and remembered they were after me, after the child in my womb. They wanted to destroy me. They wanted to destroy my child.
"Check the trees!" I heard one of them shout.
Panic flared in my chest. I held my breath, pressing further into the shadows as boots stomped past my hiding spot.
"She couldn't have gotten far," one of the men muttered. "The Alpha wants her found by sunrise."
My heart pounded so hard I thought they would hear it.
If they found me, there would be no mercy.
I clutched my stomach, a silent promise forming in my heart.
I would live.
For my baby.
Even if it meant running until I had nothing left.
The pounding of boots, the rustling of leaves, the sharp, commanding tone of Alpha Carter's men—it all echoed in the dark forest. I counted their steps, listening for the moment they would pass. My lungs ached from holding my breath, but I dared not make a sound.
"She has to be here somewhere!" one of them growled.
I clenched my fists, pressing myself further into the hollow of the tree, willing myself to become part of it. My legs cramped from crouching, my heart thudding like a war drum in my chest.
One wrong move and it would be over.
Then, finally—silence.
I stayed still, forcing myself to wait longer, to be sure they were gone. The cold seeped into my bones, but I ignored it. Only when I was certain they had moved further into the forest did I risk peeking out.
Darkness stretched around me, the moon barely cutting through the thick canopy. The sound of my own ragged breathing was the only thing I could hear.
I swallowed hard, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
"Move, Camila. Now."
Pushing off the ground, I forced my stiff legs to move. Every step was agony, my muscles screaming in protest, but I couldn't afford to stop. I had to put as much distance between me and the warriors as possible.
I slipped through the trees, my movements swift and silent, years of servitude having taught me how to go unnoticed. The woods had always been dangerous, filled with rogues and creatures lurking in the shadows, but right now, they were my only refuge.
I had to make it out of Silver Crest's territory before sunrise.
The border was close—just beyond the river. If I could reach it, I had a chance.
"Over here!"
The shout made my blood run cold.
I gasped, stumbling forward, the metallic scent of blood filling my nose.
Boots thundered closer.
No, no, no—
I barely registered the figures now surrounding me before another voice sliced through the chaos.
A sharp whistle cut through the air, and a searing pain shot through my shoulder.
An arrow.
"That's enough." A voice spoke, not so far from where the warriors had gathered around me.
The warriors froze, taking their eyes to find who was intruding on their splendid moment.
I blinked through the haze of pain, my vision blurring—until I saw him. The man who had shot the arrow on one of the warriors.
His tall, imposing figure stood at the edge of the trees, his silver eyes glowing beneath the moonlight.
Not one of Alpha Carter's men.
Someone else.
I never imagined I'd see him here and trying to stop the warriors.
"Step away from her." His voice was cold, commanding.
The warriors hesitated.
"But Alpha Carter ordered us to do this" one of them growled.
The man smirked. "Then tell him I stopped you from carrying out his order." He spoke with the darkest commanding aura I have ever seen in a man.
And suddenly, everything went black.