Chapter 2
James's face darkened as he caught on, letting out a cold snort.
He scoffed, "I get it now. You just see her as young and easy to push around, looking for any excuse to make her life difficult. Camilla, I really misjudged you."
Wendy jumped in at just the right moment. "James, don't say that. Camilla's not like that."
She walked over and tried to grab my hand, but I yanked it away.
She didn't even get upset.
"I'll go get the hair tie right now, Camilla. Please don't be mad anymore," she said.
As she left, she glanced back at me, her eyes flashing with sly satisfaction. As she left, she glanced back at me, her eyes flashing with sly satisfaction.
Even though Wendy was gone, James was still there, sticking up for her.
James said, "Honey, she's just a young girl with no power or influence. Why are you picking on her like this?
"She already promised to return the hair tie. Just apologize to her later, and let's just forget this ever happened, okay?"
I looked at him, my gaze growing unfocused, as if I barely recognized him anymore.
Even now, he was still insisting that I apologize.
My husband of five years was willing to go to such lengths for a neighbor.
"James, say one more word, and you're fired first thing tomorrow," I said coldly.
After we got married, I used my dad's connections to get him a high-level job at the company.
Everything James had now was because of me.
Knowing he was in the wrong, he sat down on the couch and said nothing.
An hour later, Wendy still hadn't come back.
James glanced at the clock on the wall for the twentieth time.
He said, "They keep trying to fix the lights in her hallway, but they never work right. Do you think something might've happened?"
I caught the slip right away and fired back with a pointed question.
I asked, "How do you even know her hallway lights are always broken?"
James looked annoyed for a split second, but quickly masked it and acted normal.
"She needed help with her plumbing once, and you were there, you said it was okay for me to go," he replied.
As he spoke, he kept pinching the joint of his left thumb with his right hand.
That was his subconscious guilty habit.
The last time I caught him doing that was the day he was secretly planning to propose to me.
But this time, I knew what he was feeling guilty about.
I propped my chin up, pretending to think. "Funny you'd notice the lights at all, since it was daytime.
"And you even know they've tried fixing them more than once."
James started to get nervous under my stare, his voice getting a little shaky.
"Wendy told me about it when we were chatting," he blurted.
Just as I was about to press him further, Damari cut in.
"Camilla, could you pour me a cup of coffee?" he asked.
Carrying the kettle into the kitchen, I caught Edith speaking in a hushed tone.
"You're always so sloppy about things. How many times have I told you to be more careful and not get caught?" she snapped in a low voice.
I couldn't help but let out a mocking laugh.
James' parents never cared about what their son actually did, only that he couldn't cover his tracks.
They'd known everything from the start.
After a while, my phone started buzzing.
Checking the message, I saw Wendy was asking for help in the neighborhood group chat.
[I borrowed Camilla's hair tie, but now I can't find it. Has anyone seen it?
[Please, if I don't find it, she's threatening to divorce her husband over this. I'm desperate here.]
Her post set off a storm in the group chat, with everyone jumping in for the drama.
[Divorce over a hair tie? Wow, never thought I'd see the day.]
[I know that woman. She's always splurging. No way she'd blow up over a hair tie. She's just making things difficult for you.]
[Totally agree. Maybe she's just jealous of how well-liked you are and wants to give you a hard time.]
[Wendy, you really drew the short straw dealing with her. Everyone says she's super stingy, a real tightwad.]
After all the drama, the whole group was siding with Wendy, and I was suddenly the villain. The mean girl was just out to make her life miserable.
Wendy texted, [I've been searching everywhere, I'm so upset. What should I do?]
While everyone was busy comforting her, one neighbor finally voiced their doubts.
[Isn't it just common sense to return what you borrow? If you lost it, just apologize. What's the point of crying in the group chat?]
Just then, James, who never spoke up in the group chat, finally chimed in.
If you can't find the hair tie, it's fine. You don't have to return it.
Just seconds ago, he was telling me to just let it go and not get dragged into drama.
But the moment Wendy got questioned, James couldn't sit still.
It was obvious who mattered more to him.
Another neighbor chimed in, [Seriously? The husband gets to forgive people for his wife now?]
James stared at his phone, typing as if his life depended on it.
Seeing him like this, I couldn't help but remember that afternoon eight years ago.
Back then, James and I were barely even acquaintances. We weren't even friends.
That day, the usually quiet James ended up throwing punches with some guy from next door's major. It got so wild that even the police got called.
Later, I found out it was all because that guy and his buddies were talking trash about me. "How does a college girl have so much cash? God knows what kind of shady stuff she's doing."
After we started dating, I teased James about it and asked what he was thinking at the time.
His answer was serious, but kind of innocent.
James said, "I liked you, so I couldn't stand anyone badmouthing you, not even one word."
In my heart, James had always been the knight who'd charge into battle for his princess.
But at some point, I stopped being the princess he fought for.
Quoting the neighbor's message, I replied underneath.
[Well said.]