Chapter 3 A Public Slap

Seraphina's POV

For one brief second, fear flashed across her face. Though it was quickly gone, I had seen it and I knew Damien had seen it too.

Good. Very good. Because this dinner wasn't really a dinner. It was a trap and they had just walked right into it.

As Camilla and Damien exchanged nervous glances, I lifted my teacup slowly, calmly and patiently.

The first cut was always the easiest. The deeper wounds would come later.

---

Saturday evening arrived faster than expected.

By six o'clock, the dining room of the Roth mansion was full.

Margaret sat at the head of the table while Victor, Damien's father sat beside her.

Margaret was like the head of the family because Victor was such a weak willed man. Always passive and allowing his wife to dictate things. I shook my head at them in disgust.

Sophia on the other hand was busy taking selfies. She was going to post them on her social media handle to keep up the rich kid lifestyle that I was funding. Well, that will soon end.

Damien sat across from me and right beside him sat Camilla. I guess it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to continue hiding.

I looked at all of them. The perfect little family. At least that was what they thought.

I smiled as servants placed food on the table as I prepared to speak.

"I'm so happy everyone could come," I said with false warmth 

"Of course, dear. Family comes first." Margaret smiled warmly.

I almost laughed at the word 'family' because it now sounded very different. Especially since I knew I was not part of the so called family.

Dinner started normally. I watched them talk, laugh and even lied to me. Margaret was adding more food to Camille's plate and I wondered how I could not see the affection between them since.

After a while, Sophia suddenly frowned while looking at her phone.

"Mom!" She called in obvious distress.

"What is it?" Margaret asked.

"My credit card isn't working!" She complained.

I took a sip of wine as I watched Sophia becoming annoyed.

"I was trying to buy a handbag this afternoon. My card was declined." She said.

"That's strange." Margaret frowned.

Sophia then turned to me.

"Seraphina, can you call your bank?" She asked.

Of course, after all, I was the one paying for that card. For years.

"Oh, I canceled it." I said smiling and everywhere went quiet.

"You what?" Sophia blinked.

"I canceled it." I repeated.

"But why?" 

"You're twenty-four years old." I cut a piece of steak as I spoke while Sophia continued to stare at me.

"You can pay your own bills." I added and the color drained from her face.

"Seraphina, sweetheart, there must be some misunderstanding." Margaret immediately stepped in.

"No misunderstanding." I smiled politely. "I just decided Sophia should learn financial responsibility."

Sophia looked ready to explode but Damien quickly jumped in.

"Let's not argue during dinner." He said trying to douse the tension that was in the room.

"You're right." I agreed looking at him.

Then I smiled sweetly as I added. "Maybe you can pay for her shopping from now on."

Damien's face stiffened.

The atmosphere became awkward which was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to make them uncomfortable.

The servants had barely finished serving the main course when Camilla suddenly froze. One second she was smiling at something Margaret had said. The next, her face turned pale.

She quickly covered her mouth before pushing her chair back. "Excuse me."

Without waiting for anyone to respond, she hurried toward the restroom. The dining room fell silent.

A few moments later, the unmistakable sound of someone vomiting echoed faintly through the hallway.

I slowly placed my fork down.

"Poor dear. She said she wasn't feeling well." Margaret immediately frowned with concern.

"I'll go check on her," Damien said almost too quickly.

He was already halfway out of his chair before he seemed to realize I was staring at him.

"I mean... she's your friend. It's only natural that I make sure she's alright." He cleared his throat awkwardly explaining to me.

Nobody questioned him and I almost smiled because I knew they were all in it.

A few minutes later, Camilla returned. She looked embarrassed as she quietly sat back down.

"I'm sorry." She forced a smile. "I don't know what's wrong with me lately."

"Camilla... are you alright?" I looked at her with genuine concern.

"I'm fine." She replied stiffly.

"You've been feeling sick often recently." I added.

"I..." she started.

I tilted my head innocently. "Could you be pregnant?"

The table immediately became silent. For one brief second, pure panic flashed across their faces and before she could answer, another wave of nausea hit her. She covered her mouth and rushed out of the dining room again.

"Should I go after her?" I asked standing immediately.

"No!" Damien answered so quickly that everyone looked at him.

"I... I mean..." He forced an awkward smile. "She probably just needs some space."

"If you say so." I slowly sat back down.

Several minutes later, Camilla finally returned once more. She avoided looking at me.

"Camilla... should we call a doctor?" I smiled gently.

"No." She shook her head quickly. "There isn't any need."

"Then what is it?" I asked.

Camilla gripped her napkin tightly before forcing herself to smile.

"It's nothing serious." She lowered her eyes. "I'm pregnant."

Gasps echoed around the table.

Margaret immediately stood. "Oh my goodness!"

Sophia squealed excitedly. "Camilla! Why didn't you tell us?"

Even Victor looked pleasantly surprised. I widened my eyes in perfect disbelief. They were all acting like they didn't know. It was as if they planned their reactions from the beginning. Their acting was so perfect that I began to doubt if I even knew this family at all.

I quickly put the thought behind me and joined in the acting.

"Camilla..." I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." She smiled weakly.

"So tell me, how far are you gone?" I asked lightly.

"Almost four months," she answered.

"That's wonderful." I tilted my head. "You must be excited."

"I am." She replied and I nodded slowly.

I hesitated before asking softly, "So... who's the father?"

The smile almost disappeared from her face. Across the table, Damien's hand tightened so hard around his wine glass that his knuckles turned white, while the rest people suddenly became interested in their food.

"Oh." She laughed nervously. "His name is Daniel."

I almost laughed. What an interesting and terrible lie.

"Daniel?" I asked.

"Yes." She nodded quickly. "We've been together for a while."

"Really?" I studied her expression. "That's lovely."

She thought I believed her. Poor Camilla. She always underestimated me.

"Will you be getting married?" I asked and her smile disappeared.

"What?"

"The baby." I looked down at her stomach. "Will the father marry you?"

"We haven't discussed it yet." She looked away.

I let out a soft sigh. "That's unfortunate."

"What is it?" Camilla frowned.

I gave her a sympathetic look. "A child deserves a proper family."

"A family doesn't require marriage." Her face tightened.

"No." I nodded. "But life becomes much harder without one."

She stared at me but I continued calmly. "I can't imagine being pregnant without a husband."

The color slowly drained from her face.

"I..."

"It must be difficult." I kept my expression neutral. "People can be very judgmental."

"You sound like you're judging me." Her fingers tightened around her purse.

"Oh, not at all." I placed a hand over hers. "I'm just worry about you."

The lie tasted sweet in my mouth.

"You've always been my best friend."

Camilla looked trapped. Like I had her cornered, which was my plan exactly, but I wasn't done.

I leaned back against the dinner table watching her as I spoke next. "You know, if I were pregnant, I would want my child to have a father who was proud to stand beside me."

I leaned back slightly. "A man who wasn't hiding."

Margaret cleared her throat trying to reduce the awkwardness. The dinner ended shortly after that. Everyone seemed eager to leave.

As soon as the last car disappeared through the gates, I went upstairs to our bedroom. Damien had volunteered to go drop Camille at her place because she was too 'sick' to go alone.

I smiled in agreement. Let them continue to believe that I didn't know what they were doing.

My phone rang immediately I entered the bedroom. It was Marcus.

"How did dinner go?" He asked.

I walked onto my balcony. A cold wind brushed against my face.

"They're nervous." I told him.

"Good. They should be." Marcus chuckled, then his tone became serious. "The auction is Monday."

I smiled. It was the perfect opportunity I had been waiting for.

"Everything ready?" I asked.

"Yes." He answered immediately.

I looked out at the city lights.

"Then let's see how smart Damien really is.”