Return Of The Alpha Mafia Queen

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Camille Spice POV

The Banks Manor, Her father-in-law's home.

"May I have everyone's attention?!" My sister Sonia announced before she gave me a bone chilling smile. I had a feeling that just like always she was up to no good.

The laughter, chatter and murmurs died down at her request. Everyone stared in her direction and the tension grew with her silence.

She made her way to the centre of the stage with a slow graceful and calculated walk. I wondered what she was about to do.

It was the night of my husband's twenty-seventh birthday party. It was a lively occasion with the sprawling manor illuminated by sparkling chandeliers. The echos of merry laughter bounced off the huge walls.

I had watched with a glass of champagne in hand as the guests mingled with each other, each wearing their finest attire. But despite all of the grandeur for my husband big day, I felt out of place.

My husband, Miles was lost in the crowd of family and well wishers, hardly acknowledging my presence though I had tried my best to dress well for the evening. Well I was used to that and our equally failing marriage.

My eyes had darted around the room and met with Sonia's which had an unreadable glint in them. She was standing beside my adopted mother, Janna Spice, and they were laughing together. I had noticed her stealthily moving around the large hall while whispering in hushed tones to a few of the security men. I seemed usual but something about their presence made me uneasy. I tried to brush it away but my stomach began to twist with dread as she walked up to the stage and took the mic.

“Everyone,” she continued with a cheeky smile, “thank you all for being here to celebrate Miles’s birthday with us, his family. And I think that it would be safe to say that he is one of the most wonderful men that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.” And she threw my husband a warm smile while he nodded approvingly.

I noticed a certain amount of unhealthy friendliness in their exchange though it had seemed like a cursory nod. My heart for no reason began to sink while I struggled internally to remain composed.

“But tonight,” she continued as her voice acquired a certain edge to it, “I think it is quite important that we address something else. In a family, there is always someone who pretends to be a part of them and wears the masks of loyalty and love. But yet behind closed doors, they hide secrets. The kind that is meant to deceive everyone.”

Her words had a loud murmur going through the crowd as my heart began to race with dread. Fear pooled in the pits of my stomach as her eyes settled on me accusingly. I felt the eyes of the guests shift towards me as suspicion began to eat everyone up. But my sister only gave me an evil smirk and let the tension hang for a while before she continued to speak.

“Family has always meant everything to Miles. And it is only right that we should be honest to someone like that, even if it would hurt. I have evidence to prove that not everyone is as loyal to Miles as they claim to be."

The screen behind Sonia lit up and I stared in horror as I came up on the screen on that emerald green dress that was a constant reminder of that night. My hands shook and I tightened my grip on the champagne glass in an attempt to steady it. My composure was quickly dwindling.

“What on earth do you think that you are doing Sonia?” I snapped as I walked up to her.

"I am showing everyone here your true colours," she said to me with a sneer as the camera showed me getting carried into a room by a man. Horror painted my face a dark and flushed colour.

"Will you turn that damn thing off?!" I said in panic as I reached for Sonia's hair and pulled. "Turn that shit off! You evil doer!"

“I know this is going to hurt you Camille," she said as she pushed me back roughly. I staggered away from her, my grip on her hair loosening. "But Miles, he deserves to know the truth. He needs to know that you have been seeing someone behind his back, going around cheating like an unsatisfied whore!"

There were shocks and gasps from the crowd as Miles came up to me with enraged eyes. "Is that true Camille? Is this true?" He demanded.

"Miles I-" I began to explain just as Sonia produced some photos and presented them to Miles. My heart stopped as he scanned through the photos of me. There were pictures of me entering and leaving the hotel, one of me going into a room. There was another one of me in a man's arms being taken into his room and another of slipping away in the morning after looking disheveled. His expression hardened and his jaw clenched. And when I met his eyes they had the fire of fury in them.

“What is this Camille?” he demanded in a deadly calm voice, the calm before the storm kind of one. I tried to speak but my voice caught in my throat due to the level of panic that was flooding my senses.

"I promise Miles that this is not what it looks like. It was Sonia who-"

"Please Camille, don't you dare to drag me into your mess. I have done what I can as your big sister." The emphasis on the last word was laced with deep disgust as she cut me off. "Why don't you be honest to your husband and admit to the fact that you are such a cheating bitch?" She asked with a venomous voice, her tone dripping with righteousness. “Well just admit to your husband that you have betrayed him in the worst way possible, and now you are trying to lie to save face.”

“I-it is not true Miles!" I said in desperation. "Please believe me! I was only there because I thought that Sonia needed help,” I still tried to explain in my shaky voice. Anger at Sonia and the humiliation she was dishing out to me caused me to choke on my words. Behind us, the guests murmured with judgemental remarks and snide comments.

"Was that where you were that night?" He asked me as my mind wandered to that morning when he had almost caught me.

"Where on earth have you been?" I had heard his angry voice the moment that I had stepped into the living room. He had been standing there, staring at me with those eyes that I was sure could see into my soul.

"Since when has it become your business where I do and do not go Mr Miles Banks?" I had asked him.

"You are my wife Camille, and like it or not, you should inform me before you spend the entire night away from home," he had said with his voice laced with irritation and annoyance.

"And why do you know think that I was out all night? Were you not out all night too?" I had asked him with raised brows. The security guard had told me that he had only been back home about an hour ago.

"Were you or were you not out all night?" He had asked me.

"I just went for a quick jog," I had said to him as his eyes sized me up with obvious disbelief.

"You went to jog? In that outfit? Oh please be realistic Camille. That is a sundress," he had emphasized as he gestured at my floral patterned knee length sundress.

"It is up to you wether to believe me or not!" I had said to him before I had gone up the stairs and left him with his suspicious thoughts which were most likely true.

"Answer me!" He bellowed, his voice dragging me back to the present. A shiver ran down my spine.

"Miles I-"

“That is enough,” he snapped at me in a loud vouce. He had this cold and unforgiving expression on his hardened face. “I can not believe that you would do this, Camille. You have completely disgraced and humiliated me. I still can not believe that this is true.” He took a step back as he eyed me with distaste.

"Miles, please, I- it was a-"

"Keep it to yourself," Sonia said as she came to Miles who held her in his arms. "We do not want to hear the details about your lovely night. But I think you should hear the details about ours. I am pregnant, for Miles and we are keeping the child."

"You are pregnant ? For Miles?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes Camille darling, we have been together for a while now.” Gasps rippled through the room at their revelation and my legs began to feel like jelly. Sonia's words rang in my ears repeatedly.

My husband and my sister?

The realization was like a hard blow to me, catching me unaware, unprepared for their betrayal. I looked to Miles to deny that, but he had a confirming look in his eyes. Tears burned at the back of my eyes but I fought them back. I had thought that though our marriage was strained that there was hope.

But now this?

The weight of their betrayal weighed me down. I clutched my chest as I felt like I was being gutted brutally. "You have been sleeping with my sister?" I asked my husband.

“Are you the only one who can do that? You think that you can continue to fool me anymore?” he spat. “You are nothing but a cheat and a liar Camille, and it is only fair that I have my own pound of flesh."

"But with my sister Miles?"

"This marriage was a mistake,” he said to me with an ice-cold gaze. "Let us get a Divorce."