Unwilling To Hate You (MAJOR EDITING)

18

Camilla's POV

I had to do something. It couldn't seem like I was leading her on, because deep down I know I wanted this just as bad , I just never had the confidence to act on it. And now might be it. But maybe not, she seemed to wrapped up in the call.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Charlie's POV

"What?" I seethed.

"You heard me Monaco. Don't get the wrong end of the stick thinking you can win this one. You get me that money without telling a soul or I'll take her off your hands. And you get me a day with your mother. It's completely your choice darling. You have 24 hours. Don't make this any harder than it has to be." He growled, not giving me a chance to retaliate before ending the call.

"Charlie?" Camilla's voice broke the silence.

"Mhm." I said, turning back to her.

"What's wrong?" She asked. The one question I was hoping to avoid. Do I tell her? If I do then I'll have another insight but she's not actually meant to know if anything like that happens. If I don't then who am I going to tell. I can't tell anyone outside of the house because then Mike will definitely know I've said something. I can't draw attention to ourselves when Camilla's already in too much danger for her own good.

"It's nothing, I'm just going to ring your brother. Don't wait up for me." I said, leaving and going into the kitchen.

I dialled and waited. And waited. And waited. It went to voicemail and normally I'd object to such an action, but this time was different.

"Call me back as soon as you get this, you need to come home. I know you're away but I could really use your help, I wouldn't be asking if I didn't think it was important. Please call me back." I said, leaning against the wall behind me and breathing out.

I then rang dad.

"Dad?" I spoke into the phone.

"Charlie, I've already hired extra security, I swear if they haven't arrived yet then I'll-."

"It's not that. Can you transfer me some money please, and can you put mum on the phone too." I rushed out.

"How much do you need dear?" He said, calling someone from the distance, someone who I could only assume would be the one to actually send me the funds.

"A million." I said casually.

"Come again?"

"A million." I said a little louder.

"Right, anything you'd wish to tell me or..." He asked, suspiciously.

"Mhm, nope. If you can't then it's absolutely fine, I'll have a word with Jack." I reasoned.

"Absolutely not Charlie. Don't ask him for a penny, I'll get it transferred in a minute. You spend that wisely Charlie, because if I come home and you've bought a strip club then I'll smack you." He warned, half joking, half not.

"Thanks dad." I sighed out, rubbing my hand over my eyes to rid if the growing headache.

"Of course, here's your mum now, don't tell her about the money." He said quietly, before the line went quiet and then filling with sound a few seconds after.

"Charlie? Are you okay?" She asked, her voice giving away how worried she was.

"I need you to do me a favour, but I also need you to not ask any questions." I pleaded.

"Go on."

"I need you to meet with Camilla's stalker. He requested time with you as a bargain to stop everything he's planning. Please can you do it for me? I'll be absolutely sure that you'll be safe, you know I will." I begged.

She sighed through the phone before giving an answer. "Okay. But I want to know numbers. I don't want to go knowing that we've underestimated his danger. You promise me that Charlie?"

"I promise." I whispered, before she ended the call.

"Charlie, are we in trouble?" Camilla interrupted my thoughts.

"I told you we'd be fine Camilla. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Don't ask questions that you're not ready to hear the answer to." I scolded.

"I have every right to be worried about my own well-being. I'm stuck with a person who doesn't understand me, and clearly wants to jump down my throat every chance they get. Just fuck off if you're going to take it out on me. I didn't do this to myself Charlie." She seethed back at me, grabbing a plate and slamming it on the side before moving towards the fridge.

My hand stopped her motion, "Camilla don't ruin it now. I can't tell you. Don't keep pushing it, I'm trying to keep your thoughts out of it. We need to stay as rational as possible." I tried to explain, leaning against the counter in front of me.

"And my thoughts on my own life won't be rational? What about your thoughts on my life. We both know you care a lot more than you let on about me, won't that blur your vision a bit?" She said, frowning at me before proceeding to open the fridge.

"My thoughts and feelings for you don't even come close to how much I care for my clients. Don't try and mix personal with professional, that's what tends to ruin things."

"You mixed personal with professional when you caught feelings Charlie. Don't act as if I'm the one who fell. I'm willing to hate you for as long as this takes. Don't make things difficult for us both." She spoke, slamming the fridge door after getting her ingredients for her sandwich, and turning her back on me to incline than she was done with the conversation.

I huffed before dialling the number that had called me.

"Oh sweetie? Want to talk so soon?" His gruff voice came through the speaker, making me shiver at his closeness in disgust.

"I can't do it in 24 hours." I said simply.

"And what makes you think that I'll put everything on hold?"

"Because I have all of the things that you want." I muttered, taking a glance in Camilla's direction.

"Ah. A clever one? And say if I was to agree and then kill Camilla whilst we waited for your parents to get back?"

"Oh that wouldn't happen. I'd kill you before you even got close, and how the fuck do you know if they're here or not?"I said, seriously but not as a threat, as a promise.

"I know everything. But okay. Because you believe you have the power mentally to have to wait those agonising however many weeks until they get back, I'll let you have it your way. Make sure your mother isn't late when she meets me, after all, we wouldn't want a death at the welcome home party would we?" He joked, but ended the call before I could even react... again.

Now what a stupid thing to let slip. He was going to meet Mum in my own house. It was clear that he had never done anything like this before, or maybe he had, but he had never faced someone smarter than him. I'll be ten steps ahead of him before he even knows it.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Well well well.

👋