Chapter 518 - Five Hundred And Eighteen: This Was A Game To Him

The third point of view:

It wasn't hard for Cecil to locate her father in the cafe, he was seated by the window and found her before she set her eyes on him. 

With a grin that irked her the more, her father waved her over to his table and she walked over to him. 

Camille wanted to simply dump the duffel bag containing the money on the table without care whether she spilled his coffee or not and leave. But she reconsidered after realizing that might draw unnecessary attention. 

Although the cafe was moderate, one could never tell who was who. She had to be careful here before someone targets her. Now married to a Spencer, her worth had increased and kidnappers would be so delighted to have their hands on her.

So Camille eased into the seat, keeping the money on the chair beside her, seating directly across her father. 

"I'm here," was the only word she said.

Her father looked her over from her head to the sole of her feet, scrutinizing and observing the changes in her body as she did the same to him.

He was dressed in a simple polo and brown pants. His once dark hair was now a pepper and salt version. The man had a rugged appearance from harsh living over the years. But Camille didn't care, he brought it on himself. 

"You look..." He breathed, "Beautiful. Your husband must be treating you well I see,"

Camille retorted, "And you look awful. I see karma has been paying you back in your own coins,"

The man chuckled, "You're still mad at me,"

Her blood boiled, how could everything that happened so far be entertaining to him.

"You made our life miserable. You cheated on my mother and treated us like we were animals. What gives you the right to demand things from me?" she spoke through gritted teeth, her chest heaving. 

"What gives me the right?" He scoffed as if she had asked the most ridiculous thing, "Because the life you're living was made possible through me. If I haven't f*cked your mother, you wouldn't be here on planet earth,"

"You did nothing for me at all! All you did was simply contribute a sperm that I'm wholefully ashamed of," She told him straight away.

"Well..." The man relaxed into his chair, "Be ashamed of me all you want but you can't remove my blood that runs through your veins. And thankfully you married into a rich household, you won't have any problems fulfilling your filial piety to me," he said shamelessly. 

All expression ceased from Camille's face. She was disgusted, feeling as if bugs were crawling all over her body each time he opened his mouth to speak. 

She simply picked the bag and placed it on the table, "This is the five million you requested," She pushed it towards him. 

Her father looked around to see if anyone was staring before unzipping it and taking a look. He licked his lips, the smell of money and the wads of note was quite alluring. 

"This should be the last time you call me on the phone and demand money. The next time you bug me or you harass my mother, I'll have you locked up," Camille warned him. 

However, her father laughed at her, "Stop wasting your saliva, I know you can't do it," 

"Oh," she raised a dark brow, "Really?" Camille was challenged. 

Slowly, she stood up from her seat and grabbed the edges of the table, leaning towards her father with a smile that didn't touch her eyes. 

"In case you don't know father," Her voice dripped with sarcasm, "I'm not that same scared little Camille. As you know, I married into a powerful family and I can make you disappear from the surface of the earth without a trace with just a snap of my fingers," she lowered her voice but was firm, "Don't tempt me, again. I don't know what I might do to you," 

"Is that a threat?" her father asked, holding her gaze. 

Camille stood her ground, "Take it or leave it," She said and took her keys, about to leave when she heard him say. 

"I bet your new husband doesn't know you once worked as a prostitute,", 

At once, Camille's eyes widened, her entire body stiffened up. How had he known? Her heart began to pound loudly. She never told any of her family members about that - not even her mother knows. 

She turned around with furious eyes,

"How did you get that information?" Camille was eager to know. 

"So you really did it," Her father nodded his head in understanding, "I never believed my friend until now," 

Camille felt her throat constrict and saw dots in her vision, she felt she could collapse any moment from now. She was finished. Her bastard father would take advantage of this secret and blackmail her. 

Camille was not proud of her dirty past at all, but everything she had done was to survive. Living in a family where all her hard work and mother's were snatched - and sometimes stolen - by her father, she had to go the extra miles to get money and save her mother from that hell hole called marriage! She had to support her mother and education without help from her father and it was not easy at all. 

However, this little secret was here now to ruin all of her efforts and sacrifices. All thanks to her father, the devil.

"I bet your husband doesn't know about that," He teased her.

Camille dragged herself back to her seat, "What do you want from me?"

"For you to take care of me," he added immediately, "And this is not manipulation, you're just fulfilling your responsibility as a daughter....." Her father was still saying when he suddenly trailed off, his eyes slightly widening.

Camille narrowed her eyes at that reaction. Following the direction of his intense gaze, Camille turned around and her heart almost leaped to her throat upon seeing her husband heading over to their table. 

"Hide the money now!" She mouthed the words to her father who didn't need to be told twice.

Camille stood up in a panic and hid the sight of the money bag away from Eden with her body just as her father hid it under the table.

"Eden!" Camile tried to compose herself amid her flustered countenance. What was he doing here? Did he by chance heard her conversation or was it by chance he found her? But this wasn't Niklaus' place? Either way, Camille decided she would keep her cool until she finds out what's happening. 

"Honey," Eden hugged her and then wrapped his arms around her waist possessively, "What are you doing here? Didn't you say you'd be resting at home?"

"A-ah right," Camille stuttered, a bit confused. Was this an act or was Eden sincerely ignorant? "I was actually planning on resting but my father returned and wanted to see me..." she turned with a smile that acted as well as a signal to her father, "Sweetie, this is my father. Father, this is my husband, Eden. Eden meet my father. Father meet Eden, "

"Nice to meet you, sir." Eden stretched out his hand.

"Nice to you son," The man accepted the handshake but subtly gave Camille questioning looks. This wasn't what they planned. What was he going to do next?

"I'm sorry for the fact that I didn't invite you to our wedding. Camille said you were out of reach," Eden said, breaking their secret gestures.

"I was?"

"You were abroad, remember?" Camille tactically filled him in.

"Ah, yes," Her father said, "I was abroad and out of reach," there was a bit of resentment in his tone as he stared at Camille.

"Could I have a seat, father? This is my first time officially meeting with you,"

"Huh?" The man was stunned, " Of course, yes, yes," he agreed, contrary to what he wanted.

However, before Eden could get in, Camille quickly shifted to the seat at the edge since it was closer to the spot where the money was hidden. Her father saw her gesture and approved with a nod of his head, Camille rolled her eyes. 

She was not helping her father, but herself. Eden would not be happy to learn that she not only hid facts about her father but sent money to him behind his back. Plus the fact that her secret might come into the limelight. There was just too much to lose. Even if she would tell him, it wasn't now - not at the crime scene.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on your way to Niklaus?" Camille couldn't help but ask. She had to know if this was a coincidence or not.

"Oh, about that. I forgot something at home and decided to go get it when I returned and couldn't find you. The housekeeper couldn't give me clear details of your whereabouts so I decided to track you down in case you ran into trouble. But then, here you are, no need to worry, " He explained, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. 

Camille was confused, she didn't know what to believe anymore. Eden's explanation seemed like a petty excuse but his actions and expression were sincere. 

"You know what?" Eden turned to her father, "Because this is our first official meeting, I want to take you out for breakfast at a classic restaurant while Camille goes home for a rest. She's been too stressed up lately, don't you think it's a good idea, honey?" 

Camille paled at once as the truth dawned on her. Eden knew. He knew all this while and was simply playing along. This was a game to him.