CAMILLA’S POV
It was as if, with every passing day, the ringing of time in my head showed me how the time was running out, and Dante’s betrayal also got me broken, but I would not let it get to me.
I had to get Jasper and myself out before the wedding or else I’d never be able to if I didn’t take any action.
The wedding which loomed over my head tightened the noose that strangled any glimmer of happiness.
There was only one thing Tom and my father didn’t know; they didn’t know that I had an exit, and I was going to take it.
It all started right when he gave me that unlimited business card when he was still playing a sweet father.
Quite vividly, I recall that it instructed me to purchase whatever I needed for both me and Jasper.
But the moment that card came into my hands, deep somewhere inside, I knew it was more than buying dresses and expensive stuff, it was my life support.
I had sworn that when I came into profit, it would be for myself alone and not for the delight of Father and Tom, but for freedom.
I went to my bedroom that night and locked the door.
Now, it was time to put everything into motion.
First, there was the matter of airplane reservations under a different name; for reasons unexplained, no one would even consider looking for me under such a name.
I called in with the card at hand, booking two one-way flight tickets, one for Jasper and one for me, to some place neither Tom nor my father had been connected to, far from this nightmare of control.
Then I hired a driver, quietly.
I made sure to find one that wouldn’t ask questions and would take me anywhere I needed at whatever time of night.
I withdrew as much cash as possible each time without raising an eyebrow, kept the amounts small, and went so far as to make several withdrawals over a week’s time, in case Dad suspected something fishy was going on.
Every dollar went into that secret account, one my father didn’t even know existed.
It was something for emergencies, and this was about the size of them.
Ways of escape were brewing in my mind for all those weeks.
I planned to use the secret tunnel I had discovered in my past life.
It was one of those few things my father didn’t know that I knew.
It was old, still serviceable, but my way out.
I walked that tunnel a dozen times this past week, to know every twist, every turn, every spot that called for caution.
I timed myself so I knew how much time it took from my room to the exit of the tunnel.
Each test run gave me more confidence.
“I was going to make it. We were going to make it.”
I had started packing my things piece by piece and very carefully so that no one raised any questions.
Place a few outfits in a small suitcase enough to last us until we get our bearings.
I packed his favorite toys and some of the essentials he would need for Jasper.
I stashed everything in places no one thought to look.
Every night when the packing was finally done, I went around checking that all was in its place, going off nervously with each creak of the house.
But after days went by, it began to get to me, my father was watching me, asking more incisive questions.
Every time I left the house, he would watch me.
I was being called upon to be more discreet in my comings and goings, and more considerate of the time I spent away.
Every time I would go out, it would be with some sort of excuse for something concrete, like a dress fitting or an appointment to see some wedding vendor, anything to satiate his need for control.
Yet I felt his suspicion dig deeper.
The other day it was, returning from one of my programmed outings that I came upon him looking out at me from the study window.
His face was a mask, but I knew him too well.
Something had got his nose twitching.
I couldn’t afford any slips now, not when I was this near escaping this life.
This too had been part of the ritual in my room on the eve of the actual escape, to rehearse once more every minute detail.
At the same time, I knew hesitation was sure to cost me everything.
Jasper being torn away from me and being incarcerated in this mansion, while I live with Tom was a thought too bearable to think about.
It would have to be tomorrow; I would be taking Jasper tomorrow, and we’d disappear.
I would just make it through the tunnel in time when the mansion would be in a hustle and bustle of wedding preparations, unnoticed through that din and noise.
The driver would be ready to take us to the airport, where our tickets were already waiting.
All so within reach that I can almost taste freedom.
But just as I was finalizing in my head exactly how I would make my plan unfold, there came a knock at the door.
My heart leaped into my throat as I hastened to stash away the last of the things that I had been packing.
“Come in,” I said, even as my hands shook, my voice came out steady.
He stepped inside, eyes cold, piercing as always, with the feel of standing inside my very soul without a word after just standing a moment.
“You’ve been going out more often lately,” he said; the tone wasn’t giving much away, but suspicion simply oozed out.
“And keeping to yourself. What’s going on, Camilla?”
I forced a smile, the well-rehearsed one that had seen me through all these days.
“Nothing, Father. Just wedding preparation. Lots to be done and I have been doing most of it on my own.”
Then and there, he didn’t say a word; as a fact, he didn’t even break eye contact.
It was as if, in his head, he had weighed his words, debating which to believe and which not to.
The silence stretched until it choked up in the air between us.
“Just don’t do anything foolish,” he said finally after what seemed like an eternity to me, his voice low-a menacing growl.
“We cannot afford mistakes, not now.”
I nodded, keeping the bright smile on my face, though inside my heart was racing with fear.
“Don’t worry, Dad. Everything will be alright.”
Yet inside, I was screaming.