The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

Chapter 267: Lacking support [1]

In the Bennett household, Camille sat alone in her chamber. She waited patiently, though her heart was restless, for her husband to return.

Camille touched the place where Damien’s hand had gripped her earlier, the memory of his strength still imprinted upon her skin. The ordeal had left her shaken. More than anything, she longed for her husband to return to comfort her. It was all that would calm her.

She had sent a notice by a servant, urging her husband to return home with haste. The words she had written carried urgency and desperation, yet the hours had passed, and still he had not come. A new day had come, yet her husband remained absent.

Each tick of the clock seemed to mock her waiting.

At last, the door creaked open. Camille’s frown deepened as Hayden Bennett stepped inside, his expression calm.

"I sent for you since yesterday," Camille said, her voice trembling with restrained anger.

"Good morning to you, too, dear," Hayden replied, shrugging off his coat with ease. "What matter needed my urgent return?"

Camille stared at him. "Did you not read what I sent you? Damien came here and attacked me. He almost threw me from the stairs. I could have died."

Hayden’s brow furrowed, but he remained sceptical. "I find it hard to believe, since you and Damien are so close. What caused it?"

Camille’s eyes widened, disbelief flooding her. She had expected comfort, not doubt. "There have been questions about how my marriage is, and right now, you choose not to question me? Do you have any idea how that makes us look?"

Her pride was wounded.

"You shouldn’t care about what others say about our marriage. Isn’t it about time you stopped focusing on others’ opinions? We’ve been married for years, with lovely children. It is about time you stopped," Hayden said dismissively.

"It was Jane who spoke out about our marriage. What does a child know about my marriage? She-"

"Precisely," Hayden interrupted, almost patronising. "Why are you bothering yourself with matters concerning a child? Would you fight with our children over our marriage? You must be the mature one."

Camille’s hands clenched in her lap, her nails pressing into her palms. "I am the mature one. I am always the one looking after those four. Up to now, you have not come to comfort me. If not for our child appearing in time, you could have received news that I was dead."

Tears spilt down her cheeks.

"But you are not dead. You are well, because no matter what you said or did, Damien let you do as you wished. You must be wise not to repeat what you did to upset him," Hayden said, moving towards the bed instead of going to Camille. "You mustn’t do it again."

Camille’s tears burned as she sobbed. "You are heartless. Our children could be without their mother at this moment. Ask any of the servants how I was treated. They will tell you."

Hayden sighed. "It is not worth it for us to pick a fight with your nephew. He is Lord Hawthorne. If I go to him, all he will do is point a gun at my face."

"He has banned us from setting foot on his land outside of our home."

Hayden’s voice rose as his frustration grew. "Now look at what you have done!"

"I did nothing wrong. I was only trying to get Jane to come here so I could pay special attention to her and she could have a good season. I was worried about what Eloise could teach her, and rightfully so. You were not long speaking about Eloise," Camille pointed out.

"I was speaking about her in private to you. I didn’t send you to speak of her there in the estate. You asked about taking in Jane once before, and after Damien denied it the first time, I told you not to speak of it again. You have children to give your attention to," Hayden said, his patience thinning.

"Our children are well cared for. That is another matter I must speak of, since they seem to think my children are spoiled and unmannerly," Camille said, her voice rising purposely to provoke. "Does this not upset you? None of it?"

"It does upset me, but I am not going to storm over there when I am now banned thanks to you. Use this as a chance to step away from those siblings. You’ve given too much of your time to them when it could have gone to our children," Hayden said, pleased at the thought of her being home more.

"Hayden!" Camille cried, her voice breaking. "I need your support."

Hayden rose from the bed and walked to where Camille sat. His eyes searched her face, then her neck, where faint bruises marked her skin. "Well, this is unacceptable. Being a lord doesn’t mean he should get away with this. I will speak to your nephew in the morning. Allow me to settle in today. Does it hurt?"

His fingers brushed gently along her neck.

"Of course it hurts. He grabbed me with force to push me from the stairs. This is why I sent for you," Camille said, her cried starting once more. "I could have died because I was trying to help Jane. She spoke about our marriage, I corrected her, and he did this. After all I did for him."

Hayden didn’t like seeing the bruises on Camille’s neck. They didn’t belong there. He understood her sense of betrayal because she had helped to raise Damien and his siblings. She had given them care when others would not.

"Damien can’t get away with this, but it is best to send the town guards," Hayden decided.

Hayden didn’t want to face Damien. It was a fight he knew he couldn’t win, even if he played dirty. The thought of standing against Lord Hawthorne filled him with dread.

"Involving the town guards wouldn’t be good for the family. It already upsets me that Eloise has pulled Damien from the estate so often. All these troubles began since she arrived. I was set to help Jane, then she came along," Camille muttered, her blame shifting to Eloise.

Hayden’s lips pressed into a thin line. "Then you should deal with her. You might not be able to fight with Damien, but you can set Eloise in her place. I would prefer that you don’t, and instead focus on the family, but you shouldn’t be mistreated."

Camille stayed silent for a moment. All she wanted was Hayden’s support, yet all she felt was the distance between them. Her bruises burned, her tears fell, and still she wondered if her husband truly saw her pain.