He Took Her to Europe With My Money Chapter 06

He Took Her to Europe With My Money Chapter 06

## Darien’s POV

Darien slammed his phone onto the desk.

The screen still displayed the words Call Ended.

He yanked at his tie, his jaw tight and his eyes burning with fury.

Leona walked in carrying two coffees.

Her burgundy sheath dress hugged every curve, and her flawless makeup emphasized her bright, practiced smile.

Darien took the coffee and let his gaze linger on her.

This was the kind of woman he could proudly bring to an important event.

The kind who made his friends jealous.

“Is Camille still sulking?” Leona asked.

“Let her.”

He lit a cigarette and watched the smoke curl toward the ceiling.

“When rent is due and she’s broke, she’ll come crawling back.”

After fourteen years, Darien had grown tired of Camille.

He was tired of her faded cotton dresses and the way she always looked as if she belonged in an old, washed-out photograph.

He was tired of her rounded shoulders and her inability to meet a

—

stranger’s eyes.

During sophomore year, he had taken her to an upscale French restaurant.

Her hands shook so badly that her knife clattered against the plate, drawing glances from the next table.

Darien’s expression had gone cold.

He dropped his utensils onto his plate and told her that eating a simple meal should not be so humiliating.

After that night, he never took her anywhere public again.

Leona was different.

She was bright, bold, and completely at ease in any social setting.

Bringing her to high-profile events fed his ego in a way Camille never could.

A notification sounded from the class group chat.

Marcus had posted a video.

[Holy shit! Darien, Camille’s at Linden for grad school! She gave a speech at orientation in front of the entire auditorium, and she didn’t even stutter once!]

Darien sat upright and played the video.

Camille wore a crisp white lab coat.

Her hair was pulled back neatly, and her spine was straight.

—

She stood before an audience of hundreds and spoke with calm confidence.

She did not stutter.

She did not shrink away.

Darien’s expression changed instantly.

Panic hit him first, followed by a sharp sense of betrayal.

For two months, while he had not been watching, Camille had been building a life that no longer included him.

He had assumed she was crying alone in some basement apartment.

Instead, she had been counting down the days until she was free of him.

Leona leaned closer, caught a glimpse of the video, and let her smile falter.

“Camille really went behind your back with this.”

“She’s clearly trying to provoke you. You can’t let her get away with it.”

Darien did not answer.

He stared at Camille’s composed face on the screen.

Then he shot to his feet, grabbed his car keys, and walked out.

—

He drove for two hours.

His mind churned through the past fourteen years—every time he’d dismissed her, every time he’d chosen someone else, every time he’d taken her for granted and assumed she’d always be there.

She had never complained. She had never fought back. She had simply… waited.

And then, when he wasn’t looking, she had left.

The university gates loomed ahead. He pulled over and sat in the parking lot, staring at the campus buildings.

He didn’t know where she lived. He didn’t know her class schedule. He didn’t know anything about the life she had built without him.

That realization hit harder than anything else.

He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. Her name was still there, but when he called, it went straight to voicemail.

She had blocked him.

He sat there for a long time, watching students walk past with their backpacks and textbooks. Normal people living normal lives.

She was one of them now. And he was on the outside.

He finally started the engine and turned back toward the city.

But the image of her standing on that stage, calm and unshaken, stayed with him the entire drive home.