heart beats for you (Book 2)

Chapter 8

"You always knew that Daphne was cheating on me with Devon." It was more of a statement than a question towards Marissa.

Devon was one of his competitors and it did break his heart when he discovered them together.

"I will make something for us to eat. You might be hungry." She tried to dodge the subject.

She quickly stood up to make some noodles. Cameron was himself lost in his thoughts.

He was an idiot to believe his ex-girlfriend's words. Instead of Marissa, it was Daphne who used to reek of expensive stuff, and it was confirmed when he went to her place to tell her that Marissa had left him, only to find her in bed with Devon. All the pictures of her were clear. It was an eye-opener for him. Instantly, he knew what the right thing to do was and broke off with Daphne immediately. But she was persistent and was glued to him. He repeatedly warned his ex to stay away from him. It was a nasty fight. But in the end, he finally got rid of her.

However, the smell of divine food made him come out of his past.

"This smells delicious." He commented.

"You can thank my mom for that. One good thing she did." She tried to lighten the mood.

"You never answered my previous question." Cameron reminded her.

"Cameron, you already know the answer. I wanted to tell you. Heck! I would have dropped subtle hints for you to get the message, but it was too late. Unfortunately, Daphne saw me in the club, and she knew that her little secret was out. It was a no-brainer. Before I could have warned you, she filled you with all the lies, and you barged into the house blaming me for everything and how I should be careful and not spoil your relationship with her." Marissa explained it to him.

Cameron pushed his plate, ashamed of himself. "I wish I had known the truth before."

"Cameron..." She didn't want him to feel guilty.

Cameron stood up from the table and grabbed his hair in frustration. "Marissa, you have no clue how I felt when I found the truth. I might not have known about Ben or your parents, but the way I treated you was something that is not acceptable. When I look back, I see that I was not behaving myself. I always respected women. Hell! I have two sisters who mean the world to me. I am not impulsive enough to accuse someone with no proof or investigation into the matter. I don't know how I let myself get manipulated by Daphne."

"Cameron, I won't say that you did nothing wrong. But more than you, it was Daphne's mistake. And it's in the past. Forget it." She tried to ease his guilt.

"It's easier said than done. For the past three years, I have been living with this guilt. Marissa, our marriage might have been a business deal. I might have never treated you properly, but I didn't cheat on you. I might have had a girlfriend back then, but I never kissed or slept with her from the day I was forced to meet you. I couldn't do that to you."

"You didn't?" She asked him, shocked by his confession.

"God, no." Cameron had his eyes closed from guilt. It weighed too much on him, and he didn't know any way of releasing his mental frustration.

"Cameron, I really don't know what to say. But thank you. You are a good man." She smiled at him.

"I am sorry, Marissa. I know what I did was not forgivable, but please accept my apology." His head was down because he was feeling ashamed.

"Cameron..." Marissa wanted to say something, but Cameron beat her to it.

"I should probably go. I wasted enough of your time."

Cameron is a man of honor. For him, his behaviour with her in the past was atrocious and disgusting. He was about to leave the room, but Marissa ran towards him and blocked his way.

"Cameron, I forgive you. But stop destroying yourself because of our past. Stop making yourself feel guilty. Yes, you hurt me, but not enough to make me hate you. You never made my life horrible. Once in a while, you have had your days. But if it weren't for you, I would have never opened my own dance institution with Ronny. Because of you, I was able to follow my dreams. Unknowingly, you helped me a lot. I am forever going to be grateful to you."

Cameron was not looking at her, and she had no other way to get his attention but to hug him and tell him that everything was fine. They might not be able to undo their past, but they can be fine and civil with each other in the present and future if they want.

Cameron was shocked when she hugged him. Her hands were around his neck. After a few seconds, he embraced her back tightly. He knew for sure that she had forgiven him, and they would both be fine now.

He really wished that he had tried to get to know Marissa more. Maybe they would have been able to make their marriage work.

He mentally sighed.

But he felt a warmth inside his heart. He could get used to hugging her.

After they broke apart, Marissa smiled slightly at him to reassure him.

"Is everything alright here?" Nick spoke when he opened the door with the keys that Marissa gave him when he shifted here.

"Yes! Are you hungry? I cooked some noodles." She asked her new roommate.

"Yes! I love your food." Nick's fist pumped in the air, and he ran towards the kitchen.

"Cameron, you hardly ate anything. Join us?" She asked him, to which he nodded.

Dinner was a bit awkward, but Nick helped to break it. He was totally engrossed in talking to Cameron as both had got sports in common.

A few minutes after dinner, Cameron got a call that the locksmith had arrived.

"Thank you for everything, Marissa. Nice to meet you, Nick. Don't you dare hurt my niece." He warned his niece's future potential boyfriend.

"Will never dare to," Nick told him, grinning. It was no use hiding, as he knew that Cameron was not dumb, and his feelings for Brook were genuine.

Marissa walked him to the door.

"Marissa, we are fine, right?" He asked her again, nervously scratching his neck.

"Yes, Cameron." She told him with a big smile.

"I don't want us to be ex. I hope we can be friends if you don't mind."

"I would like that."

After wishing her goodnight, he left.

For both of them, an enormous weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

But none of them knew that their friendship was just the start of something new that both of them had yet to experience.