Three
Camila's POV.
Their night was spent with small talk, some about music, some about books. Lauren had cooked them a simple meal and she had surely enjoyed it. She liked seeing another side to the older girl, however much it took her by surprise.
But all the while, she had this nagging feeling about things. Lauren and her were practically strangers, and she could not expect the other woman to continue this marriage. Come to think of it, was she considering actually remaining married to Lauren Jauregui, a girl she had detested until, well, the day before?
Her thoughts were confusing her, and whenever this happened, there was only one person Camila turned to: Ally.
She had called up her best friend after dinner and arranged a lunch-meeting with her.
This is where she was now, sat at a table at Da Giovanni's, her former workplace and currently Ally's restaurant. She was curious if the food had improved since she and Lauren had bought it for her childhood friend.
Ally had yet to join her, but Camila wasn't pressed for time. Lauren had informed her the previous night that she would be in and out of meetings all day, so she had no fear of running into her wife. She didn't want to take the risk that her wife would hear.
Finally, Ally joined her, but she decided to not dive into it right away; she casually asked her friend about her personal life – and her job, obviously – and listened until she could not take it anymore.
"Listen, Ally," Camila began hesitantly, scanning her older friend's face thoughtfully. Ally was alert right away, pausing her chewing as she had just taken a bite from her food.
Camila continued by telling her everything that happened; about hating Lauren just two days ago, about waking up next to her, about apparently being married to her. As she talked, she was reminded of why she liked Ally so much. She never interrupted her, no matter how bizarre her stories were, and didn't judge her whatsoever.
"Camila," She finally sighed. "I don't know how that's possible, like, at all... But you've got to take some precautions. What if she divorces you? You'll lose everything."
The realization hit Camila hard and her face contorted in pure shock. Ally was right... If Lauren decided that this nonsense was just that, she would lose everything. She had no job, no place to go to, and honestly she still was trying to figure out what was going on in this alternate universe and what kind of life she was living in it, apart from being married to Lauren.
No, she needed to get in touch with a lawyer. Just to be sure.
Their conversation evolved to less serious topics, though Camila noticed that her friend was throwing worried glances at her every now and then. The girl was probably worried about her business, too, which only made the young brunette more determined to see a lawyer.
They finished their lunches with promises of meeting up soon, and Camila hurried home, storming into the house with only one thing on her mind.
Finding a lawyer specialized in divorces and family disputes wasn't hard. It was getting an appointment that she dreaded. She knew that the waitlist could go for months, and maybe she didn't have months. Lauren was fairly unpredictable, she had found out by just living with her for two days. Her moods changed rapidly; from cold and distant to actually kind and warm. It was fascinating to find out all of Lauren's sides, but nerve-wrecking too.
Camila browsed the internet for lawyers in her near vicinity and soon stumbled onto a professional website. She decided to try a few lawyers listed on them and rang their numbers. It wasn't until her fourth try that she was actually successful.
"Hi, this is Camila Cabello speaking," She said, fairly neutral. "I am calling to see if I can come in for a talk? I'll just be needing some council."
"Mr. Mahone has an opening this afternoon at four. Can you make it?" The young assistant's voice replied after a few minutes.
"Yes, I'll take it."
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She was nervous, and even that was an understatement. She sat waiting outside the office until her name was called, five past four. She was starting to get impatient, tapping her foot on the tiled floor.
But finally, after a few more minutes, her name was called by a tall, dark, handsome man. He smiled warmly at her as he led her into his office. He offered her his hand as soon as the door was closed behind them, obviously taking in her features. Camila shook his hand lightly and took place in front of his desk when he offered her a seat.
"I am Austin Mahone," He introduced himself, his smile still present. "How can I help you, Mrs. Cabello?"
"I'm just.." Her voice wavered a little, her nerves clearly playing a big part in that. "I'd like to know at what risk I am should my wife divorce me."
She tried to appear confident, but honestly she had no clue what to ask for. She had never been married before.
"Is this your first marriage, Mrs. Cabello?" The man asked. "Of course, how could it not be? You're far too young to have been married multiple times."
Camila raised her eyebrows as the man answered his question with a compliment. Was he flirting?
"Yes it is," She replied either way. "And, please, call me Camila."
It was creeping her out, being addressed with 'Mrs.' all the time.
"Well, let's have a look..."
The next hour was spent discussing their marriage, the documents that had been signed with the wedding and what it all meant for Camila's financial stability should Lauren divorce her. The brunette tried to ignore that the young man always found a way to compliment her and basically blatantly flirt with her, even though she was married.
"Well, Camila," Austin said as they stood up. They were finished, Camila now having a better idea of what to expect from her marriage to Lauren – financial sides, that is.
"I wish you all the best with your marriage," He said as they walked to the door, her hand lain on her lower back casually. He still wore that warm smile, but this time it only made the young brunette shiver. Creep.
"And if it doesn't work out, please give me a call."
He finished. Camila blinked up at him and stuttered a farewell, yanking open the door. No way that she would ever, ever give him a call. She thought of him as a total creep, and wondered if he always hit on married women, coming in for divorces.
Her goal had been reached though: she knew what she had to know. When they got married, they signed an agreement that should they ever get divorced, that everything would be split in half. Camila wouldn't lose anything; come to think of it, she would actually gain a lot more.
But she didn't know if she wanted to divorce Lauren. Not yet, anyway.
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Lauren's POV.
Lauren Jauregui sat with her best friends, Dinah Jane and Normani, in her office. Her workday had just ended and she could not wait to get home. Maybe if she was lucky, she would walk in on Camila playing the guitar or piano again. She smiled at the memory of last night, having heard her wife's angelic voice had turned around quite some things for her.
Maybe it would lighten her mood somewhat, too.
She had had a horrible day, full of meetings, which had been relatively okay – safe for the last one. That one she had dreaded and it had turned out to be worse. It had been with her father's company's manager, the one that had barged in before, completely disregarding her or her company's wishes whatsoever.
Dinah Jane Hansen, being her manager, had been present for all of them, and was in the process of telling Normani what she had missed.
"Okay, so, this dude comes barging in, and doesn't even leave room for hello's or anything," The Polynesian used a lot of hand gestures, and that was about the only thing that could amuse Lauren at this point.
"Asks Lauren about her wife, but not like, friendly asking. Just if she's going to sign for the company or not."
Normani frowned as the story continued on, but Lauren had already stopped listening. She simply detested how her father's company was being run now that he had retired as its CEO. He was merely on the Board now and had little to say. Admittedly, the only reason he was on it is because he is still one of their largest sponsors; they literally kept him for his money.
"And then he says that if she doesn't get Camila to sign, she's fired!" Dinah concluded her story dramatically, and any outsider would say it was told rather overdramatic, but God knows it wasn't. Lauren felt horrible; she didn't want to lose her job but she could not con Camila into signing for a life she maybe doesn't want. It's not like they talked about it, Lauren avoided the subject altogether even though she had a perfect opening the previous night – discovering Camila's talent would've been her perfect opportunity to ask her about it, but she refused.
She didn't want to use her wife.
"Okay, that totally sucks." Normani said before she and the taller woman started cussing the manager out. They felt safe in Lauren's office and they kept going at it until Lauren sighed loudly.
"Do you know what you need?" Dinah Jane asked, her face morphing from a scowl into a wide smirk. "You need to come out with us for drinks. So text your wife that you're not going to be home for dinner tonight, and let's hit the bars."
Before Lauren could even protest, because she honestly thought that was a horrible idea and didn't feel up to it, Dinah and Normani had already jumped up from her leather couch that she kept in her office – because why the hell not – and dragged her out of her seat.
"Fine. One drink." She relented.
She took out her phone to send a quick message to Camila, snickering as she realized what her contact name was in her phone.
[6:09 to Wifeyy] Going for drinks with Dinah and Normani. Won't be home for dinner.
[6:10 from Wifey] Lauren?
[6:10 to Wifey] Yeah, who else?
[6:11 from Wifey] Your contact name is Lolo. What the heck?
[6:12 to Wifey] Cute. Yours is 'Wifey'.
[6:12 from Wifey] Well that's far more elegant than what I came up with. Have fun.
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Camila's POV.
Somehow, she felt anxious without Lauren home. She just figured that Lauren would always be home after work, but she was proven wrong with the older woman's text. She had already started on dinner, set on returning last night's favour, but was now disappointed as she had to eat alone.
Not willing to dwell on it for the rest of the night until her wife came home, she picked up a random book and started reading it. It wasn't until she was well into the book that she realized that she had already read it. She continued on it anyway, until she was disturbed from her activities by a call.
Lolo.
Frowning, she picked up, but could only hear the bass from loud music for a second.
"Hello?" She asked after listening for a second.
"Camila! Hi!"
That wasn't Lauren's voice. At all. The older woman's voice was deeper, raspier. Husky. This voice was cheerful and high-pitched, and slurring. Was Lauren drunk?
"It's Dinah! So, eh, don't be mad but we went out for drinks and... Lauren's pretty drunk. And Normani and I had a few drinks so we can't get her home so... Can you come pick her up?"
"Be there in a few. Text me the address." Was all the younger girl said, already getting up from her comfortable position in search for her car keys. There was no way she would let Lauren down. She hadn't kicked her out, after all.
The drive was quiet and Camila was mentally preparing herself on taking care of a drunk Lauren. She had no idea of what to expect; she didn't think Lauren was the type to let loose and drink... She was always so distant and reserved and... Working. Her mind kept going over the things that she had learnt about the older woman until she reached her destination.
Outside the bar, Dinah and Normani were waiting for her, with behind them, sitting on the curb, a highly intoxicated Lauren.
"What's wrong?" Camila asked as she got out of the car, having parked right before their nose. She figured it would only make things easier. "Thought you were just going out for a drink."
"Yeah," Normani hurried to explain after they had both hugged her – to Camila's surprise; were they close? – "But Lauren kinda... She was feeling like shit and we left for, what, half an hour and we found her like this."
"Why was she feeling like shit?"
Dinah Jane and Normani explained the situation at work quickly for her, assuming that Camila was already aware of it anyway – which she wasn't. She tried to keep the surprised expression off her face and figured she succeeded fairly well because neither of the girls picked up on it. Or maybe that was because they were a little tipsy.
"I'll get her home now. You two good?" Camila asked as she made her way over to a mumbling Lauren.
"Yeah, we're good."
Camila didn't hear because she was solely focused on her wife, sitting there looking all miserable. And probably feeling it too.
"Hey," She whispered softly as she pulled Lauren off the ground gently, immediately wrapping her arm around the older woman's waist. She led the girl to her car, and placed her inside of it gently.
"Why didn't you talk to me?" Camila sighed as she took place in the driver's seat and drove off with a small wave to Lauren's best friends.
"Because you already hate me."
The admission shocked Camila, but she hadn't replied. She didn't hate Lauren. Not anymore. How could she? But she still didn't know her.
She helped the girl into bed as soon as they arrived at Lauren's grand house. The older woman was cooperating perfectly well, until she was tucked in.
Camila had turned around to walk out of the room, after having placed a glass of water and some aspirin on the woman's bedside table, but halted as she felt a tug at her hand.
"Please. Stay." The raven-haired woman mumbled, her eyes closed so Camila couldn't see the piercing green eyes. The younger one blushed lightly as she nodded.
Maybe it was better if she spent the night here, to make sure that Lauren was okay. She seemed to have been drinking quite a lot.
As soon as she lay on the bed, the older woman scooted in closer and nuzzled her face into the crook of her neck. Camila held her breath. She didn't feel uncomfortable, she was just.. surprised.
She turned her head and smiled as she studied the now very close features.
Her hand reached up to gently stroke Lauren's cheek, to soothe her, and saw eyelids flutter open. They smiled at each other.
"Go to sleep." Camila murmured softly.
Lauren nodded. But then, Camila saw her lean in and she took a sharp intake of breath. Seconds later, she felt plump lips pressing into hers. She couldn't even blink and then the lips were gone.
"Please don't hate me." The older woman mumbled, already half asleep.
Camila couldn't hate her.
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A/N: I have one more chapter after this, and the worst writer's block so it might be a while after the next chapter. However, your suggestions and feedback do wonders, so please let me know. Thanks for reading this.