Today was the day the couple's therapist would be back and they; mostly Camila would have to endure another agonising hour of having Dr Briggs pry her way into the cracks of their marriage. It was never something she was excited for. The only person who knew what happened between them was Maggie, and that was mainly because she was Lauren's sister. The Cabellos weren't even aware of it. It's not to say Camila didn't want to tell anyone, hell she did, but she was ashamed. What would they say? They were the couple everyone envied and now? They couldn't even look at each other for longer than a few seconds.
Camila couldn't sleep last night, so she had been up working on a song. Her third studio album was finally coming to an end, so the songs she had been working on now were just her idea of therapy.
"There's a shop down the street,
Where they sell plastic rings,
For a quarter a piece, I swear it,
Yeah, I know that it's cheap,
Not like gold in your dreams
But I hope that you'll still wear it," she sang as she strummed her guitar. Pausing for a moment to jot down the keys. Since Christmas, Lauren had been acting extremely weird with her, and every time Camila tried to bring it up or ask what was wrong, her wife would change the topic.
"Yeah, the ink may stain my skin
And my jeans may all be ripped
I'm not perfect, but I swear
I'm perfect for you," the only person she could've thought about was the one who could make her both happy and sad. The person who had her heart since they were teenagers. People say that young love doesn't last, Camila and Lauren were determined to prove them wrong, but now? Maybe the people were right.
Izzy stepped into her mother's bedroom and quietly sat on the bed. She clutched her Elsa from Frozen stuffed doll to her chest, and stared at her mother who was oblivious to her presence.
"Mija?" Camila was a bit startled when she saw her daughter. "What are you doing up so early, princesa?"
Izzy shrugged. "I couldn't sleep and I heard you singing. I haven't heard you sing in forever, mummy."
Camila placed her guitar on the side of her bed and scooted closer to her daughter, "Aw, mija I'm sorry. I know you like it when I sing."
Izzy shrugged her shoulders and snuggled up to her mother. "Are you and mama going to leave me?"
She was only four years old and didn't necessarily know the concept of divorce. But hearing that question from her daughter instantly made Camila feel like crap. The couple tried their very best to keep it civil in front of the child, unfortunately they didn't do a good job.
"Why would you think that?" Camila pulled the child into her lap and held her face in her hand. "Baby, no. Your mama and I love you very much. We're never going to leave you."
Tears started to form in the child's eyes and her mother couldn't help but feel terrible. What were they doing to their daughter?
"But I hear you two arguing sometimes. And I'm scared because Destiny said that's what happened before her daddy left her mummy. She doesn't see him anymore and it makes her sad," Izzy said through her tears. "I don't want to be sad like Destiny, mummy." She clutched onto her mother. Camila didn't know what to say. How was she going to comfort their four year old daughter? She didn't even know if their marriage was going to hold up.
When the child had stopped crying, Camila wiped her tears and looked her in the eye. "Princesa, you have to listen to me okay?" Izzy nodded. "I love you. Mama loves you. No matter what happens, you're always going to have the both of us. We're always going to be a family, and we're always going to be your parents that love you so so much." Izzy just stared at her mother. "Do you remember how much I love you?"
She nodded. "I take the number of stars in the sky and multiply it by a lot. That's how much you love me. And I love you and mama more." Camila placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead.
"I love you, mija. So so so much."
Izzy smiled softly. "I love you too, mummy. Can we go make breakfast? Mama always does it."
There was a reason why Lauren always did it. Camila wasn't the best cook out there. Yes, she could've cooked but only to survive. Eggs and bacon? Sure. Pancakes? A bit burnt. But yes. Cup noodles? She lived on that while in college. But an actual meal? That was for her wife to do.
Camila sighed heavily, if it meant that Izzy's mind would be taken off their conversation, then she would endure cooking. She picked up her daughter in her arms and headed down to the kitchen. They decided to make some oatmeal, while the singer started up the coffee machine. She couldn't function throughout the day if she didn't have a daily intake of caffeine.
"Buenos días, mija," Lauren greeted her daughter with a kiss on top her head. She came down as soon as breakfast was ready, and to her surprise, her family was already awake. "Morning Camz," she greeted her wife out of the need to be pleasant. Ever since Lauren accidentally stumbled upon Ariana and Camila's text thread over Christmas, she felt a mixture of anger, hurt and pure sadness. She constantly told her wife just how sorry she was about what happened between her an Hailee was a mistake but for Camila to go out and cheat?
Lauren decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, because her wife may not have cheated on her. But every time she tried to move pass the texts, she couldn't. Something always drew her back to them.
"Mama, we made you breakfast," Izzy pointed excitedly at the bowl of oatmeal she dished out for her mother.
Lauren nodded and smiled. "That you did, baby. I can't wait to taste it." She took a seat next to her wife, and started eating, giving a thumbs up to her daughter. It wasn't the best tasting meal she had, but her daughter seemed excited, so she didn't want to ruin that for her.
"Can we talk?" Camila asked her wife. "It's about Izzy." Lauren nodded, once it involved their daughter, she had to comply. "She thinks we're going to get a divorce."
The photographer didn't say anything. At one point, she even contemplated getting a divorce and if their marriage wasn't getting any better, then wouldn't the only option be a divorce?
"Lauren? Are we getting a divorce?" Camila whispered out the words, even though Izzy didn't understand what it was, she didn't want her to hear.
"I...No. I don't think so," Lauren shrugged sadly. "Izzy? Are you done?"
The brunette groaned, she wasn't going to push the topic as yet. Maybe in therapy. The couple got ready to head to their therapy session, and got their daughter ready for school. She was pretty excited to head back after Christmas break.
***
"Welcome back, Camila. Lauren," Marissa; the receptionist greeted the couple. "Happy New Year! Dr Briggs is in her office. So you can go in."
The couple exchanged pleasantries with the woman, then headed into the office. Camila already dreading every moment of it.
"Hi. Hello, Lauren and Camila. Happy New Year!" Chelsea greeted excitedly. "How was the holiday season in the Jauregui-Cabellos' household?" As usual she offered the couple tea, but this time only Lauren accepted. Camila made a note to keep an eye on her wife, just to ensure that Dr Briggs didn't slip anything into the drink.
"It was nice. We spent a lot of time with Isabella. We went shopping and carolling around the neighbourhood. Lauren's sister; Maggie stopped by, so it was just the four of us for Christmas," Camila stated mindlessly. "It was a nice change being back home for the holidays." She said with a small smile.
Dr Briggs noted that Camila did in fact seem pleased with being home and actually spending time with her family. She also noted that Lauren seemed a lot different to how she usually was over the other therapy sessions. She seemed rather aloof.
"Lauren?" Dr Briggs managed to snap the photographer out of her own little world. "What's your take on spending the holidays together."
The woman shrugged. "It was fine. A nice change, I guess."
Camila eyes her wife, who still seemed completely out of it. What was her issue? She was the one who wanted to go to couple's therapy. Why was she acting like this now?
Dr Briggs made a mental note of Lauren's behaviour. "Well that good to hear! I bet little Isabella had a great time with both her mothers being home with her."
Camila nodded. "Yeah, she did. She made it her duty to wake up super early to open her presents." The woman chuckled at the memory, and her reaction to all her gifts especially Maggie's gift of an iPad.
"Right," Dr Briggs nodded happily. "So I'm going to ask you a series of questions to understand better as to why you're both here. And to understand what the real issue between the two of you are," the couple nodded. Lauren's eyes gave off a distant look. Instead of the bright green colour, it seemed to be a dull grey. "Have you tried anything else before coming here?"
Lauren sighed and shook her head 'no'. "With Camila being busy all the time, and having to focus on my job and Izzy, we didn't have any time to visit someone else or do anything to stop our marriage from falling apart," the woman shrugged. "So, yeah. You're the first person we tried."
"Plus...I am...I was a bit against coming here. I'm still not entirely happy at the whole idea," Camila added.
Chelsea nodded in understanding. Of course, the brunette would've even skeptical, she had her career on the line. But she needed to fix her marriage. "What are your expectations of the counselling sessions? Did they change over your time since the first session?" She directed the question at Camila.
The singer shrugged. "I don't know. I guess at first...I still think you're just trying to pry your way into the cracks of our marriage. I don't need someone to do that. I know our marriage isn't the best and I guess, I'm kinda a private person, so putting myself out there is a bit much." The woman rambled, causing her wife to snort.
"Is there something you want to add Lauren?" Dr Briggs asked Camila's wife.
Lauren shook her head 'no'. "Not really. The only expectation I have from these sessions is for our marriage to work out. That's it."
Dr Briggs nodded and wrote something down on her clipboard. "I can only do so much, but it's up to the two of you to work everything out. I'm only here as a helper." She had to ensure the couple that yes, she may be a trained professional, but it was up to the couple to fix their marriage. "How do you truly free about your marriage? Do you feel as thought it is salvageable or is it too late to save it?"
The couple looked at one another. Truth be told, they really did hope that their marriage could've been salvaged, but outside of therapy, it seemed like it wasn't going anywhere. Camila would be in her room, while Lauren was in hers, then they'll interact like a family when Isabella was around. Now realising that their fighting was taking a toll on their daughter, hopefully something was going to change. If not, then something's gotta give and that might have to be their marriage.
"I um...I'll like to think it's still salvageable. I still have the same feelings I had for Camila since day one, and I really would like for everything to work out and for us to be happily married again." The singer nodded in agreement with her wife. Though both parties were rather doubtful of the feelings of their partners.
Dr Briggs nodded. "That's good to hear. Given that you're both here, there must be something to salvage." She wrote in her pad before addressing them again. "What bothers you most about her? In a marriage, some things about your partner will always get on your nerves. These things are usually not a cause for a divorce, but the big things like a lack of trust and honour can destroy intimacy."
"I don't trust her," the couple said at the same time.
Camila scoffed. "You don't trust me? What did I ever do for you not to trust me? I've always been faithful to you!"
"Your texts says otherwise, amor," Lauren bit out harshly. "And no I didn't go through your phone. I just happened to see them."
"Oh really? And what did you find huh? Me sending nudes to one of my colleagues? Sexting? Flirting? Or what about a picture of Shawn and I kissing?" Camila started to get heated. "There's literally nothing on my phone for you to get jealous about and not trust me!"
Dr Briggs cleared her throat. "It's very good to bring the topic up about a lack of trust. We need to focus on building this trust back. If your partner goes through your phone and sees something they don't like," Camila scoffed and folded her arms at her chest. "You should find out why. What's the real reason why they disapprove of it. So Lauren, kindly tell your partner what you saw and why you didn't like it." Chelsea turned to look at Lauren who sighed heavily.
Her throat tightened. It had been bothering her for weeks on end. Whatever Camila said right now, could be true, or she could also be lying. "I saw...I saw a text from Ariana. I know the two of you are close and your relationship is rather...flirty? But I didn't like what I saw."
Before Camila started to protest, Dr Briggs turned to address the singer. "Now Camila, kindly inform your partner about whatever it is those texts meant. Or remind her about the nature of your relationship with Ariana."
"Firstly, my texts messages are private and even though I have nothing to hide, it shouldn't matter to you. Ariana and I are really close but we are just F R I E N D S," she spelt out the word. "That's how you fucking spell friends. Nothing more and nothing less. I love her as a sister but that's it."
Dr Briggs wrote in her pad again. "Great. Now that's been handled, you need to realise that your partner may not agree with some things you do. They may not want to bring the topic up, but you should at least respect them and respect your relationship."
"Why don't you trust me Camila? Is it because of the Hailee thing?" Lauren asked her wife and she nodded.
"Yes. The Hailee thing, that you don't seem to be doing anything about," Camila rolled her eyes. "I'm tired of you involving her in everything. I don't trust you around her and I don't trust her around you."
Dr Briggs went into a long explanation about trust and that it was needed in a marriage or in any relationship. Without trust, what's the point of being with the person? You learn to trust someone, but once the trust is lost and gone, it's a lot harder to try to regain it. That was something they needed to work on.
They answered all the questions Dr Briggs threw at them, such as;
What things you would like to change about your spouse?
Do you feel accepted? Are you loved accepted by your spouse?
Do you feel you can communicate with her?
What are the main issues?
When did the problems start?
Are you satisfied with your intimacy?
Are there any past conflicts we should resolve?
Do you still love your wife?
Do you still see a future together?
Are you both willing to change to make improvements?
Camila was growing increasingly tired of all these questions but the final question caught her off guard.
"Have you ever considered having an affair?"
Lauren visibly gulped. She knew where this was going. She knew her wife was going to attack her. In all honesty, Lauren did not consider having an affair ever. What happened between her an Hailee was a mistake. She did not once contemplate being with anyone whilst her wife was away. Yes, the distance was terrible and it took a toll on her, but she loved Camila too much to consider cheating on her, even though she may have done it.
"No. I've never considered having an affair. What I did was a mistake, but it wasn't intentional. I never thought about it while I was sober. I never wanted to cheat on you," Lauren looked at her wife and tried to hold her hand but Camila pulled away.
Chelsea wrote in her pad. She kept noticing how the singer reacted to her wife, realising that she was still rather reserved and wasn't too keen on forgiving her wife. As yet.
"Maybe I should've contemplated having an affair," Camila laughed bitterly. "For you to feel the hurt you've put me through."
Lauren looked at her wife in disbelief. She tried to say something but her words failed her. "Wow," was all that she managed to whisper out.
The bell rang signalling that their session had come to an end. "Well, today we've went through a lot of emotions and I'll like to think the both of you learnt a lot about the inner thoughts and feelings of your partners, which in the long run would help to fully understand them better," she addressed the couple where Lauren still seemed shocked by her wife's statement. "What you two need to work on as a couple is on trusting your partners. So I have an assignment for the both of you. Ariana is it, Camila?"
The singer nodded.
"I want you to call her up and within our next session, I'll like for the two of you to spend some time together. And Lauren, Hailee was it? I'll also like for the both of you to spend some time together. This is as a means of your partner trusting you enough to spend time with this person, and knowing that you won't do anything to jeopardise your relationship. When you're done spending time with the person, I'll like for you to return home and tell your partner what you did. It's for your partner to trust you and believe in you. Are we clear?" She asked the couple who reluctantly nodded.
***
"Is Ariana going to be here soon?" Lauren asked her wife as she slipped on her bomber jacket. "It's been a while since I've seen her."
Camila nodded from her position on the couch. "Yeah. She texted that she'll be here in five. Where's that pu...secretary of yours?"
Maggie snickered from her corner of the room. Lauren had called up her sister and asked if she was available to babysit Izzy. Of course she had said yes. Any given opportunity to spend with her niece, the woman would've taken it.
"Nice save, Camzii," Maggie said. She had just finished up braiding her niece's hair. The duo had planned to spend their day at the zoo and then maybe spy on the child's mothers, but that hadn't been decided as yet.
Camila rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, Hailee is outside actually. I know you probably wouldn't want her inside..." Lauren trailed off as she scrolled through her phone.
Maggie told her niece to go grab her jacket upstairs before addressing the couple. "Why don't you invite her in? I mean Ariana is coming. It's not even a love triangle anymore. It's a love rectangle," she laughed at her lame attempt of a joke. "Tough crowd. But seriously, it's a trust exercise right? The four of y'all can chat for a bit, then head on your way."
What Maggie said did make some sense. Before everything went downhill, Hailee and Camila were really good friends, however, the same couldn't be said about Ariana and Lauren. The pop star was always super friendly with her friend's wife, but Lauren always felt threatened when it came to her and the relationship she had with her wife.
Camila sighed and nodded. "Invite Hailee in," the moment those words left her lips, the doorbell rang.
"Let me answer it!" Maggie squealed. "You know I'm lowkey a fan girl and I am in love with Ariana." The couple allowed her to do it, when the woman opened the door, she was left shell shocked.
"Hi," Ariana greeted cheerfully but Maggie didn't respond, she kept staring at her with her mouth agape. "Um," she chuckled. "Can I come in?"
Lauren laughed. "MAGGIE!"
The younger Jauregui sister blushed furiously, and stepped aside. "Oh right yeah. Come it. I'm Maggie, by the way. Camila's sister in law."
Ariana smiled. "I'm Ariana. It's nice to meet you," she turned her direction towards her friend and screamed. "CAMILA! Oh my god, I missed you." She pulled the other singer into a hug. "You won't believe how happy I was to hear that you wanted to hang out with me."
Camila smiled as they pulled away from the hug. "I missed you too, Ari. It's been so long."
Ariana turned to wave at her friend's wife. "Hey, Lauren!" Being the super friendly person that she was, she gave the woman a hug as well. Leaving Maggie a bit sad as she didn't get a hug. "It's been so long. How have you been?"
The photographer smiled politely, "I've been good. What about you? I saw that you're nominated for a few Billboard awards was it? Congratulations." There was a knock on the door, and it opened to reveal Lauren's secretary and the bane to Camila's existence.
"Hey, everyone," Hailee greeted awkwardly. "I'm Hailee," she introduced herself to Ariana; she was also fan-girling but managed to keep it on the down low unlike Maggie.
Izzy came downstairs a couple minutes later, interrupting the awkwardness and heated atmosphere; which was mainly Camila staring daggers at Hailee.
"Aunt Hailee!" Izzy greeted the woman and threw herself on top her. "I've haven't seen you in forever!"
Before Hailee even had a chance to repond, the child's mother butted in.
"Princesa, do you see who else is here?"
Izzy gasped. "Ari!" She ran and hugged her and placed a huge kiss on her cheek. "Ari, I haven't seen you in years!" The child exaggerated. It was technically a couple months but do children even know the concept of time?
Maggie noticed the glares that Camila had been sending Hailee and chuckled to herself. "Damn. If looks could kill, Haiz would be dead by now," her sister in law shot hr a look.
Lauren elbowed her sister. "Even a kid can keep their cool in front of a celebrity and your grown ass chokes up." She laughed.
Maggie rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I told you, I have a huge crush on her. I'm bound to embarrass myself. Plus, Izzy met her already. I never did."
"Whatever you say, hermana," the older Jauregui sister said teasingly. "Maybe you and Izzy should head out. We'll be leaving soon."
Maggie nodded. "You're right. Mini me! Come on, vámonos. Let's go look for some boyfriends or whatever you're into. Remember it's not bad if you're gay, you have two moms afterall. However, Lauren is your daddy."
Smack.
"Just shut up and go," Lauren rolled her eyes. "Bye, baby. I love you." She kissed her daughter.
"I love you too, mama," Izzy said as she gave a her mother a goodbye hug.
Camila gave her daughter a hug and a kiss. "I love you, princesa. Don't let aunty, Maggie misguide you. You're a good girl. Okay?"
The child nodded and smiled. "I love you too, mummy."
***
*At a diner*
Ariana placed a drink in front of Camila, as she slid into the booth opposite her. "So I'm not oblivious as I portray myself to be...what's going on? Why are we out?"
The other woman took a sip of her milkshake and sighed. "It's a really long story."
"And I've got the time," Ariana smirked and rested her arms on the table. "Come on lay it on me." Camila told Ariana from Lauren's act of infidelity, to the couple not interacting with one another and to couple's therapy. "Okay. What? Why? You two were my OTP! How's couple's therapy going then? Is it working?"
Camila sighed again. "It's alright I guess. Haven't seen much of an improvement. Then Lauren started acting really weird because she saw a text from you on my phone."
"Oh shit. I'm sorry about that. I love you, Milz. But not enough to date you," Ariana laughed. "Your sister in law is rather hot though. What was her name again? Maddie?"
Camila laughed. "I'm amazing. You'll be lucky to date me. And her name is Maggie. I think she has the biggest crush on you. She's obsessed with Dangerous Woman," she smirked. "Something 'bout you makes me feel like a dangerous womannn."
Ariana cringed. "Okay wow. Stop. I love my music, but seriously I'm cringing," she shook her head laughing. "Anyway back to the hot sister in law. I feel like I've seen her around. What does she do?"
"She's a model but she's pretty out there for work in Guess," Camila took a bite out of her cookie. "Here let me show you," she pulled up some pictures on her phone and showed Ariana.
"Oh. Wow. Definitely deserves to be called the hot sister in law. Is Maddie into girls or no?"
Camila laughed. Ariana hadn't dated anyone since her last relationship a couple years ago. After trying to get her friend back into the dating scene, Camila had given up, but now that she seems to be interested in her very wild, but semi nice sister in law, it was a bit of a shocker.
"It's Maggie. Short for Margarita. Like the alcohol. The girl can chug back a bottle of rum like it's nobody's business. She's extremely sweet. A bit crazy, but she's a really nice person," Camila tried being Maggie's wing woman even though the woman didn't ask for her to be. "She did tell me she hooked up with a girl a while back, but you're the Ariana Grande. Of course she'll date you."
Ariana playfully flipped her hair, "You're right. Who wouldn't want to date my fine ass?" Camila shoved her friend gently and laughed. "Don't be a hater, Camzii. But I'll make sure to stop by to see your super hot sister in law."
The two ended up chatting for an hour. It was nice spending time with the woman, but Camila's thoughts kept drifting back to Lauren and Hailee. They were spending their time at a bar and Camila had to trust her wife enough to be around alcohol, with Hailee.
And let's face it, Camila did not trust Lauren enough. When they got home and told each other what occurred, the singer was not going to believe her wife. But would Lauren possibly jeopardise her marriage by making another mistake?
Who knows?
***
*At a Bar*
"Let's get this right," Hailee took a sip of whatever alcoholic beverage she was consuming, "This is some sort of trust exercise? What about the you fall and Camila had to catch you? Doesn't that make more sense?"
Lauren shrugged. "I mean yeah. But would I trust Camila to catch me? She'll drop my ass the first second she can get."
The secretary laughed. "I don't think she'll do that. Camila loves you. Whether you choose to believe it or not. And I know you love her too."
Hailee was right. When she had first met the couple, she could've practically felt the love radiating off the two. She hadn't meant to come between them, unfortunately she did and their relationship seemed like it was spiralling out of control with no means of stopping.
"Honestly? I don't know if Camila loves me anymore. Things just don't feel the same between us, anymore," the photographer sighed sadly.
Hailee took Lauren's hand in hers, but the woman jerked it back. "Sorry," she admitted sheepishly. "Camila loves you. She wouldn't have gone to therapy with you to save your marriage if she didn't. Just give her some time and she'll realise it. Maybe she tried to block out her feelings for you, but I know it's still in there. She can only pretend for so long."
"Or she actually hates me and found love in Ariana," Lauren shrugged and sighed as she surveyed the bar. It wasn't the usual one she came to when she just wanted to get away. But it was the bar she and Hailee came to and had a few drinks too many, then went home and continued drinking. "Or maybe, maybe she never really loved me. That's a good one."
"That's definitely not true, Lauren. Everyone sees how she looks at you."
The woman chuckled. "With disgust?"
"With love, Lauren. You're both trying to rush something that clearly needs time to be rebuilt. You don't just meet someone and jump into a relationship with them. You build a relationship, and when something goes wrong, you fix it and continue to build it," Hailee tried to make her boss believe the words she was saying. It was true but the couple just wanted everything to go back to how it used to. Obviously it was going to take some time, but how long?
***
"Bye, Camzii,"Ariana waved as she pulled away from the curb of the Jauregui - Cabellos home.
Maggie and Izzy were playing on the swings at the front of the house. They only went to the zoo, Maggie decided against stalking her sister and sister in law, she knew she would've gotten the juicy details one way or another.
"Hey, Camzii. How was the date with the hot brunette?" Izzy jumped off the swings and ran into her mother's awaiting arms.
Camila subtly flipped Maggie off. "It wasn't a date. We just hung out. Where's Lauren and the B. I. T. C. H.?"
Maggie threw her head back and laughed. "Okay firstly your insults are becoming lame. But Hailee left and Lauren is inside preparing dinner."
The singer rolled her eyes. "You know what else is lame? You. Now shut up and go home."
"How was your day, princesa?" Camila asked her daughter, who was playing with her mother's necklace. "Did aunty Maggie take good care of you?" She asked the child as she walked past her sister in law and locked the door on the way in.
Izzy went into an animated discussion about how much fun she had at the zoo, and the types of animals she saw. After washing up, they entered into the dining room where Lauren sat at the table awaiting her family.
"Hey," the photographer greeted her wife softly. "Where's Maggie?"
At the mention of her name, the woman popped into the room. "You really need to get like some smaller windows. A burglar might enter, or an annoying neighbour that you're trying to get away from."
"How the...?" Camila asked. "Didn't I lock the door?"
Maggie pulled up a chair at the table. "Didn't you hear me? I slipped in through the window. I couldn't miss this little discussion," she tapped the table excitedly. "So when are we going to talk about what we did?" She looked between Camila and Lauren. "Why don't you go first Camzii? Ladies first right."
Lauren rolled her eyes. "We're not talking about this in front of Izzy or you."
The younger Jauregui sister groaned. "Ugh. You suck."
"That I do," she winked.
The four of them ended up eating their dinner without bringing the topic up, just yet. Izzy kept talking about the zoo and how she wanted to go with her parents the next time. When they finished eating, Camila carried Izzy upstairs to shower and get ready for bed.
***
"Where's Maggie?" The younger woman asked as she entered the living room. "Is she going to pop out through a window this time?"
Lauren laughed softly. "Nah. She has a shoot tomorrow so she's gone for the night."
Camila nodded and took a seat on the couch. She brought her legs up to her chest and turned to look at her wife. "Did you...did you do anything you weren't supposed to do?" She asked softly. Camila wasn't sure if her heart would've handled anymore hurt from the woman who had promised to cherish it.
Lauren looked a bit taken back and offended. "Did you really think I would've gotten drunk out of my mind and kissed her?!" She raised her voice. "Can't you see that I'm completely sober? We had one drink, Camila! That was it. You don't see me accusing you of anything."
"I just asked, Lauren! I told you I don't trust you," the singer bit back harshly. "And don't try to act high and mighty. I know you think I must've done some shit with, Ariana."
"Yeah, well I'm hoping that you didn't and if you tell me you didn't, then I'm going to believe you."
The couple never seemed to get along for longer than a couple of minutes without it turning into an argument. That seemed to have always been started by Camila.
Camila stood up. "You know what, Lauren? I'm getting sick and tired of this! Of the constant fighting! I don't trust you, but you're not making an effort to make me regain that trust. For some god unknown reason, you don't trust me and I've literally done nothing!"
"That's exactly it! You portray Ariana more as your wife than you do me. You hang out with her more than you with Izzy and I. You ditched our FaceTime dates to hang out with her! What else do you expect me to think?!" The couple were arguing loudly and unknown to them, Izzy had been watching them. "You can have anyone, Camz...anyone and you chose me. A nobody. You can just decide to pick yourself up one day and leave. Then I'll be left here alone, you might try to take Izzy from me. That'll break me, Camz. I can't...I can't handle that."
A tiny voice caught the couple off guard. "Mama? Mummy?" When they turned to see their daughter, she had tears in her eyes. "What's ... what's going on?"
They weren't just breaking their own hearts, they were also breaking a four year old's.
***
Y'all I'm back! I'm sorry for being MIA but now that my main fic is over, WDIGM (Why Did I Get Married?) will have all my attention.
Dropped a long ass update for you guys. Hope you enjoyed it 🦋