Love Prevails

As a young adult in her early 20s, Camilla led a quiet life. Growing up in Cheshire was something she loved. On the street where she lived they all knew each other.

Camilla fell in love with a man who was 23, but after two years they parted ways.

At the age of twenty-five, she met her, to be, husband Steven Middleton. They started courting and what a whirlwind of a courtship it was.

Six months after dating, Steven asked her "Camilla?"

"Uh huh" she replied, while sitting in the living room by the fireplace, gazing at how the fire was blazing in front of her. It was so mesmerizing.

"Camilla, will you marry me?"

Camilla was elated and immediately jumped up and said "Yes, yes I will marry you." Camilla threw her arms around his lean, masculine, well-trained waist. He drew her in for a slow, long lingering kiss.

Camilla wasn't a very attractive young lady, but her qualities were something to behold. She was an ordinary country girl with a slightly bigger bodice, beautifully contoured chest and the most beautifully curved legs you have ever seen.

She had jet-black hair that hung below her waist line in voluminous curls, hugging her. Her sea-green eyes sparkled as she looked up at Steven and said, "I love you."

"I know you do," he said in a deep, husky voice.

Steven was a very attractive man and women left, right and center wanted his attention. He was 6 ft 2 while Camilla was only 5 ft 7 not too short for a female, but compared to Steven she was. His hair was chestnut brown and dead straight. He was also a bit younger than Camilla. He was only twenty-three years of age.

About a week before their wedding, "Steven, I'm pregnant. Doctor says I'm three months already," she announced.

"Wow, I didn't really expect this now, but it is what it is and we will embrace it," he answered nonchalantly.

In August of that year, Camilla Jones and Steven Middleton tied the knot. "I, Camilla Jones, take you, Steven Middleton, to be my husband from now until forever," she said.

"I, Steven Middleton, promise to love you, Camilla Jones, for the rest of our lives," he concluded.

Their celebration wasn't grandiose or lavish. It was simple, just family and friends all around.

Camilla's uncle, Toby, had given her away at her wedding as her parents had died tragically in a car accident a few years prior to meeting her husband, Steven. Her Aunt on her father's side had taken over raising and caring for Camilla until she got married. Her mom didn't have any sisters, so it was left to her dad's family. Thankfully, her aunt and uncle had always loved her as their own.

As the ceremony and reception ended, the newly-wed couple went to their marital home. A quiet little cottage in the country.

Camilla had always dreamed of a honeymoon, but unfortunately their circumstances didn't allow for this, and she settled for just going to her marital home for her honeymoon. Camilla was never the one to complain. She had never questioned her husband about why they couldn't have a honeymoon like everyone else. She just accepted that circumstances didn't allow.

As their "honeymoon" came to it's end, Steven and Camilla had to get back to the mundane things of life, such as working and daily chores.

Camilla worked for a Realtor in the city which was ten minutes from home by bus, Steven worked at an accounting firm. twenty minutes from home by car.

Because of his late hours during certain times of the month, he used to take their Camry to work, and she would catch the bus. Though she would often ask if he could drop her off at work, he always had an excuse.

As the winter started to set in, Camilla, now 5 months pregnant, asked Steven, "babe, is it possible, now that the weather is getting colder, can you start dropping me off at work, so I don't get sick. The further along in my pregnancy, the harder it will be to take the bus?"

Steven sighed. "This would mean that I would have to leave work earlier to pick her up," he mumbled to himself. "Fine" he retorted, not very happy.

The first three months of marriage weren't too bad. They did things together, they enjoyed being a married couple, but then things started changing. Steven started going out to bars and drinking.

"Steven, I'm pregnant, you can't leave me home like this while you out drinking," she said.

"Listen I'm not a child, you can't control me! I will come and go as I damn please!" he said with a chip on his shoulder.

Some days he would come home, clean up, shower, take out the trash and go to the bar. He would come home all hours of the night drunk and smelling of cigarette smoke. Many nights she would lie awake crying because of her uncertainty.

"Steven, why do you persist in behaving like this?" she questioned him one evening.

As was usually the case he responded, "I work hard, I just need a place to relax!"

"Steven, we both work hard, it's not like I don't work. I'm pregnant and I am working and I still do the chores in the home. Don't I also deserve a break?" she rebutted.

Camilla was constantly tired during the first 3

three months of her pregnancy and as her pregnancy progressed she had different changes in her hormones.

When the fifth month came, Camilla decided to keep working as this was peak season for selling homes. Steven took leave in December as this was when their company had their annual shut down.

Even though Steven was home, Camilla was still having to cook and clean after work. During his leave he didn't even bother taking her to, or picking her up from, work. She often tried taking the car, but he would always stop her.

"You can't take the car!" he exclaimed.

"But you home!" she retorted.

"Yes, but I need the car."

"Fine, then can you at least drop me off at work and pick me up?" She asked.

"It's too early!" was his response.

"What is happening?" Camilla ⁷wondered, "why was this man being like this? He's on leave and can't be bothered to think of me."

Camilla didn't see it then, but this was going to be the start to a very turbulent marriage, one filled with sorrow, grief, insecurity and anger. A marriage that would put her in a very different mindset as she gets a lot older.

During that December, Camilla would come home every day, no food cooked, the place left untidy by Steven leaving dishes to be washed. She was angry and upset and even hurt.

"Steven, you are on leave, can you not, at least, just keep the place clean and prepare dinner for us in the evening?" she bit, one evening, frustrated as everything was always left for her.

Camilla wasn't used to this kind of thing. In her home, growing up, for as long as she could remember, her dad had always helped her mother with the household duties, saying, "We both work, we both make a mess, so we must both work inside the home as well."

Thinking of her parents, her heart broke. She missed her mum and dad daily.

Camilla was exhausted, some nights she would only get home at 8 or 9 p.m. after house viewings and trying to seal a deal or two. Some nights she would get home and the house would be in darkness and cold.

Steven, who couldn't be bothered to cook for his wife or even be home when she got home from a long day at the office, would come in drunk.

"Where is my food? I'm hungry!" He would demand.

Camilla would reheat the food, put it in front of him and walk to the bedroom exhausted and angry.

"Is this what married life was meant to be like?" she pondered, "am I destined to live forever like this?"

Several months had past and things hadn't gotten easier for Camilla. Steven drank every day, he had even gone to work drunk and received various warnings for being drunk on duty.

By now Camilla was in the last month of her pregnancy. Money struggles were real for the couple due to Steven's drinking. Camilla hoped that once the baby came he would stop drinking and step up to being a dad.

At 4 am, Camilla awoke to the feeling of wanting to use the bathroom, but as she arose everything on the bed was soaked through. She went to the bathroom, but she still couldn't stop. Eventually, she called for her husband, who was still hung over from the night before. "Steven, please get the car!" She yelled, knowing it was going to be difficult for him to wake up. "Steven, can you get up, I need to get to the hospital now!" she yelled again. In a groggy state, he said to her, "Just get some more sleep. It's okay, you'll be fine."

Steven hadn't realized his wife's water had broken until he shifted to her side of the bed and felt the wetness. He jumped up and realized then what she was shouting at him for. At the realization that his wife was in labor, he called the doctor and informed her that they were indeed on the way to the labor ward.

The procedure was very long. Camilla wanted to give birth naturally. After 12 that afternoon, the doctor suggested an induction as there had been no further progress on the birthing.

At 7 pm that night, a beautiful baby boy was born to Steven and Camilla. They had already picked out a name for their son.

Marshall Middleton weighed only 2.8 kilograms at birth. Camilla cried at the sight of her son, "He's beautiful," she smiled through the tears. It had been a long, exhausting labor, and she just wanted to sleep. Steven allowed her to go back to the ward and get some sleep while he went and marveled over his son until the next morning.

Around 5 am, Steven and the nurses took baby Middleton to the room where Camilla was resting. She sat up and took her baby in her arms. "He ate well through the night," both Steven and the sister informed her. Camilla was elated. She couldn't wait to get home and get proper rest with her child.

As she was about to ask a question, it was as though the sister knew exactly what she was wanting to know, so she replied, "Dr Jacobs will be here shortly to give you the discharge papers." "Thank you sister," she replied and smiled.

After being released from the hospital, the couple, with their newborn, went straight home. Camilla wanted to sit up, but Steven assured her that she needed the rest. Family and friends came to visit over the next few days. Camilla felt like she was in the honeymoon phase all over again with her husband doting on her and helping her with everything. Sadly, this didn't last too long.

About a month after Marshall was born, Steven went back to his usual old self. Camilla had to get back to work, so they had Camilla's aunt look after him. Camilla didn't want to put him in child care just yet, she didn't feel he was ready for that.

Camilla was going to work every day now and after work she would go fetch her son and go home, bath Marshall, feed him and get him ready for bed. While he was asleep she would then put the food on for dinner, while cleaning up the place. Camilla was exhausted and felt like a train had hit her. Exhausted in the evening, she didn't feel like doing much. Steven would get home drunk as usual some night. Other nights he would come home, shower, take out the trash and head to the bar. Leaving her alone at home to deal with the baby.

Things at home started to flare up. The more she had to do and take care of, the more tired Camilla got. It wasn't easy holding down a full-time job, being a full-time wife and homemaker and mother, having a husband who did the bare minimum to support his wife.

One day Camilla broke down crying. "Steven, this can't continue, you need to be here more for me and your son!" she yelled, "I can't do it all by myself!" Steven just looked at his wife and retorted, "I'm going out. I don't know when I will be back." "Steven!" she said in exasperation, "it's the weekend, you don't need to go to work, you don't work on weekends." "No, you are right, I don't work weekends, but I have a client to see today for the company," he responded half willingly. Camilla didn't say anything. Steven got in the car and off he went. Little did Camilla know that this client was a female, but this meeting wasn't business.

At 2 am the next morning Camilla sat staring at the phone and clock. She'd been up all night waiting for her husband to come home. Earlier in the evening, he had told her that the boss had taken him and the client out to dinner and that she shouldn't wait up, but later that evening Steven had not answered any of her numerous calls, and she was in a state of panic. "Where was he?" she wondered, "just how long would he be before getting home?

It was just a few hours till Camilla would have to get up and go to work. She was exhausted and had not slept a wink all night. Half beside herself, she cried intermittently, praying that he was safe and that he would return home soon.

As the time ticked away, the minutes seemed like hours. She listened to the local radio news for any information on road accidents, praying that none of them were her husband.

It was 3:30 in the morning when Camilla received a phone call. "Morning mam, sorry to wake you up, we just want to find out something!" The male voice said. Just then Camilla's heart stopped, "What is it?" she asked through her tears. "Mam, do you have a Toyota Camry?" he asked. "Yes!" she nervously replied. Camilla's stomach was in knots. She didn't know what next to expect. "Mam, can you describe the driver of your car?" Camilla described her car, registration number and the driver of her car, explaining that he was her husband and that she'd been waiting all night for him to come home.

"Is he ok?" Camilla asked. "Yes mam, we pulled him over for not having his lights on while driving, he's on his way home now," the officer said. "Thank you officer." she responded and hung up the phone.

Looking at the time, she sighed. "What's the use of going to sleep now?" she thought to herself. Camilla went to take a shower, prepared her clothes for work and started making her son's bottles for the day.

Approximately an hour later, she heard the car pull up into the driveway. Camilla carried on doing what she had set out to do. As she was busying herself, she heard the front door open and a male's sheepish voice say, "Camilla, honey, I'm home. Sorry I'm so late. Things went on longer than expected." Camilla ignored his miserable excuse and went over to the TV to watch the latest news.

"Come to bed!" his husky voice said. "No Steven, it's Monday already. I need to finish preparing for work, so you go to bed." Steven didn't need to go to the office that day as he had sealed the deal the night before.

Since Steven wasn't going into the office that day, Camilla left her son at home with him and said, "I've made all the bottles, he is sleeping now, so when he wakes up you can give him his bottle."

"Why don't you drop him by your aunt?" he asked, irritated at the fact that she would leave their son with him. "It's the least you can do after the stunt you pulled last night," she threw back at him. Since he was staying home, she picked up the keys and took the car to work with her.

The rest of the week went off a little better due to the fact that Steven knew he had to make peace with his wife. He didn't want to arouse too much suspicion.

As the weekend approached, he made some plans with the same client as the weekend before. However, Marshall hadn't been well, and they ended up going to the hospital with him. They tried everything to break his fever but to no avail, and ended up in the hospital with him. Finally, on the Saturday, his fever broke, and they were allowed to take their son home. However, Steven was not happy because he had to cancel his plans with Lucille (the client) and spend the weekend with his wife helping her take care of their son.

Because he was frustrated that he couldn't escape the home, Steven started lashing out at Camilla, blaming her for him feeling trapped in their marriage. He started shouting at her and verbally abusing her. "What is his problem?" she mumbled to herself.

Steven's name-calling was something she could never understand. Her dad and mom hadn't fought like this, nor had her aunts and uncles. "You're just a nasty, spiteful, fat slob!" he screamed at her and took the keys and went to the bar.

Camilla sat on the floor in their dining room crying. She picked up the phone and called her aunt and uncle for advice. They had never seen her this distraught. "Pack a few things for the night and you and Marshall come to us for the night!" Her uncle said, holding her close.

That night, Steven came home to an empty home with a letter that read: Steven, the food is in the oven, Marshall and I are at uncle Toby's. We won't be home till tomorrow. This behavior was not acceptable.

A few weeks had passed, and it was Friday again. "Camilla, I won't be home early tonight. I am working through the night. I'll be home quite late. I have a meeting with that client again. We need to sort out their financial affairs," he informed his wife. "Fine!" she exclaimed, unimpressed by his attitude of late.

Lately Steven had hardly touched his wife. He hadn't bought her anything as a gift for a long time now.

After Camilla got home from work and fetching her son, she went through her usual routine. She didn't bother to cook for herself, she just ate whatever was on hand and fed her son what she had prepared the night before for him.

Around 10 pm, she decided to give her husband a call to see if he was on his way home. As he answered, forgetting his surroundings, Camilla heard in the background that he was in a bar and Steven sounded not so sober. "I told you I would be home late," he said, agitated and put the phone down. Confused by what she had heard, Camilla decided to make plans for the next day without him.

Watching the time, Camilla finally dozed off. Around 2 am the next morning she woke up. The weather wasn't too cold. She went to sit on the porch in her chair and just stare at the beauty. It was so quiet where she lived. While sitting there, an extremely masculine, handsome, slightly older and quite distinguished gentleman walked past. He saw the tears in her eyes. "Mam, are you okay?" he asked. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Mam, where is your husband, are you okay?" he was deeply distressed at the sight of a young lady sitting crying like that. "I don't know where he is!" she responded through the tears.

This gentleman didn't know why, but his heart broke seeing her like this. "If I had a wife like you," he started saying, "I would never leave you at home like this alone." He didn't know why, but he felt compelled to say this to her. "Go back inside you will get sick. Take care of yourself, things will turn out alright for you. Wait and see."

As he greeted Camilla goodbye, her phone rang. "Mam, this is officer Grady, we need you to come to the police station please," the officer instructed her. "On my way," she responded. Going to her neighbors, she asked them for help. The husband said to his wife, "Leave Marshall with me, and you take Camilla." His wife nodded, kissed her husband and took Camilla to the police station.

On arriving at the police station, Camilla walked in, looking at her husband. She went to the officer and thanked him for calling her. Walked over to her husband and said, "We'll talk later. Just go to the car." After that she went over to her neighbor, thanked her and said," I'll see you back home." Camilla got in the car and drove home.

The drive home had been only 10 minutes, but for Steven, driving in silence with his wife felt like hours. She was angry and rightly so.

On arriving at home, Steven was still swaying from being drunk. She opened up the house and told him to go to bed. Camilla went to fetch her son and went to sleep in the room on the spare bed they had bought for Marshall for when he got older.

Later that morning, Steven asked his wife, "Camilla, what's to eat?" In response, she muttered, "I don't know, you can make something for yourself. Marshall is with you today. I have plans with friends. See you later." Steven was confused, "Was she really leaving me with our son, so she can go out?" Camilla saw the expression on his face, she threw her head back and let out a hard, uncontrollable laugh.

"Where are you going?" he asked. "With Michelle to the mall, girls day out," she smiled. "I thought we could spend the day together," he was not amused. "Tomorrow," was all she said and walked out the door. "What time will you be back," she shouted out the door. "I'm not sure," she responded, "we're going to walk around and shop a little, go for lunch and a movie and maybe a drink or two." "A drink or two," he resounded, "you can't drink.!" "Mr Middleton," it had been a while since he had heard her say this in a harsh tone, she opened the car door and started the ignition.

Would this be a reason for Steven to change his wily ways, or, would things escalate?