From Mob Princess to Mugshot Photographer novel Chapter 116

**Chapter 2**

The relentless downpour continued for a full two days, a steady cascade of rain that seemed to seep into every crevice of Westlake. The streets glistened under the dull gray sky, and I felt as if I were drowning in the dampness, my clothes clinging to me like a second skin, leaving me chilled to the bone.

Sleep eluded me entirely. I found myself rising repeatedly in the dead of night, the click of my lighter echoing in the silence like a heartbeat. It was a small flicker of light in an otherwise dark world, a fragile flame that offered me a momentary escape from the gloom.

Rhys had entered my life when he was nothing more than a broke hustler, struggling to make ends meet, living in a cramped basement apartment that smelled of mildew and desperation. I remembered how he would gaze at me with those sharp eyes, his buzzcut accentuating the intensity of his stare as I stood before him in my school uniform, feeling both vulnerable and bold.

“Think carefully, Camden,” he had warned, his voice low and serious, cutting through the quiet of our little world.

“I’m nobody. I’ve got nothing,” I replied, my heart racing, the truth of my words hanging heavily in the air.

“I can’t give you the future you want,” he said, and those words echoed like a death knell in my mind.

Back then, I was so innocent, naïve even. I would slip off my rain-soaked canvas shoes and nestle my cold feet into his warm embrace, pushing against his thin tank top as if seeking refuge from the storm outside. Rhys’s body heat enveloped me like a torch, igniting a fire within me that I had never known before.

Even in that dim light, with only the flickering flame to guide us, I nodded stubbornly. “Rhys, I don’t care about some future,” I insisted, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me. “I only want you.”

The journey I shared with Rhys was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride through hell and back. Our nights were filled with the sterile scent of bandages and disinfectant, yet they transformed into passionate escapades that lasted until dawn broke the darkness. Rhys often promised that once he went legit, the first thing he would do would be to marry me. But now, as he stood on the brink of a new life, it seemed the first thing he wanted to do was sever the ties that bound us.

At twenty-eight, I was no longer the carefree girl I once was. I couldn’t afford to act recklessly anymore. My family had already chosen a man for me, a respectable suitor who was just waiting for me to give him a chance. I felt the weight of that expectation pressing down on me, forcing me to make a decision. I resolved to leave Westlake behind.

With a heavy heart, I took the keys to my house and made my way to Rhys’s club for what I knew would be the last time. I opted for a casual look—no makeup, just jeans and canvas shoes. As I stepped inside, I noticed several faces turning toward me, their expressions a mix of confusion and surprise; many didn’t recognize me at first.

When I removed my hat, the crew who once eagerly referred to me as “boss lady” fell silent, their eyes widening in realization. They were aware of Rhys’s new relationship, and the teasing began almost immediately.

“Cam, as your brothers, we still think you and Boss are perfect together,” one of them said, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Some little girl? That’s a joke. He’d look ridiculous taking her anywhere,” another chimed in, laughter bubbling beneath his words.

“Why don’t you go sweet talk the boss? He always listens to…” someone else suggested, but I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the absurdity of it all.

After ten years with Rhys, I still possessed a certain innocence, but my thin eyebrows and red lips could easily be mistaken for something sultry. I caught the eyes of many men from a distance, but Rhys had always been my protector. Anyone who dared to lay a finger on me would find themselves sent far away to stack sandbags at the northern border, a punishment Rhys was all too willing to enforce.

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