Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 552

Camila Davis felt like her whole world just spun out.

She honestly hadn’t expected Sarah Brown to be the one leaving. Larry Adams going? Sure, that made sense. But Sarah? That was a punch to the gut.

Sarah was her best friend—her ride-or-die. No matter what drama blew up, Sarah was always there, right in her corner. When someone messed with Camila, Sarah was the first one to throw down for her.

Camila had never really thought about what life would be like if Sarah left. Now that it was happening, she felt lost, blindsided, and just plain helpless.

How did it come to this? They’d finally sorted all the big problems out, so why were they still ending up apart?

Of course, Camila was hurting. But beside her, Sarah was crying even harder—big, messy sobs.

“What am I gonna do?” Sarah wailed. “I don’t want to go! I’m gonna miss you and Lillian so much…”

Camila watched her best friend bawl her eyes out, and despite the ache in her own chest, she couldn’t help but laugh a little. She hugged Sarah tight and tried to soothe her. “Hey, it’s not like you’re moving to the moon. Cabinda’s just a flight away. You can always come back to Harrisburg and visit us, and if I get some time off, I’ll come see you, too.”

“It’s not the same!” Sarah hiccupped. “If I move to Cabinda, I can’t just show up at your place for pizza night whenever I want…”

She clung to Camila, her voice breaking. Then she started cursing out her brother. “This is all Jordan’s fault! Billy Brown, that jerk! Why doesn’t he go to Cabinda himself? He’s got that fancy business—he doesn’t need me to go run errands for him. He’s such a slave-driver!”

Half-crying, half-ranting, Sarah poured herself another glass of red wine.

Camila meant to cut her off, but it didn’t work. If anything, Sarah kept topping off Camila’s glass, too.

By the end of dinner, Camila was tipsy, her head spinning with wine and emotion.

Larry Adams, meanwhile, was baffled. Wasn’t this supposed to be his farewell dinner? Yet somehow, he was the only one sober while the two ladies were three sheets to the wind.

He glanced over at Dennis Williams, who hadn’t touched a drop. Larry nudged him and whispered, “Hey, Dennis, I’ve been meaning to ask—what are you and Camila going to do? Cabinda’s not a quick fix, you’ll be tied up there a while. Are you guys really going to do the whole long-distance thing?”

Dennis watched Camila, trailing just ahead of them, her mood clearly off. He could tell Sarah’s sudden departure had rattled her. Camila might have been holding it together, but Dennis could feel the storm brewing beneath the surface.

After a pause, Dennis finally replied, “I’ve got a plan. Don’t worry about us. Just make sure you get Sarah home safe, okay? I’ll take Camila.”

“Alright.” Larry shrugged. If Dennis said he had it handled, he’d let it be.

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