Her chest hurt, her eyes stung, her pride was smashed to the floor. Sharon was having a miserable day as it was. She didn't need to let anyone else bring her down. Barely holding in her sobs, she controlled the need to run and walked calmly out of there. Or she would have if someone hadn't grabbed her wrist.

Not again.

Tears filling her eyes and making her sight blurry, she immediately turned back and tried to break his grip. She knew it was Cameron. Who else would grab her just like that? But she had held so much in for the past few hours, beginning with the meeting from him.

And now, after this lunch, her breaking point was just a hair's breadth away. Feeling on the cusp, she wanted t get away as far as possible. There was no way she wanted to have a break down here where the others could see her.

So why wasn't he letting her go?

Instead, ignoring her push and tugs, he pulled her effortlessly into his embrace and kept her there until she stopped struggling. There was no use fighting his strength. She just had to wait until he let her go. Sullenly staring into his chest, she waited for him to speak, regretting ever agreeing to this lunch. Even now, as she waited, her tears had lost the battle and were now streaming endlessly down her cheeks. Resentment for him grew.

"Hi. Can you bring around my car?"he called out to the valet. She couldn't help kicking him. Was his car so important that he couldn't let her go first? She didn't even ask for his help. And now, his hand was rubbing down her back, as if to soothe her. Which she hated with all her heart. Which she wished she could shake off. Which she was never going to admit, not even under torture, that it indeed made her feel better. She was startled out of her thoughts when he spoke softly. "Let me take you back. That's the least I can do since I brought you here."

That was nice of him, she thought icily even as she refused to answer him. Turning her head away, she was going to pout and keep her silence when she saw some onlookers looking at him. At her. Alarmed, she returned her gaze to his chest but now, she tried to get out, pushing at his chest. But his arms only tightened. And, if she was not wrong, he brought her deeper into his arms, as if to hide her.

Hearing a car coming to a stop, she assumed it was his and was waiting for him to loosen his embrace but he didn't let her go. Confused, she looked up at him and was startled by the intense look in his eyes. And then, he walked with her to her side of the car and stood by the opening until she was in. Only then did he go to his side and drive away.

"What was that about?"she asked, pulling her seat belt on. He was looking particularly grim, weaving around traffic and ignoring the other road users.

"There were some paparazzi around. I didn't want you to be photographed by them."

"What? Oh no." She was distressed. Her relationship with him was no longer just roommates. Working with Matt, there was a professional distance that she had to keep. He was one of the agency's clients and it would look bad if one of the agency's agents was seen with their client in an intimate setting. Her mind racing, she took out her phone. "I have to let Matt know and clarify it with Holly-"

"Why Holly?"

"What do you mean "why"? She's your girlfriend. I don't want her, or the media, to misunderstand. I mean, that was such a misleading position-"

"Well, don't bother. We're not going out anymore." His tone shocked her. This was the harshest she had ever heard him talk. Not even Kathryn had been spoken about that cruelly. Wondering about that, she couldn't help but probe further.

"What do you mean? Did you break up?"she asked.

"Of course,"he said outraged. "I just told the entire table just now that we're not together anymore. That means we've broken up, right?"

"How was I supposed to make a conclusion from such little clues? And I didn't want to presume. "Not going out anymore" could just be a code or something for you celebrities."

"There's no such code. What kind of stories have you been listening to?"he sputtered.

"You know, these stories kind of float around in the agency. Anyway when did this happen? And does she know about this?"

"What kind of man do I think I am? You think I'd just announce that we've broken up, to strangers, without speaking to her first?" He was so indignant that his eyes left the road entirely as he glared at her. It wasn't until a honk that he returned to the road.

"Well, I don't know,"she said once his eyes were away from her. "She was super clingy to you this morning. You had to push her away most of the time. And, and she was glaring at me throughout the meeting. Knowing this now, I can understand why she was clingy. But why was she so mad at me?"

"Maybe I told her that I like someone else."

"Is it a maybe? Or a definitely? Either way, that's too cruel."

"Hey, it's better than seeing someone else behind her back." She couldn't help but nod before being reminded of the disastrous lunch, All thoughts about Cameron and Holly disappeared. She wanted to tease him further, since he was so easy to rile up, but the return of the gloominess made all motivation leave. Looking out the window, she hoped he wouldn't ask about it. But he did. "And what was that about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't act dumb. I was there the entire time."

"What do you mean?"she asked glumly, continuing to act dumb. She, herself, hadn't finished getting over that. She didn't want to get into that with him now.

Well, first off, were you fighting with Jasmine for Tony?" Or that was what she had thought. But since he had seen into the heart of the matter, she didn't feel like keeping it in anymore. She had had enough of that over the past couple of months.

"It's more of the two kept their relationship a secret while he was raising my hopes up,"she mumbled. That felt great. She wasn't sure whether it was just Cameron or it was speaking to someone who didn't have a preconceived conclusion but she was more than ready to talk.

"What? So he was flirting with you but was already with someone else? That's messed up. And your mother?"

"Mom always likes Jasmine. And, for whatever reason, she hates me. So it's not a surprise she supports her. Anyway, Cameron, where are we going?" And that was the extent to her opening up. Feeling herself clamming up again, she decided to change the subject.

"Atlantic City."

"What?"

---@@@---

"This is the second time you're driving me around without getting my approval,"Sharon remarked with a groan. Her head was turning left and right, looking to the back and front, as incredulity filled her eyes. Then her hands came up to cover her face. "Why are you doing this? Didn't you just say you're going to bring me back?"

She began hitting him with her purse. She was hitting so much that the arm closest to her had to come up and block them.

"Ow, Sharon, stop,"Cameron cried, unable to escape most of her blows. She was so mad. He had never seen her this angry before. She had tears in her eyes and her face was slowly turning red. He wanted take away her weapon and wanted to get her into his arm even more. Which was the best for both her and him.

She seemed to calm down faster when his arms were around her. And, for him, it was for purely selfish reasons. He had just gotten her into him after months. There was no way that was enough. A horn blaring brought him back to the road and his eyes widened.

The car was straddling two lanes on a busy highway and there were large trucks practically surrounding him. Focusing again, he had to use both of his hands to control the wheels. Luckily, Sharon understood the gravity of situation and quietened, staying buckled up in her seat.

After a while, he realised that she was too quiet. Wondering whether she was giving him the silent treatment again, he looked over and saw that she was asleep. Surprised, he smiled nonetheless. She looked so peaceful, as if all the stress and tension of the afternoon had left her.

Turning back to the road, he let out a sigh. What was he doing? This was not in the plan when he got in the car. The plan was to send her back to the office and arrange another time to talk. But as they were talking and he was avoiding the paparazzi, he just found himself naturally heading in this direction.

And although he felt bad for not consulting her, he didn't want to let this opportunity slide. There was no way of knowing when he would see her again. Or if he would even see her again. It was difficult since she took her job seriously. She would use any opportunity to keep her distance. That was something he was as determined to undermine.

Because now that he had her again, he refused to let her go. He had stopped speaking to her, meeting her, for weeks. Months. And he thought he was fine. He had enjoyed himself, living in his own apartment, getting a new girlfriend. But he hadn't expected the gnawing pain and loneliness. Even when he had been surrounded by people or just alone with Holly, it felt like something was missing.

It was only when he saw Sharon again that he knew what that something was. At first, he had been against the very thought that he needed her in his life. He had even flaunted Holly in front of her. And hurt her in the process. Something he was very aware of even while doing it. And everything was fine.

But it took the call from Scott for him to realise that he needed her in his life. He had been frantic to know where she went, calling people she knew and on the verge of driving all around the huge city to find her. None of that seemed ridiculous. Not at that time. Not even now.

And now that he was alone with his own thoughts, he found out something interesting about himself. And that was the only reason he was able to stay away and find a girlfriend was that he knew where to find her. Sharon was always going to be at the apartment. No matter where he went and what he did, he could always go back to the apartment and find her, ever willing to entertain him.

But when he had received the call and went to the apartment, it was like a wake-up call. As he was progressing in life, she was also living her own life. According to what she had said during that photoshoot, their paths were diverging. And, if he went along that logic, they would one day just be strangers.

He didn't want that. He wanted them to always be close, always be together. And that feeling was so strong, much stronger than his feelings for Holly. Realising who was more important in his life, he had quickly made a decision.

It hadn't been easy to break up with Holly but he'd gone through with it. Holly hadn't taken it well. She had started throwing things at him, some of which were hard enough to hurt. But even as his arms and shoulders throbbed, he would gladly go through that again.

Because now that he was free, his desire for Sharon had grown even stronger.

AN: Hey guys. Time for a short getaway. What do you think is going to happen between them? and what do you think of Cameron's chances with Sharon? Let me know.

Also, I'd like to wish all my Muslim readers "Happy Ramadhan". Hope you have a good one and all that you wish to accomplish are accomplished. Even though I am not the most religious person, I also hope to be the best person I can be this month. 

Anyway, please VOTE and COMMENT if you liked the chapter. Hope you can read my new book "Mini One Shots" for more slice of life moments with the Accidental series cast. Right now, it's focusing on an outing to the zoo with the twins. For the latest ones, you can drop by my ko-fi or blog. Don't forget to get my book "Accidental Babies" out on Amazon.

THANKS:)