Cameron

Thirty minutes into the gala, I knew I had severely fucked up.

The cameras blinded me as Katie and I appeared on the red carpet. I smiled tersely in photos and always kept my hands above her waist. Even still, she managed to find ways to make our photos seem provocative. Her hand placement on my chest, or when she stared up at me and batted her eyelashes, tugging hard on her bottom lip, I knew the photos would turn into a scandal before they even hit the internet.

And I was right.

Immediately after exiting the carpet to head inside the event, I made the excuse to go to the bathroom and tried to call Maddie's phone. No response.

She was already off work, and after every shift, she always called me on the way home. Either news got out faster than I thought or she had to stay later for surgery for a patient.

The hard ball in my stomach seemed to lean toward the former.

Could I blame her for being pissed? Absolutely not. I went back on my word and came to this event as Katie's date without my wife's approval. Our marriage is supposed to be based on making decisions together as a unit, and I fucked it all up by agreeing to act like a piece of arm candy all night.

I'm not naive enough to think all will be forgiven when I get home. I'll have groveling to do, a lot of it, but it'll be worth it to ensure she keeps her career. Katie will more than likely have another favor in the foreseeable future for me, however, Maddie's video is locked away right where it should be, and that's all that matters to me.

"Don't seem so happy," Katie murmurs sarcastically, her red-painted lips tilting to one side.

I adjust my tie, reluctantly taking a seat beside her at the extravagant, over-the-top table. Crystal decanters and porcelain silverware line the circular tablecloth, and I take extra focus on the china before I say something that might push her over the edge and release the video.

"I agreed to come as your date. You didn't clarify about being nice."

"I assume the night will be quite a drag if you sit there and act miserable all night." She turns to face me, arching a brow. "You haven't even commented on how I look. All this effort wasted."

"Are you expecting me to compliment you? If so, you're going to be horribly disappointed." Eyeing the space for a bartender, I catch the attention of one and eagerly wave him over. I need a stiff drink. "I'm here to fill a spot beside you so you don't get photographed as the woman no one wants to spend an evening with. Nothing more."

The words spilling from my lips are true. I hardly spared her a glance tonight. There's red fabric on her body, but even the sight of her causes my stomach to turn. She's ruined everything good in my life. Not a single ounce of her is attractive to me.

And now that she's aware of it, I've definitely pushed her over the edge.

I've hit a nerve. The same vein that always used to appear when we got into arguments during our relationship begins to throb in her right temple, but rather than reply with something snarky, she smiles brightly in case photos are taken. Honestly, I'm surprised she never pursued acting. She'd flourish at it.

"Don't piss me off tonight," she says with a terrifying grin. Her eyes crinkle at the sides. "Smile like you're happy to be here with me, or I'll press that button and release that video right now. Your choice."

The other guests arrive at our table, oblivious to our heated conversation since Katie is smiling as if we're speaking about the weather rather than her fucking blackmail over me.

Every bone in my body wills me to get the hell away from this charity event, but if I do that then I agreed to come as her date for nothing. In a few hours, I'll be able to go home to Maddie and try to forget this night ever existed.

Just a few more hours.

Plastering on a fake grin, the bartender arrives, and I order a triple shot of whiskey.

***

On the drive home, I kept reminding myself that things would be okay. I'd redeem myself to Maddie and explain to her relentlessly that my decision wasn't because her opinion didn't matter, but because I love her too much to allow her to throw everything she's ever worked for away.

But when I get to the end of our driveway, the ball in my stomach only grows larger.

No lights on.

I could be an idiot and assume she went to the grocery store or something, but deep down, I know the truth. She saw the pictures of Katie and me, pieced together that I went despite her refusal for me not to, and left.

She left me.

But what about Izzy? Oh god, did she take her too?

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.

I hardly put the car in park before I race to the door, my heart hammering in my chest and my throat dry as hell. My vision blurs from the tears threatening to appear as I pass the fountain Maddie fell in love with when she first laid eyes on it.

I can't go through this again. I won't be able to handle losing them both. Sure, I knew I was in deep shit when I made my choice, but I didn't think she'd leave.

Pushing the door open into the pitch-blackness of the foyer, I flip on the lights and head upstairs, taking them two at a time, terrified of what I'll find. Thankfully, most of Maddie's clothes are still in the dresser, and her jewelry is still where it always is, but that doesn't answer where the hell she went.

I call her once, twice, three times, all of them coming up fruitless.

It's not until I get to the kitchen that I find a scrap of paper in the center of the island waiting for me.

Cameron,

I took Izzy to The Plaza. We're staying there for a few days. If you want to see Izzy, have Nina call me and I'll meet her so she can pick her up and bring her to you. Please, give me space. I need it right now.

-Maddie.

Cameron?

We're back to Cameron?

God, I really fucked up.

Crumpling the note up in my hand, I begin to pace back and forth in the kitchen, debating what my next move will be. If I know my wife well enough, she means what she says. If she needs space, she needs it, and after not listening to her about being Katie's date to the gala, I'm not going to push my luck any further.

I'll give her the space she needs, but how long will this space last? Surely twenty-four hours will be enough, right? There's no way I'll be able to stay away from her for longer than that knowing she's upset with me. As it is, I want to get in my damn car and speed over to the fucking Plaza, find her hotel room, and get on my knees and beg for her forgiveness.

Fuck.

Glancing out the back door, there's a light on in the guest house, Nina's home, and the urge to go over there to ask if she knows anything is strong. Did she see Maddie leave? Did Maddie tell her why? Was she crying? Did she seem broken?

What the hell am I even thinking? The last thing I should be doing is going over there when we had the breakfast-making incident only a few weeks ago. If Nina does know something, it won't change the result. Maddie will still be pissed and stay away from me at the Plaza, no matter how much I don't want her to.

Raking a hand through my hair, I try to inhale deeply through my nose, but my lungs feel constricted. It feels like I can't breathe in the proper air. I shouldn't have gone against her wishes. I should have done what she wanted from the very start. If the video was released, we'd handle it together. We'd be together. I wouldn't be sitting here alone in the fucking quiet feeling like a goddamn idiot.

All of this—the house, the white-picket fence, all of it was for us. If the endgame isn't Maddie, it means nothing to me. The fame, my career, the big house, it can all go to hell for all I care if our family isn't together. We've been through way too much for something so trivial to come between us.

And the irony doesn't hit me until I take a seat at the kitchen table surrounded by silence that Maddie's decision to leak the video was to avoid how I'm feeling right now at this very moment.

I've made my bed, and now I'm forced to lay in it.