Chapter 4
When my flight landed, Aiden sent me a photo of the dinner table.
Two plates. One steak.
"How much longer will you be?"
My chest tightened as I looked at the photo.
This time, I was standing at a baggage carousel in another city.
"I'm not coming back for dinner."
He replied almost immediately.
"Where are you?"
I put my phone away and picked up my suitcase.
Dana was waiting for me at the recording studio.
She didn't offer me a job right away, just asked me to try working on a song with her singer, Mara.
I sat at the piano, my fingers still a little stiff as they touched the keys.
Mara stopped halfway through.
"They keep telling me to sound younger."
She crumpled the lyric sheet in her hands.
I smoothed it out. "Let me hear you sing it in your own voice first."
By nightfall, she finally made it through the whole song.
"Pick this up tomorrow?"
I nodded.
Back at the hotel, I got a message from Aiden's assistant asking if I could come back to help the following week.
Aiden himself hadn't replied again.
He'd posted a photo of a group dinner on social media.
Selena was sitting beside him.
Apparently, my absence hadn't stopped him from enjoying his dinner.
A few days later, Dana offered me the job.
The contract was short, but I spent a long time reading it. Once my first payment came through, I could rent a small apartment with a kitchen.
That afternoon, I met with a lawyer Dana had recommended.
She asked if I was sure I wanted to begin divorce proceedings.
"I'm sure."
I signed the paperwork authorizing her to represent me and handed over the documents I'd prepared.
After our collaboration was announced, Mara and I sat down for a brief interview.
At first, the reporters only asked about the new song, and I relaxed.
Then someone held up a phone.
"Leah, aren't you Aiden Cross's assistant?"
My smile froze.
There was an old photo on the screen.
I was wearing my white dress, and he was bending his head to kiss my hand.
A friend had posted it. Aiden had asked her to take it down and told everyone it was just a small get-together because he didn't want people speculating.
"Some people are saying this was a wedding."
The reporter looked at me.
"Can you explain?"
My hand instinctively went to my bare neckline.
This time, I didn't have to catch Aiden's eye first and wait for permission.
Dana didn't answer for me.
I looked at the photo.
"It was our wedding," I said. "We've been married for three years."
The room went silent for a moment.
Then several people spoke at once.
"What about Selena?"
"Are you still together?"
Under the table, I clenched my hand, then slowly relaxed it.
"I've already hired a lawyer to file for divorce."
As soon as I said it, tears began to sting my eyes.
It turned out that the very first time I could publicly acknowledge my marriage to Aiden, it was only to announce that I was leaving him.
By the time the interview ended, my phone had been ringing for a while.
I stepped into the hallway and answered.
"Why didn't you tell me first?"
Aiden sounded frantic.
I leaned against the wall and looked out the window at the unfamiliar street.
"I told you I wasn't coming back."
"Since when does moving out mean getting a divorce?"
"For me, it does now."
Someone on his end urged him to go inside.
He lowered his voice.
"Take back what you just said. Do you have any idea what the headlines will look like tomorrow?"
"Our marriage is real, and getting a divorce is my decision."
"We haven't finished talking about this."
He was finally too anxious to hang up.
But not a single thing he'd just asked me to take back was a lie.
"Leah, do you hear me? We're not over."
I straightened.
"My lawyer will be in touch."