Tears rose to my eyes. “I’m tired,” I choked out. “Excuse me. I have to go—to bed....”
I made it to my bedroom just in time, before the sobs started. Even with the air conditioning, the air felt oppressively hot. I stripped down to a tank top and tiny shorts and collapsed on the bed. Posters on the walls that I’d put up as a hopeful teenager, of places I’d hoped to see and the life I’d hoped to live, stared down at me mournfully. It felt like the walls were closing in.
As my head hit the pillow, I wept, covering my face, wept with choked sobs until there were no tears left, and I slept.
The phone woke me up. I flung my arm to answer it.
“What is your answer?” My agent’s voice pleaded.
Slowly, I sat up in bed. My hair felt smashed against the side of my face, and the tank top I’d been sleeping in barely covered my breasts properly. I felt sore, too. For a moment I smiled, remembering how Edward had made love to me last night.
Then I remembered what had happened afterward. How I’d seen Victoria sneaking into his house for one last fling.
It’s nothing. Just one last thing I want to do before I say my marriage vows
Cold despair seeped through me, and I pulled up my comforter almost to my neck.
“Well, Diana?” My agent said with desperate good cheer. “Do you want to be a star?”
I felt awful. Outside, the morning light was clear, the sky a pale blue. It almost never rained in California. Not like Cornwall. I missed the fog and bluster and wild gray storms. They suited me better.
“Diana? The blockbuster in Romania? Are you in?”
“Sure,” I said dully. “Why not?”
His congratulations were so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear. Then he started talking about terms and conditions and other contract stuff I didn’t care about. Hanging up, I pulled on a robe and went downstairs.
“Rough night?” Madison looked up from the kitchen table, where she was now eating a bowl of cornflakes. Then her eyes widened. “Nice ring.”
I looked down at my left hand. “Yeah,” I said dully. “Want it?”
She laughed. “Good one. So you’re engaged? I’m so happy for—”
“Edward’s cheating on me.”
Madison’s mouth fell open. Then she looked dubious. “Are you sure? He seemed so in love with you last December. I mean, I even flirted with him,” she blushed a little, “and he totally froze me out.”
“I’m sure. I saw a woman he knows, his cousin’s wife, going into his place late last night. Wearing a sexy dress.”
“There could be all kinds of reasons for that. Geez. Maybe, um...” She frowned, scratching her head. “Hmm.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, grabbing the milk and a bowl.
Madison pressed her lips together. “All right,” she said finally. “Whatever you need. I’m here for you.”
I stared at her incredulously. “What happened to you in Mongolia?”
“What do you mean?”
“You seem so—different.”
“I grew up, I guess,” she said quietly. “I decided to stop taking other people’s stuff. Their careers. Their lovers. It never made me happy. It only made me feel bad about myself.” Her eyes met mine as she whispered, “I’m so sorry for what I did to you.”
I stared at her in shock, trying not to cry.
Then Madison’s mouth fell open as she looked past me. In slow motion, I turned around.
Edward stood in the kitchen doorway behind me, dressed in a tuxedo that was molded to his perfect body. He smiled, looking from Madison to me. “Looks like all is forgiven.” His blue eyes glowed with joy. “How soon can you be ready to go?”