The cameras were rolling already.
Reporters crowded outside the wrought-iron gates of the Laurent estate, microphones raised, as security guards tried to keep them behind barricades.”Mrs.
Laurent!” “Are you having an affair, Mr.
Laurent?” Are you getting a divorce?” “Who is Vivienne Ashford to your husband?”
Questions flew through the morning air before Aria had even gotten outside.
She stood at the dining-room window and watched the turmoil below.
Her name had been out of the headlines for seven years.
During the night…
She was the story.
Harold looked uneasy.
““Never seen so many reporters here,” said.
She hadn’t either.
Damien came to stand beside her at the window.
He clenched his jaw.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Aria didn’t look at him.
But it did.
He took out his phone and called a number.
Noah.”
His voice was terse.
I want to know who exactly leaked the photographs.”
Pause.
“No.
Don’t try to guess.
Learn more.”
He terminated the call.
Finally Aria turned toward him.
Does it matter?
His brows knit together.
““Of course it matters.
She shook her head softly.
Damien.” “The pictures weren’t the problem.
“They dropped it.”
For the first time that morning he was at a loss for a ready answer.
The silence between them was broken by the opening of the front door.
Harold came back.
“”Sir….”The lawyer’s here.”
The man who entered was in his late fifties, with a charcoal suit and a leather briefcase under his arm.
He gave an acknowledging nod.”Mr.
Laurent.” “Mrs.
Laurent.” “Charles Whitmore is my name.”
Aria knew him immediately.
He was one of the most respected divorce lawyers in the city.
She never thought she’d meet him like this.
Charles placed the briefcase on the coffee table.
“I know it’s a hard morning.”
Damien and Aria didn’t speak.
The lawyer produced two copies of the same folder.
“I’ve got two signed copies in the wings.”
He handed one to Damien.
The other to Aria.
If either of you want to renegotiate any clause we can talk about it before signing.”
Aria opened the file.
Every page was exactly the same as it had been on her phone the night before.
Good.
Well organized.
Clinically.
Seven years…
Lawyer speak.
Charles adjusted his spectacles.
“There is one clause I’d like to check.”
He looked at Damien.
You asked Mrs.
Laurent to keep the Laurent home if she wants to.”
Aria raised her head.
I don’t want it.
Both men turned to look at her.
Charles blinked.
Mrs.
Laurent?
“I’m not going to stay here.”
For the first time Damien’s expression changed.
“Aria.” ”
She went on, very calmly.
I don’t want the house.
The investment properties.
”No.” “The shares?
“No.” Charles frowned.
The money deal?
She snapped the folder shut.
“I don’t want anything to make it look like I stuck around for the money.”
The room was silent.
Charles looked at Damien with uncertainty.
“I would not advise refusing the settlement.” “This is not an emotional decision.
It’s a.
Aria gave a sad smile.
And that’s exactly why I have to do it.
Her hands were folded neatly in her lap.
“I brought my career into this marriage.
I’ll leave it just the same.”
“Finally,” Damien said.
You don’t have to prove anything.
“I’m not trying to prove anything.
She looked at him directly.
“I’m holding on to the only thing I have left.
“My pride.”
Another round of shouting began outside.
One reporter had climbed on the hood of a parked news van to get a better view through the gates.
Security quickly brought him down.
Harold looked over at the windows.
They’re getting more aggressive.”
Charles sighed.
If the media continues this way, I suggest we issue a joint statement.”
Damien nodded slightly.
“I’ll handle the press.
Aria stood.
““No.” Everyone looked at her.
She rolled the sleeves of her blouse.
“I’ll do it.
Damien scowled.
“You’ve no cause to be against them.” “There is plenty of reason.”
She looked toward the front gate.
They’re here because of me, too.”
Charles spoke with caution.
“Mrs.
Laurent, anything you say today will be quoted everywhere.
“I know.
You will regret speaking emotionally.”
She smiled politely at him.
““I shall not talk sentimentally.
She took a slow breath in.
“I’ll tell you the truth.”
Damien moved in front of her before she could go.
His voice was so low she was the only one to hear it.
You don’t have to explain yourself to anybody.
Her eyes were on his.
No.” “One is owed to me.”
Aria didn’t wait for permission, she walked to the front door.
From behind her, Harold looked anxiously at Damien.
Shall we stop her, sir?
Damien looked at his wife as she reached for the brass knob.
But for reasons he couldn’t explain…
He stayed put.
Outside, the front door opened and dozens of reporters looked on.
The shouting redoubled at once.
Cameras turned to the entrance.
Microphones stacked on top of each other.
No one had expected the mysterious Mrs.
Laurent to show up.
Least of all…
The woman who had just decided she was done hiding herself.
The moment Aria was outside it was too much noise for her.”Mrs.
Laurent!” “Are you divorcing Damien Laurent?” “Is Vivienne Ashford your husband’s mistress?
“How long has this been going on?”
Questions came from all directions.
For a moment Aria stood completely still.
Seven years ago she had made her first walk through a crowd of reporters as the new wife of Damien Laurent.
Back then everybody wanted to know who she was.
She smiled nervously and told them she was just lucky to be standing next to him.
She’d believed it.
Now she was before the same cameras.
This time she was not standing next to Damien.
She was all by herself.
A security guard walked over.
“”Get back.”
Aria held up her hand.
“It’s fine.”
The guard looked uncertain.”Mrs.
Laurent?” “I’m okay.”
She moved closer to the gates.
The reporters immediately pushed ahead.
“”Mrs.
Laurent, has Mr.
Laurent been making love to Vivienne Ashford?
Aria looked at the woman with the microphone.
A plain Yes or No.
Everyone wanted that.
A scandal.
“A fight.”
A dramatic confession.
But Aria wasn’t going to tell them what they wanted to hear.
Mr.
Laurent and I are talking about our marriage.
The reporters answered at once.
“But there is a problem?
“Getting divorced?” “Was it Miss Ashford who split you up?”
The questions got louder.
Aria waited until the noise had died down a little.
Then she spoke.
“Marriage is a private thing.
Several reporters groaned.
“They had hoped for more.
“But…”
She continued.
I can understand why people want to know.
Her fingers curled a little at her sides.
Damien Laurent is a public personality.
His decisions affect many people.”
She paused.
“But before he was CEO…
Her eyes went into the cameras.
“He was my husband.
The reporters fell silent.
For a change they weren’t chasing a headline.
They hushed.
It’s been seven years since we got married.
A flash of light.
And then another.
“I’ve always respected his privacy and I’ll continue to respect it.
A reporter raised his voice.
“So why bring in another woman as the one who stood at his side?
The question hit just where it hurt.
Aria’s expression shifted a little.
Not enough for most people to see.
But it was enough to see, watching from the doorway behind her, Damien.
Unconsciously he had followed her out.
He saw his wife standing before the world.
Alone
Calm.
Powerful.
The reporter went on.”Mr.
Laurent betrayed you?”
Twelve cameras focused on her.
All waited.
Aria might have killed him.
She could have told them all.
The divorce papers.
The years of solitude.
Humiliation.
Instead she said only: “I think…”
She chose her words carefully.
“…Sometimes two people can want different things out of the same relationship.”
The answer shocked everyone.
Including Damien.
She wasn’t being hostile.
She wasn’t fishing for sympathy.
She was defending those two.
A reporter frowned.
“So this is not the work of Miss Ashford, you say?”
Aria turned to the viral hotel pictures.
And then back to the cameras.
“What I’m saying is that the truth is more complicated than any one picture can show.”
Another reporter yelled.
“”But you’re still Mrs.
Laurent?”
A strange stillness followed.
That was a big question.
Aria looked down.
On the empty space of her finger where her wedding ring had been.
Then she replied, “For the time being.”
The cameras erupted.
The saying instantly spread.
For the time being.
No, not yes.
No, no.
For now,
It was enough for a thousand headlines.
A security guard came forward.
“”Enough.
Aria nodded a little and looked away.
The instant she came back through the front door, she lost a little of her poise.
Not quite.
Perfectly.
One hand she laid against the wall.
She was breathing in ragged gasps.
Inside, Damien was waiting.
There was a silence of a few seconds.
Then he said softly, ‘You did that well.’
Aria looked at him.
The Compliment was meant to mean something.
A month ago she would have treasured those words,
Today…
They merely reminded her how rare they had become.
“Thanks.
Damien looked at her face.
“You don’t need to protect me.
“I wasn’t protecting you.
His face altered.
“Then what did you do?”
“She told the truth.
Look after my own.
The words stuck with him.
Before he could answer, Noah stormed into the hall.
Mr.
Laurent,
He looked serious.
Damien turned immediately.
“What happened?”
Noah looked from one to the other.
Then dropped his voice.
Those photos from last night were not leaked by a journalist.”
Damien narrowed his eyes.
What do you mean?” he said.
Noah passed him his phone.
“There was a private upload before the media got them.”
Damien stared at the screen.
Thread of messages.
A secret account.
A report of payments.
The pictures had been leaked to the press deliberately.
Aria saw the change in his expression.
“What is it?”
Damien didn’t answer at once.
Noah spoke slowly.
Someone wanted this story out.
Who?”_
Noah stopped.
““We’re still investigating that.”
Damien went through the information.
Then paused.
One thing struck him.
The person who leaked the photos…
Just three hours before the gala was created.
And it was not a reporter that it followed first.
Not a news outlet.
Not a news organization.
It came after…
Aria, Laurent.
Damien’s face grew hard.
Someone had not been content to expose him.
They wanted to kill Aria.
And then the divorce was not the biggest problem they faced.