Chapter 2: Smile For The Camera
1230 Words
My hands wouldn't stop shaking as I gripped the red box. It felt heavy, like it held the weight of my entire marriage.
"What is this, Jason?" I asked.
"I do not know, Anna. Just leave it," he said, sounding exhausted.
I didn't care. I pulled the ribbon loose and tore off the lid.
Candles? Scented candles?
I wanted to laugh. It was such a cliché, such a cheap way to mark a betrayal. I dug deeper, my fingers closing around a bottle of expensive cologne.
Then my hand brushed against something soft.
Something that did not belong in a box meant for my husband.
I pulled it out, and my breath died in my throat.
"What the hell, Jason?!" I screamed, thrusting it toward him.
"I do not know!" He looked genuinely confused, his own voice beginning to shake. "I did not ask for any of this."
"The card says thanks for last night, Jason!" I shoved the card against his chest. "It says here is everything you liked. What does that mean? What did you like?"
"I do not know. We did not talk about this."
"Oh, so you did go see her," I said, my heart shattering into a million pieces. "You just said you did not. You just swore to me on our marriage."
"I did not go to see her, Anna! I did not sleep with her!"
"Then explain this!" I threw the box at him with everything I had.
"Why would she send you this, Jason? Why would she send you another woman's lingerie?" I snatched the lace—thin, red, and mocking—and flung it at his face. "Give me one reason to believe you didn't touch her!”
Jason caught the lace and threw it aside, his jaw clenched.
"Anna, I need you to calm down and listen to me. Please. I did not do anything. I do not know why she sent these."
I looked at him, my chest heaving, my vision blurred by salt and pain.
"You are a liar," I said, my voice going dangerously dark. "You look me in the eye and lie like the devil himself."
"Anna, calm down. You are overreacting."
The word felt like a slap.
"Overreacting? Imagine if a man had sent me a box of his underwear with a thank-you note for last night. Would you be calm, Jason?"
"Here we go again with the comparisons," he muttered, turning away.
"Get out," I whispered.
"What?"
"Get out of my sight!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Just go! Leave me alone!"
"You need to calm down. You are being—"
"LEAVE!"
Jason grabbed his glass of whiskey and headed for the stairs.
"Don't come crying to me when you realize you've sabotaged the best thing in your life," Jason snapped, his voice cold. "You're pushing me away, Anna. Just like you always do.”
I stood there, frozen.
Me, pushing him away?
The gaslighting was so thick I could barely breathe. My head throbbed as I tried to make sense of it.
I was the best thing that ever happened to you. Without me, you wouldn't be the man every girl wants.
I sat on the edge of the sofa, staring at the floor where the lingerie lay like a dirty secret.
He was lying. I was sure of it.
A knock at the door startled me.
"Who is it?" I called out, trying to steady my voice.
"The stylist from Burberry."
My heart skipped a beat.
The awards.
I had completely forgotten. Tomorrow night was the biggest night of Jason's career, and I was still standing in the middle of a broken home.
"Come in," I said.
I moved quickly, gathering the candles and lingerie from the floor, hiding them behind a cushion before Chloe walked in.
Chloe, a petite woman, wheeled in a rack of stunning gowns.
I stood in front of the mirror in a trance while she draped and pinned fabric around me. I was on the third dress, a deep burgundy silk with a low back, when I heard his footsteps on the stairs.
Jason stopped at the bottom, still holding a glass.
His eyes moved over me slowly.
"That one," he said.
I met his gaze in the mirror. I didn’t smile at him, I didn't move.
I just watched him.
"That's the one," he said again, his voice dropping to a low murmur.
He walked over to me, and I felt the heat of his body before he even touched me.
He rubbed the back of his fingers along my bare arms.
"It suits your skin better. You look beautiful."
I didn't respond. I rolled my eyes and shrugged his hand off.
But deep down, a part of me craved the touch. I wanted him to dote on me, to apologize, to never stop looking at me like that.
Jason took my shrug as rejection and stepped back immediately.
The room went cold again.
He moved to his own suits, picking the charcoal one after a glance at me.
We did not speak, but the tension in the room was suffocating.
Even Chloe seemed to be holding her breath.
Just as we were finishing, Jason stepped behind me.
He put his hands on my waist and pulled me back against his chest.
"I did not do it, Anna," he whispered into my hair.
I looked at our reflection in the mirror.
For a tiny, weak second, I wanted to believe him, but I couldn't.
***
By Sunday evening, we were like actors in a play.
We moved through the house following a script of silence.
I sat at my vanity, applying my makeup with precision while Jason dressed behind me.
The car arrived at seven.
In the back seat, the silence was deafening.
We both stared out our separate windows, watching the city lights blur past.
Jason’s hand rested on the leather seat between us.
Slowly, his fingers moved until they found mine.
He did not look at me, but he squeezed my hand, his thumb moving in slow, rhythmic circles against my skin.
I felt it everywhere.
The touch sent a spark through me that I could not suppress.
In my mind, I was already turning to him, throwing myself into his arms, and forgetting the red box.
But my pride was a wall. I stayed perfectly still.
After a moment, Jason felt my lack of response.
He pulled his hand back.
I felt the loss of his touch like a physical burn. The sudden coldness hit me harder than I expected.
I kept staring out the window, saying nothing, even as my heart felt like it was breaking all over again.
We arrived at the red carpet, and the transition was instant. The masks went on.
A reporter walked straight toward us, microphone ready.
"Jason, two nominations this year. How does it feel?"
"Surreal," Jason replied, flashing his perfect billionaire smile. "Genuinely. I'm just grateful."
"And Anna." The reporter turned to me.
"You two have been together four years now. What is it like watching him tonight?"
"He deserves it," I said. It was the truth, despite everything.
The reporter laughed and leaned in, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Anna, last question. A fun one. What is the most romantic thing Jason has done for you in the last month?"
- Writer
