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“You need to get your lawyer on this ASAP,” Paul states.

Suddenly, my phone buzzes in my back pocket. I pull it out and check the caller ID. “Speak of the devil.” I raise the phone to my ear. “Good morning, Richard. If you’re calling to tell me that our marriage contract was somehow leaked, you’re a little late.”

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am, Madden.” Richard’s voice is deeply contrite. “You know how seriously we take our clients’ privacy. For this to happen under my watch is absolutely unpardonable.”

“I understand, but that doesn’t help us now. Can you at least tell me how this happened?”

He hesitates. “I’m sure you can guess. I searched Christopher’s office and found a printed copy of your marriage contract in the top drawer of his desk. He must have found a way to hack into my computer and download the files. Obviously, I will address this security threat and take the necessary steps to reprimand Christopher.”

“By that, I hope you mean that you’re firing him. And filing a civil suit.”

“We’ll handle it.”

I run my fingers through my hair. “I can’t believe he’d be willing to ruin his career just to mess up my campaign. I always knew he didn’t like me, but this seems extreme.”

“Well, Larry Highman has been planning to run for Congress for years. He made no secret of that. When you mentioned running, he must have hired a private investigator to follow you, which explains the photos.”

I groan. “Thanks for letting me know.”

Richard sighs. “I’m so sorry, Madden. I know what this campaign means to you.”

I can’t speak past the lump in my throat. I hang up and look at Paul and Odette’s grim faces.

Odette shakes her head. “I guess you were right to question his character.”

“Well, I had worked with him for years.”

“I wonder what will happen now. For all the damage this may inflict on you, it will reflect very poorly on Larry’s campaign.” Paul rubs his chin.

“Yeah, Kansans has two impeccable choices this year, huh? A playboy liar and a corrupt scumbag.”

Odette bites her lip as she thinks. “Obviously, this is very upsetting, but scandals do come out during political campaigns all the time, even in small-scale elections. Smear campaigns have become so commonplace that sometimes people don’t even believe what they hear about political candidates.”

“But the documents are already out there. The media can verify them.”

Odette puts a hand on my arm. “I’m just saying that maybe we should wait and see how the public reacts before we do anything crazy. For now, we could make a commercial of your own. We can show the public your true character and try to draw attention away from the marriage contract.”

She crosses the room to grab a pen and notebook. “Madden’s commercial could show how he stands up for families and education. We have tons of photos and videos of us reading to the kids on Kansas Day and speaking at the immigration charity, not to mention our photoshoot with the Washington Journal.” She starts jotting down her ideas in the notebook and then blushes, probably remembering our kiss. “That could help squash the marriage contract rumors.”

“But they aren’t rumors.” I point out, angry at myself for ever coming up with this plan. “I did try to deceive the public.”

“We don’t have time for a moral crisis right now. Listen to your wife.” Paul turns to Odette, his expression revealing how impressed he is. “When you're done with Madden, young lady, please come work for me.”

When you’re done with Madden. Paul’s statement rings in my ears. My heart sinks. Those words alone hit me harder than news of the commercial did. Odette has been invaluable to my campaign, of course, but she’s been even more impressive in our relationship. No matter how many times I push her away and act like a total idiot, she holds up her end of our agreement.

A memory flashes through my mind. Whenever my parents used to argue, my mom completely shut my Dad out, usually hiding in her room. But Odette hasn’t run away. She’s here instead, problem-solving with Paul and I in spite of how much I hurt her last night.

“Are there any photos of the two of you in high school? I’d love to paint a picture of you both being friends before you got married. We can show the public that you two have known each other for years.”

“We were on the debate team together, so there should be some photos.” My voice sounds tired in my own ears. “I’ll head to my parent’s house and look. My mom keeps everything.”

Odette

The apartment is quiet now as I lay on my bed staring up at the ceiling. Alone. Madden and Paul left soon after Richard Bennington’s call, hell-bent on finding high school photos at his parents’ house.

Loneliness hasn’t been an unfamiliar feeling in my life, growing up without siblings and then being single for so long. But it’s amazing how quickly I grew accustomed to not being lonely anymore. These last few weeks, I felt cherished.

And then Madden went to sleep in the guest room last night. Sleeping alone in the master bedroom without him felt cold and empty.