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“Speaking of which, I think you two need to amp up the public appearances. At this point, you cannot be seen together too much. Also, we’re going to need more PDA,” Paul says, looking between Odette and I.

Odette turns bright red at the mention of PDA, especially since things are still a little tense between us. Reaching for her hand, I give it a squeeze. “It’ll be alright. We’ll make it work.”

Odette

After leaving the videographer’s studio, Madden and I drive to my parents’ place. I’ve tried to convince myself that the reason we didn’t see them sooner was because of the commercial, but I know that’s not entirely true. Honestly, I just didn’t want to face them.

We’re quiet during the drive, both deep in thought. I sigh as I look out the window at the passing city lights. I appreciate Madden’s willingness to come with me and explain things to my parents. I can tell that he’s trying to mend our relationship, but I don’t know if it’s possible.

The unfortunate truth is that I’m already in love with him, but he has been so back and forth from the start. I need to protect myself. Being physically and emotionally close to him would be too challenging for me when he clearly doesn’t know what he wants out of our marriage. Of course, his original goal was just to make it to Congress and perhaps have an amicable relationship, but now he seems confused. If we’re going to do this, though, I need him to be all in. It hurts too much to be stuck somewhere in the middle.

We pull up to my parents’ home and walk to the door, knocking hesitantly. It takes a minute–which feels more like an hour–but my dad finally answers. His usually pleasant demeanor is gone, replaced with a sour expression. He steps out of the way so we can enter. “Come in.”

Mom is seated on the sofa, her skin sallow and her button-up shirt and khakis wrinkled. It looks like she rolled right out of bed. She looks up at me with weary eyes but says nothing. Dad takes a seat next to her, and I sit in the armchair across from them.

Madden stays standing and takes a deep breath. “Mr. and Mrs. Hastings, I take full responsibility for all of this. Our marriage was supposed to be a simple business transaction. My campaign research suggested that Kansans would be more likely to vote for me if I had a wife.” He sinks into the armchair next to mine. “I knew that your family was in a tight spot and I… I took advantage of that. Odette wanted to take care of you both, and I needed a wife. So I offered to help out financially if she’d marry me and attend political events on my arm. We always intended to end it once we had helped each other. We didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

My parents are silent for a long while after Madden’s speech. Finally, my mom shakes her head. “But marriage isn’t a business transaction. It’s supposed to be a commitment to love each other for your whole lives.” She turns to me suddenly, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Odette, I know we put too much on you. But you didn’t even talk to us about this. Even worse, you lied.”

I wince and hang my head, unable to look at my mom. Madden clears his throat beside me. “I’m afraid that part is my fault, too. We signed a nondisclosure agreement to protect my public reputation.”

Dad pins Madden with a serious look. “Did it ever cross your mind that if it has to be kept a secret, it probably isn’t a good idea?”

“What happens after he’s elected? Will you end your marriage?” Mom asks.

Nervously, I play with a strand of hair that escaped from my messy bun. “Yes.”

Mom’s jaw drops in horror. “But why? It’s obvious that you two truly care about each other.”

Madden gently places his hand on my knee. “I have grown to care for Odette, deeply. But I can’t expect her to sacrifice her goals and ambitions for mine.” He glances at me out of the corner of his eye. “We’re taking our time to figure things out.”

Dad scoffs. “Shouldn’t you have done that before getting married??”

“You’re right. I should’ve pursued Odette the proper way. And I should have never married someone just to further my career.” Madden sighs. “It was wrong, and I wish I could go back and do things over. I’m genuinely sorry for the hurt I’ve caused.”

I look over at Madden, unwilling to let him take all the blame. “This isn’t all on you, Madden. It takes two people to enter a marriage. We both made a mistake.”

Unable to hold in my tears any longer, I break down into sobs. Mom gets up and she kneels down in front of my chair, pulling my hands into hers. “You’re our daughter. We will always love you, no matter what. But this hurt us.”

Dad hesitantly joins us, wrapping his arms around me and Mom. When our embrace ends, he meets Madden’s eyes coolly. “I’m not ready to hug you just yet, young man.”

Madden nods. “Understandable, sir.”

Chapter 25

Madden

Over the next week, we wait to see how the public reacts to Larry’s commercial as well as ours. Paul urged us to stay off the internet in the interim, probably hoping to shield us from the worst of the blowback. It’s been killing me not to check and see what the media is saying.

Now on day seven, Paul and David are supposed to come over so we can review the data they’ve collected. Much to my frustration, they’re an hour late and haven’t responded to any of my phone calls.

I massage the back of my neck after another failed attempt to call Paul.

“Still not answering?” Odette asks nervously. She’s anxious for them to arrive. This all affects her too. I can tell by her tired eyes that she’s as stressed about this as I am. I desperately want to comfort her, but I promised her space.

I drag my hands through my hair. “Nope. I’ve tried his phone and David’s at least a dozen times each.”

A knock on our apartment door makes us jump. “Finally,” I mutter as I stomp over to open it.