You Lost Me, Desmond Vaughn

's mansion was a luxury Genev

early years of her marriage when she and Desmond had fought, when she needed space, when she

time was

she wasn't

er post had exploded across every platform. News outlets were running he

Announces Divorce o

oduces Pregnant Mistr

ughn Empire: Scandal

Some praised her courage, others called her dramatic. A few acc

s the weight that had l

en door. "I brought you some te

He was tall and impeccably dressed, his dark hair slightly disheveled from

hungry,"

on the nightstand. "You've been thro

led. "You sound

u." He sat in the armchair acros

ered the question

"And relieved. I'm also

t's n

d my husband in front of the world. His mother is probably plotting my

suffocating, Genevieve. For years, you were li

"I just wish it hadn

to believe there was something worth

hough she couldn't tell if it was from adrenaline or exhaustion.

e'll si

"I'm done waiting, done hoping and being the

ow this is only the beginning, right? The media won'

eve's eyes flashed. "I h

n mansion

apers were still clutched in his hand, the note crumpled beside him. He had been sitting there for hours

was

sed herself

e had

answer. He didn't care, the wo

ked open. He d

ice was sharp, demanding. "

g of what? That my wife left me? That she announ

h fury. "You humiliated us. You left the party in

r, his eyes empty. "That's what

everything. Everything I've built, what I've sacrificed and

anged. The emptiness was still there, but beneath it w

id quietly. "

epped back.

ve into our lives, you manipulated everythin

ow what you're

," Isabella snapped. "She's

I see clearly." He stepped closer to her. "You ruined my marriage. You de

esm

Get out of my sight before I s

better of it. She turned and walked out of the r

was alo

rs. At Genevieve's signature a

she was w

she would nev

note in his fi

-

hotel suite, staring a

mond running out and of Genevieve's announcement. The media

ing everything she had ever wanted.

evieve had de

he life growing inside her. The life

ews coverage, something c

hadn't texted. He hadn't done anything except disappear into the

ill lo

e guilt in his eyes, the regret, the longing. He had never looked at Olive that

eve had left, what p

. She needed to call him to remind him that she

hovered over the s

he doesn'

the pho

-

ve final

he kind of sleep that came only after weeks of exh

hrough the curtains. For a moment, she forgot whe

The announceme

st twenty-four hours. Her phone was on the nightstand. She pic

aintances, journalists, strangers. She scrolled t

she st

from an unknown nu

sband's condition. I have documents, proof of everything. Please, if you want the

stared at t

ard Desmond's confession, she

ne of the message that made her pa

h about your husb

uth? What more

me again, no signatur

person was. She didn't kno

er mind, planting a seed of

typed

is t

resp

tried

o you k

no re

It could be Isabella, trying to lure her into a vulnerable position

eone who genuinely

onfession he had made. About how he had

new the whole truth. B

re was more

ck. 10:47 AM. She had

ne down and star

s to find out what this

decide if the trut