Page 11 of The Reality of Us
Dougie: I could’ve done this for you. Also, you might want to tell your husband that it’s over. Rico says his new video’s blowing up online.
Panic curled in her stomach, climbing into her chest until it was hard to breathe. She hadn’t looked at social media since last night, right after she’d been terminated from her three biggest online campaigns because her brand ‘didn’t align’ with theirs anymore.
Alice snatched her laptop off the small table in the corner of the room, knocking her ring light and several cables to the floor.
It took two seconds to find the post. Phoenix’s face was half in shadow, smoke twisting through the air from the incense burning in the bottom corner of the shot.
“I guess I deserve it.” Phoenix dragged a hand across his face. “But, Alice, sötnos, you have to come back to me. I won’t stop until we’re together again.”
Sötnos was another nickname she no longer cared for, even if it did mean sweetheart in Swedish. He’d only ever used it for show.
That manipulative … She kicked the bed frame, crumpling to the floor when pain shot through her foot. “Ouchhhhh.” She reached up, her hand slapping against the quilt cover until her fingers wrapped around her emergency bottle of rosé. She unscrewed it and took a long swig before pulling her computer onto her lap. Reading the comments was always a bad idea, but she couldn’t resist.
What are people saying about me now?
And … it wasn’t good. Sure, plenty of people were ripping Phoenix for cheating, but an equally large number were blaming Alice. Saying she’d driven him to it? That she’d be nothing without him? Her bank balance flashed in front of her eyes again, the mango yoghurt she’d had for lunch curdling in her stomach as it mixed with the citrus of her wine.
Alice closed her computer slowly, slumping against the bed frame and tipping her head back so it rested against the mattress. She had two options, and both made her want to cry. She could actually ask her parents for money instead of charging things to their credit card and use it to find somewhere to live and pay Owen. Suffer through the accompanying lecture punctuated with several ‘we told you sos’. Or she could go along with pretending there was a chance they could reconcile until she had a proper escape plan … She slid down to the floor until the carpet itched against her neck and arms.
Phoenix: Stop being a drama queen & come fix this. You’re behaving like a child.
Her gaze snagged on the box she’d hidden in the far corner under her bed.
Good Lord. She was an idiot. The answer to her problems had been right in front of her … well, technically under her … this whole time. Alice slid under the bed and stretched out, her fingers wrapping around the small box.
She scuttled backwards, blowing out a long breath once she could sit up. Nestled inside on rich red velvet were her engagement ring and wedding band. She thought she’d feel something when she looked at her rings, but they may as well have belonged to someone else. Maybe because the four-carat pear-shaped diamond and chunky wedding band weren’t what she would have chosen? Maybe it was because she realised mere months after Phoenix put them onto her finger that she’d made the biggest mistake of her life? What was I thinking? But she hadn’t been thinking, had she? Instead, she’d gotten swept up in a manufactured love story, not realising she was interchangeable. Nothing more than a pawn in someone else’s game.
None of that mattered now, though.
She had a plan. Unintentionally, Phoenix had given her exactly what she needed to get out of her current mess.
Alice grabbed her lights and tripod. Another long gulp of wine burnt down her throat.
There was no need to ask her parents to bail her out yet again. She had another way to get the money she needed to be free from him for good.
If Phoenix wanted to get her attention by posting videos online, she’d return the favour. Two could play at his game.
5
Alice ducked behind a wizened gum tree surrounded by dropped branches when she heard voices behind her. She crouched behind the thick trunk and rested her palms against the rough bark. She couldn’t face people this early in the morning. The whole point of exploring the local running trails had been to clear her head and implement her plan for the deposits she’d received for her rings. The sound drew nearer, and she peered between the moss-covered branches.
A tall man breezed along the fire track, his dark curls moving in time with his cadence. Several others followed a few steps behind, the easy camaraderie of friendship palpable in the air around them as they chatted amongst themselves. Most of the group wore matching faded khaki-coloured running shirts and caps with a wallaby stitched in grey thread. She recognised the owner of the Wattle Junction Hotel by his chin-length dark brown hair and half sleeve of tattoos. Wyatt. That was his name.
And then she saw him. Her mouth dropped open. She snapped it shut lest she swallow one of the bugs crawling all over her hiding spot.
Owen.
But not the suited-up Owen who always looked ready to dominate a court room. His sweat-darkened hair glowed in the bright morning sunlight. Alice leant forward to get a better look at the scruff covering his jaw and how his black singlet clung to his well-defined chest and broad shoulders. Based on his muscular physique, she’d pegged him as a gym junkie, not a runner. Sure, he was in the back half of the pack, his eyes fixed on the slightly overgrown trail, but he was moving quickly with the confidence of someone who ran these hills regularly. His quads bunched and flexed, the strength of his body on display with every step he took.
He was getting closer to her tree when a few drops of sweat slid down his neck, and she pressed her lips together, imagining how salty his skin would be. How warm his body would be … If she’d been standing, she might’ve swayed a little on her feet. Skipping breakfast had been a mistake. Based on her body’s reaction to his top half, she didn’t trust herself to look too closely at his shorts.
But … woah, Owen lifted the bottom of his singlet without breaking his stride, wiping the perspiration away. Alice’s eyes betrayed her, drifting lower to his surprisingly tanned stomach. A dusting of hair pointed down to his …
She shook her head, freezing when the leaves around her rustled loudly. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Eucalyptus tickled her nose. When she looked back, he was gone.
It wasn’t like she liked him or anything.
He wasn’t her type. He thought she was useless. She had a husband.
