by Ashlee Price
Rewinding the tape from the day, I went through and tried to find everyone who’d been there. After a couple of weeks, I was now able to identify most of her clients by the sound of their voice. When I pushed stop and played a segment from earlier in the day, the voice I heard had me pausing. It was Tyler. I made a note of the time. Camilla was so precise with her schedule that I knew exactly when to listen from and to. She always kept everyone on time, and even the rakish rich man was taking the appointment seriously.
I listened for a while, but every laugh and innuendo that was pushed back and forth made me mad. It made me want to wring his neck and teach Camilla a lesson. She had to know that she was mine and there was no getting out of it. I wanted her to know that I was watching her and everything she did was on my radar. I saw and heard everything.
“Hello?”
“Doc, good to hear your voice.”
“I’m busy right now, Zane. I have another client coming in.”
“She’s running late, so I think you can take a minute and talk to me.”
There was a pause. I turned the sound down on the live recording so that it wouldn’t be heard on her side of the phone.
“Of course, Zane. How is your day going? Did you solve that problem you had with the code?”
She was pretending to be interested, but I knew that it was to keep me misdirected. Every breath she took was a lie as far as I was concerned. The woman was so deceitful.
“Haven’t done much, just wondering how you were.”
“I’m fine. Just working.”
“Who did you see today?”
“You know that I can’t tell you that, Zane. It’s confidential and I’m their doctor.”
“But you’re mine, Camilla. That’s what matters.”
“Just the same old clients. I’ve had them for a long time, nothing new.”
“Did you see Tyler today?”
The silence on her side of the phone was deafening, and I had to wonder what she was thinking. I wanted her to be filled with guilt for what she’d done to me and to our love. I wanted her to sweat, guessing if I knew or not. I wanted her to be bothered.
“How do you know about that?”
She didn’t even try to deny it, and I was going to take that as a step in the right direction.
“I told you before, Camilla, I know everything.”
“Are you watching me again?”
“I never stopped.”
It was her turn to be shocked by the truth. I wished I could see her. I could hear her breathing get a little harder, and I made a comment about it. Camilla still assumed that I was on the phone hearing it. She still didn’t know that I was really listening to everything she said.
“Why are you doing this, Zane? You tell me that you love me, but then you go out of your way to scare me. What does this prove?”
“It proves that I’m in control. I want you to give up this idea that there’s another way. I want you to see that your only choice is me.”
“This is not how a healthy relationship works, Zane.”
“Don’t lecture me, Doc. After the advice you were giving today, you should be ashamed of yourself. It’s good to know that you feel so little about marriage.” I hadn’t even gone through the audio of Tyler all the way. It was hard to hear, and I’d needed to reach out to talk to Camilla. I didn’t want to hear her admonishment right now.
“What do you mean, Zane? How do you know what I said to a patient?”
“You aren’t paying attention, Camilla. Let me help you out. Turn your phone over on your desk.”
There was noise on the phone and through the speakers in my sound room. I knew that she was doing as I told her. I couldn’t wait to put in real cameras that would make it possible for me to see her and to see her reaction. This was one of those moments when I would have given anything to have already had that in place. I wanted to see the look on her face when she realized that I’d heard everything. Then would I receive some well-deserved guilt and an apology?
“What’s this?”
“Don’t touch it, Camilla. It’s a bug that lets me hear everything you say and do in there. Leave it there. I just wanted you to know it was there. I know everything.”
“I don’t understand, Zane.”
“You’ll understand it all soon enough, Camilla. I promise you that. You’re going to be mine. I’ve said it before. I don’t think you quite get how far I’m willing to go to make sure it stays that way. No one and nothing is going to get in our way.”
Part 8: Reveal
Tyler Hudson discovers the truth about his wife. He knows that Maya is straying, and with a little investigation, he finds out the man’s name. With his own affairs quite public because of the shooting, Tyler doesn’t know how to move forward. His marriage is in shambles and the happy façade that they built up over the years is peeling back to reveal the ugliness underneath.
Dr. Camilla is another problem that he doesn’t have a solution for. One kiss has turned his mind upside down, and he can’t focus. At first he doesn’t see the man standing in front of his car, the same one he bumped into when he went to his session.
When he does notice him, it’s too late to do anything. Tyler sees a gun, and his first thought is that he’s getting mugged. But the stranger knows his name and doesn’t want his money.
Nothing after that makes sense.
Chapter 1 – Maya
“Tyler, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to go to dinner tonight. Something came up and I was hoping that you could give them my regards.”
It was a long shot, but I’d had enough of playing the perfect wife. I didn’t want to talk to his parents about how well their son was doing. He had some serious problems, but they weren’t the type of family that brought up anything unpleasant. Tyler wanted to pretend that everything was okay, and it wasn’t, and I just didn’t have the energy to keep up the charade. I could hear the pleading in my voice, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was getting the night off from something that I dreaded.
“You can’t do this, Maya. I don’t ask much of you as a wife. All I ask you to do is go to one thing a week. You already ditched me on the charity thing. Don’t do this tonight.”
He sounded like he was rattled, and although I wanted to ask him what was wrong, I knew that I wasn’t going to get more than some rude answer. He wasn’t in the mood to tell me what was going on. He hadn’t been for a long time. That part of our marriage was over, and now it was on to the deceptions. It was the part that I liked the least.
“I just can’t go. I feel horrible and I just can’t do it. Tell them that I’m sick, whatever you want to tell them, but I’m not coming.”
“So the discussion is over?”
“Yes, it is. I’m sorry, Tyler, but I just can’t do it tonight. I’ll be there next week like the good little wife that you want me to be. Tonight I’m just going to take care of me.”
He snorted on the other end of the line. I wasn’t stupid enough to ask him what he meant by that. I knew that it didn’t matter anyways. He was always a little upset with me. Today was going to be no different. I had plans to see Dylan, and while I’d known what tonight was, I’d made them anyways. I was ready to get on with my life, and that didn’t include another stuffy dinner with the parents that he’d turned into.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this. I ask so little of you.”
His words were grating on my nerves, and I could see the look on his face without even being there. I knew that his face would be red and he would have a sneer on his lips. That was hard to forget. He was disgusted with me, and I was becoming disgusted with the whole situation. I’d asked myself more than once how in the world I’d gotten myself into this mess. How had a marriage that was so promising in the beginning turned into this?
“I’ll see you when I get home. We have a lot to talk about.”
“I don’t know if I’m going to be home tonight.”
“Figures.”
I
didn’t ask him what he meant by that either, because I didn’t really care what the answer was. He was upset that I wasn’t going to go with him and he was going to lash out. It was far from original, and his was nothing that I hadn’t seen before. This was my husband’s MO, and I didn’t even bat an eyelash when he hung up on me.
Taking a deep breath, I called Dylan and asked him what time he wanted me to meet him. I was still a little shaken from the conversation with Tyler. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like I’d crossed a line with him. I was going to start picking me more. I wasn’t going to do what he wanted me to do, not like I had before. Today was a new day, and the first person I wanted to see was Dylan. He loved me and I knew that I was always going to feel loved with him. It had been a long time since I’d felt that way in my marriage.
“Maya, I’m glad it was you that called.”
“Are you having a bad day?” He sounded rushed.
“No, just a long one that’s already getting better now that I’m talking to you.”
“You’re so sweet.”
“This isn’t bad news, is it?”
I kind of giggled a little and told him that it wasn’t. “Why?”
“Because I just can’t take any more bad news right now.”
“Well, I was just calling to see how the night was shaping up. We were going to meet to go out to dinner, remember?”
“I haven’t forgotten, Maya. How could I? I’ve been looking forward to it all day.”
“We saw each other yesterday.”
“I know. I just want to see you every day, wake up to you every morning.”
He was going down a road I knew well, and I had to stop him. It wasn’t the time for this. I had to get ready, and I knew that he was busy as well.
“Just give me a time and I’ll go get ready.”
“Give me thirty minutes and then meet me here if you want.”
“Okay, Dylan. I’ll see you soon.”
“I can’t wait, Maya.”
***
“Okay, you’re making me nervous, Dylan. What are you doing down there?”
“I want to ask you something, but I want to make sure that I do it the proper way.”
I shook my head and told him again to get up. We’d shared a bottle of wine and I was convinced that he was just drunk. He didn’t know what he was doing. How could he?
“I’m going to ask you, Maya, before I lose my nerve.”
Covering my face, I looked away and then down at the man in front of me. What in the world was he doing?
“Maya, you know that I love you, right?”
I nodded and told him that I did. I knew that he loved me, even if it manifested itself in this way. “Yes, I know that you love me, so can you please get up now?”
“Why are you so intent on stopping what I’m going to say?”
Because I was already married and I was still under the impression that Dylan had had a little too much to drink.
“I just don’t want you to say anything that you’ll regret tomorrow.”
“If I don’t ask you, I’m going to regret it for the rest of my life.”
“Dylan…”
“Marry me, Maya. You know what I’m going to ask, and it’s the only thing that I can think about. Marry me and make me the happiest man in this world. I’ll cherish the very ground that you walk on. You’ll never have to wonder if I care or where I am. I’m yours, Maya, so why can’t we make it official?”
He looked up at me with the most endearing look that I could imagine. His green eyes held such hope that I didn’t have the heart to bring up the reality of it all. All I could think to do was answer in the way that I wanted to. The devil was in the details, but I didn’t want to think about that tonight.
“Yes, Dylan. I’ll marry you.”
He crushed me in his embrace and I felt tears springing to my eyes. What had I just agreed to?
Chapter 2 – Tyler
I couldn’t believe that Maya was going to ditz out on me. She’d been acting stranger and stranger, and although I knew why, I still wasn’t able to confront her. I didn’t even know what I would say. It wasn’t like I could be outraged or anything like that. I wasn’t even mad at her. In truth, I was kind of happy for her in a way. At least one of us could be happy. Ivy was a distraction, but she didn’t hold a candle to happiness.
Going into Camilla’s, I knew that there was only one woman who could make me even think about happiness. Camilla had become more to me than I would have imagined. I wasn’t sure where it was going to lead, but the way she’d felt in my arms the last time I’d seen her was enough to make me wonder if I could do more. I didn’t have to know the future, but I wanted to know that she was going to be in it.
Thinking of everything that was going on, I tried to push it all away and spend my time thinking about nothing but Camilla. I wasn’t going to think about what I was going to say to my parents and how I was going to explain it all away.
“Excuse me, buddy.”
I looked up to see a grungy man that I’d apparently almost run into. I didn’t know how I’d done that, as I was far away from him, but just out of courtesy I apologized anyways. I wasn’t thinking about where I was going. I was thinking about Camilla, and hoping that she would be able to help me forget about everything else for a time.
The meeting was a little more awkward than the last one. I knew that it was going to be different after the kiss, but there was something definitely off about her. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but when I asked her what was going on, she stiffened right up, shaking her head that she was fine. I didn’t know what to say or do. I felt deflated when it was time for me to go. Had one kiss changed everything so drastically? Should I apologize for doing it? I didn’t want to, but I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to get a choice one way or the other.
“I’m sorry if my kiss made you feel uncomfortable, Camilla. That was not what I wanted, not at all.”
“Please, let’s not speak of this again.”
“I don’t want to pretend like it didn’t happen.”
“Well, you need to, Tyler. You’re my patient and I’m your doctor. That’s as far as it goes.”
“What about Zane?”
She stopped me and shook her head like I shouldn’t be saying anything. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but my attention was piqued.
“How about I walk you to the door?”
It was a strange request, but I didn’t really think about that as I told her that would be fine. For some reason, I was under the assumption that she wanted to appease me because I was upset that our kiss had meant nothing. It was only when I had said goodbye to her and was walking out of the building that I realized that she’d wanted to talk to me. I didn’t know why she didn’t feel safe talking in her office, but once I realized what was going on, it was too late.
I turned to walk back in, sure that she was giving me some kind of sign that I was too stupid to see. It wasn’t that there was anything that I could do, but maybe there was something that I wasn’t seeing. I wanted to think that it was a sign that she just wanted to keep the session separate from the talk of what came next with us.
I liked the sound of us. I was almost to the side of the building when I saw a shadow behind me. It was the man from before. Instead of saying anything, I moved to get some money out of my pocket. I was going to have to say something to Camilla about the man. He wasn’t going to be good for business, outside of her place begging her patients for money. But I just wanted him to go away so that I could listen to what the doctor was trying to tell me.
“Here, pal. This is all that I’ve got on me right now. It’s enough to get you a decent meal and a bed for the night.”
I finally looked up when the man didn’t take the money. He had a strange look in his pale blue eyes, and I knew then that he wasn’t there for money. I realized that the man wasn’t homeless, even though he was trying to look that way. His coat and shoes were of too fine of a quality for him to be wha
t he was trying to project. Nothing about the man in front of me made any sense at all, and he was getting closer.
“Hey, buddy, that’s all I got.”
“I don’t want your money, Tyler.”
How did he know my name?
“Do I know you from somewhere?”
The man shook his head, and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. This was not a chance meeting. “What do you want?”
“How about that watch? It will buy me a few more nights in a hotel than that bill will.”
I looked to the watch that he was talking about. It was the one my father had given me after I’d made my first million. It had been a proud day. One of the only days that I thought the old man was actually happy that I was his son.
“I can’t do that. Why don’t you take the money and I’ll be on my way?”
He shook his head that it wasn’t going to happen like that. The sinking feeling was back in my mind and heart. I knew that something bad was about to happen.
“Who are you?”
He just smiled at me, and before I could put my hands up in defense, I saw the shiny reflection of something metallic in his hand. I knew what it was subconsciously, way before my mind was able to tell me what I was seeing. The man had a gun, and it was pointing at me.
“You messed with the wrong person, Tyler Hudson.”
As the gun went off, I felt an instant heat in my chest and waited for the pain to take over. The man’s eyes never showed an ounce of remorse, and before everything went black, I had to ask myself what it was over. I was a businessman, and I’d made my fair share of enemies through the years. This wasn’t a coincidence, but I had no idea who I’d messed with. I remember hoping that I would wake up and be able to find out. What if this was my last moment?
Chapter 3 – Camilla
I was getting off work for the day when I saw the lights flashing outside of the building. It had been a long and confusing day, but I shouldn’t have been so out of it that catastrophe could happen outside of my workplace without my noticing it.