Page 68 of Love Unscripted
A long silence followed before she continued.
“He always said he was going to leave her eventually. There was always a reason it couldn’t happen yet.” Her mouth tightened. “And eventually I realized he didn’t really love me. Not selflessly, anyway. I think he loved how I made him feel. The attention. The escape. The ego boost.”
Her eyes glistened again.
“And then God saved me.”
The words came softly but with certainty.
“Suddenly I could see everything clearly. The affair. The lies. The compromises I’d normalized. Even the career choices I’d been defending.” She shook her head slowly. “I realized I was building my life on things that were hollow.”
She exhaled shakily.
“So I walked away. From him. From the show. From all of it.”
Her voice cracked slightly.
“That’s what I mean when I say I know what it feels like to be broken and then put back together.”
Silence settled between them.
Aaron reached for her hand fully then, holding it firmly, his thumb moving slowly across her skin as if grounding her there beside him.
Then a soft sound interrupted the moment.
Camille glanced up to see Madison shuffling toward them, curls tousled from sleep.
Reluctantly, Aaron released her hand.
“I’ll be right back,” he murmured.
Camille nodded, suddenly aware of the loss of his touch.
Aaron settled Madison with cartoons, milk, and cookies, his voice low and patient. Watching him stirred something deep in Camille’s chest.
When he returned, he sat a little closer this time.
“Thank you for telling me that,” he said quietly.
Camille became acutely aware of him beside her: the warmth of his body, the faint scent of his cologne, the steady rise and fall of his chest.
Her pulse stumbled.
Aaron glanced at his watch, though he sounded reluctant when he spoke.
“It’s getting late.”
“How about Bible study before I leave?” she asked too quickly. “We’re still only at Esther three. I thought maybe we could cover four and five since tomorrow’s script focuses on chapter five.”
A flicker of amusement crossed his face.
“I was supposed to review tomorrow’s scenes,” he said, his gaze lingering on her, “but this might be more interesting.”
Her breath caught.
They leaned over the Bible together, shoulders brushing lightly.
Aaron’s voice deepened as he read aloud—Mordecai’s plea, Esther’s fear, the weight of what was being asked of her.
