I set my glass down because my hand had started to shake, and I did not want Elias to see it.
Elias: You don't have to answer me. But don't let him see you break.
Graham: Camille. Lobby. Now.
His voice came from behind me, polished and pleasant for the room. It was a command wrapped in a smile.
I walked past the bar and into the lobby because I was still doing what I was told.
Lila: There she is. Camille, my wrap. The blue one.
Lila: You're so good at the small things.
Two donors laughed with her. Percy looked at the wall, and that was worse.
I went to the coat room. My face was hot. My hands were cold.
The blue silk was soft. Through the office door, Graham's voice was lower than I had ever heard it.
Graham: You were always my first choice. I married her because you told me to.
Lila: And what is she?
Graham: Camille? She's the wife who stayed. The one who holds the doors.
The hanger slipped. The coat fell at my feet.
Lila: She thinks loyalty is love.
Graham: It's useful. That's enough.
There it was. My marriage, said plain through a door. Useful. Enough.
Lila: Do you love her?
Graham: I love that she's there. You were the one I wanted to fuck. She was the one who stayed.
The word hit my teeth. I tasted metal.
I remembered our wedding. I stood at the altar in white and thought I had been chosen.
I had only been convenient enough to keep.
The office door opened. Graham saw me with the coat in my hands.
Graham: Listening at doors now?
Graham: You should be in the lobby.
Lila: Don't look so wounded. You knew.
Lila: You always knew, and you stayed anyway. That was your choice.
She smiled at me with pity. The pity was worse than the sex.
Graham: You will go out there and smile. You will not make a scene.
Graham: If you do, I'll tell every reporter you're the wife who couldn't keep her husband.
His fingers dug into my arm. I felt the bone under them.
A shadow moved at the end of the hall. Elias stood there with his hands in his pockets.
Elias: Graham. Let go of your wife.
His voice was quiet. The hall went colder.
Graham: This is none of your business, Kessler.
Elias: It is when you're bruising her where I can see.
Graham let go. The skin under his fingers was white, then red.
Camille: Don't touch me.
My voice came out steady. That surprised us both.
Camille: I'm done holding your doors.
Lila: Camille, you're being dramatic. Think about the press.
Camille: No. You think about it.
I walked away from them. My heels clicked, steady, and nobody stopped me.
At the end of the hall, Elias watched me. Not with pity. With something sharp and patient.
Elias: The service hall is that way.
I did not go back to the lobby. I went through the service door without asking permission.