The Secretary on Our Honeymoon

Julian stared at me as if I had suddenly started speaking another language.

“You did what?””

“I canceled my ticket.””

He looked down at the boarding passes, then back at me.

“Clara, stop joking.””

“I'm not joking.””

His voice dropped.

“Do you have any idea how ridiculous you're being?””

I glanced toward the airline agent, who was politely pretending not to listen.

“I'm sure you'll survive the embarrassment.””

Julian stepped closer.

“You can't just cancel our honeymoon.””

“It's my reservation. I canceled my ticket. You and Sienna can still go.””

Sienna shifted beside him, her white dress brushing against his trousers.

“Julian, maybe we should talk about this somewhere private.””

He ignored her.

“Clara, we've been married for less than twenty-four hours. You're really going to start our marriage by throwing a tantrum in an airport?””

I almost smiled.

“That's an interesting way to describe your decision to bring your secretary on our honeymoon.””

“I explained the situation.””

“You announced it. Those are different things.””

His nostrils flared.

“You agreed.””

“I agreed that business comes first. You seemed very pleased with that answer.””

“So what changed?””

I looked directly at him.

“I remembered that my feelings are supposed to matter in my marriage.””

For a second, he had no response.

Then his expression hardened.

“Fine. If this is what you want, go home. But don't expect me to apologize for doing my job.””

“I wouldn't dream of it.””

I turned toward the exit.

“Clara!””

His voice followed me across the terminal.

I kept walking.

Behind me, I heard Sienna whisper, “Julian, people are staring.””

That was what bothered her.

Not that a newly married woman was leaving her husband at the airport.

Not that she was the reason.

People were staring.

I reached the glass doors before Julian caught up with me.

He grabbed my wrist.

“Will you stop for one second?””

I looked down at his hand.

“Let go.””

“Not until you listen.””

“Then I suppose we have a problem.””

He released me abruptly.

His face had turned red, and his expensive watch flashed beneath the terminal lights as he dragged a hand through his hair.

“Do you know what this looks like?”” he demanded.

“I have clients who know we're traveling together. I have a company to run. I cannot afford personal drama every time something doesn't go your way.””

“Then perhaps you should stop creating personal drama.””

“I'm trying to build a future for us!””

“By bringing Sienna to Hawaii?””

“By keeping my company alive!””

His voice cracked across the entrance.

Several travelers turned.

Julian lowered it again.

“You know how much pressure I'm under. You know what the Henderson account means. If I lose that client, dozens of people could lose their jobs.””

For a moment, I studied his face.

I knew the company mattered to him. I knew he had spent years building it from a small office into a business with employees, contracts, and investors.

I had supported him through the sleepless nights.

I had listened when he complained about difficult clients.

I had even helped him prepare presentations during the first year of our relationship.

But there was something he had conveniently forgotten.

When Julian's company nearly missed payroll eighteen months earlier, I had transferred forty thousand dollars from my savings to cover an emergency shortfall.

He promised to repay me.

He never did.

When he needed a new office lease, I reviewed the financial projections with him and introduced him to an investor I knew through my father's old business contacts.

He called me his good-luck charm.

When he wanted to impress the board with a luxurious client retreat, I found a venue, negotiated the rates, and handled the arrangements while working my own job.

He called me his best partner.

Yet standing in the airport, he was treating my refusal to share a honeymoon with his secretary as a threat to his entire future.

“Julian,” I said quietly, “how much of this emergency is actually about the Henderson account?””

His eyes narrowed.

“What is that supposed to mean?””

“Does the report really require Sienna to be physically present in Maui?””

“Of course it does.””

“Why?””

“Because she's responsible for it.””

“Then why can't she finish it from New York?””

He opened his mouth.

Closed it.

Then he said, “You don't understand the complexities of my business.””

There it was again.

The familiar dismissal.

He used it whenever I asked a question he didn't want to answer.

I stepped back.

“You're right. I don't understand why a report requires a honeymoon suite.””

“That's enough.””

“Or why you called her after our wedding reception.””

His face changed.

Only slightly.

But I saw it.

“Sienna works late. I needed to discuss the schedule.””

“Until what time?””

“Clara.””

“What time, Julian?””

He glanced toward the terminal.

“You're acting like I've committed a crime.””

“No. I'm asking my husband a question.””

“And I'm telling you that I don't owe you a minute-by-minute account of my professional conversations.””

I nodded slowly.

“Then you shouldn't expect me to spend my honeymoon pretending those conversations are more important than our marriage.””

He stared at me, breathing heavily.

Then his phone rang.

The name on the screen was Sienna.

He looked embarrassed.

“She must have forgotten something,” he muttered.

I watched him answer.

“I'm with Clara. What is it?””

A pause.

Then his expression shifted.

“What do you mean the confirmation isn't there?””

I couldn't hear Sienna's reply, but I saw Julian's fingers tighten around his phone.

“No, that can't be right. Check again.””

Another pause.

“I'm looking at it now.””

He turned toward me.

“You canceled the hotel?””

“I canceled the services I no longer need.””

“You said you only canceled your ticket!””

“I said I canceled my ticket. I didn't say I was paying for everything else.””

He covered the phone's microphone.

“Clara, you cannot leave us stranded in Hawaii.””

“I'm sure your company can arrange suitable accommodations.””

“Do you know how much this trip costs?””

I stared at him.

“I know exactly how much it costs. I paid for it.””

He looked as though I'd slapped him.

Behind him, Sienna had appeared near the terminal entrance. Her sunglasses were gone, and she was clutching her boarding pass.

“Julian,” she said, “the resort just told me the room was booked under Clara's personal account. They said they can't discuss any changes with me.””

“That's because it's my reservation,” I replied.

Sienna pressed her lips together.

“I thought the company was paying.””

I turned toward her.

“Why would you think that?””

She looked at Julian.

He answered before she could.

“Because it was a business trip.””

“Then why did you tell her to pack for our honeymoon?””

“Clara, don't.””

I raised my eyebrows.

“Don't what? Ask a question?””

Sienna's cheeks colored.

“I never asked you to pay for anything.””

“No,” I said.

“You just accepted the invitation.””

She folded her arms.

“Julian told me you were fine with it.””

I looked at my husband.

He didn't deny it.

That hurt more than I expected.

He had not merely decided to bring another woman.

He had used my name to make her comfortable with the decision.

“When did he tell you that?”” I asked.

“Yesterday.””

“Before or after he invited you?””

She hesitated.

“After.””

“And what exactly did he say?””

Sienna's gaze moved toward the floor.

“He said you understood how important his work was. He said you were used to his schedule.””

I let out a quiet breath.

Of course he had.

He had taken every compromise I'd made over two years and turned it into permission for the next one.

Julian reached for my hand.

“Clara, let's go home and talk about this.””

I stepped away.

“You have a flight to catch.””

“Forget the flight!””

Sienna's head snapped toward him.

For a second, he looked as though he had forgotten she was there.

Then he recovered.

“I mean, we can work something out. I'll take you somewhere else. Just the two of us.””

I stared at him.

“You want to cancel the trip you insisted was essential?””

He rubbed his forehead.

“I'm trying to fix this.””

“No. You're trying to make the consequences disappear.””

I walked toward the taxi line.

This time, he didn't grab me.

But his voice followed me through the doors.

“If you leave now, Clara, don't expect me to forget it.””

I stopped.

Then I turned around.

“You're worried about remembering what I did?””

He said nothing.

I smiled without warmth.

“Try remembering what you did first.””

A taxi pulled to the curb.

I climbed into the back seat and gave the driver my address.

As we pulled away, I watched Julian through the window.

He stood beside Sienna with both boarding passes in his hand.

She was saying something urgently, pointing toward the airline counter.

He wasn't looking at her.

He was watching my taxi disappear into traffic.

For the first time in our marriage, he had no idea how to get me to come back.

My phone vibrated.

An email from the resort appeared on the screen.

*Your requested reservation changes have been processed.*

I opened the attachment.

The room cancellation had been straightforward.

But beneath the updated charges was a note from the resort's concierge.

Dear Ms. Bennett, we have also received a request from Mr. Julian Bennett to change the registered guest name and payment method for your reservation. We have not processed it because the booking belongs to you.

I read the note twice.

Julian hadn't simply invited Sienna to join us.