Page 35 of Conquered

“I’m tired. I have a long day tomorrow. Goodnight Noelle.” He retorted coldly.

He could have slapped her and it still wouldn’t be as painful as the rebuff. For the first time in their marriage, Noelle felt like an interloper, an unwanted guest who should have just stayed out of his life.

***

After spending a sleepless night beside Hunter who managed to doze off despite the bad news, Noelle rose to find him gone. She knew he was angry and upset. Reason said it wasn’t her fault. But she couldn’t help feeling that Hunter blamed her somehow.

She was wary about calling him and asking if there were any other development. She decided to call Lisa. She would know.

“Yes it’s on page six of today’s paper, I’m afraid.”

Noelle’s heart sunk. “What do they intend to do?”

“Hunter’s advisers think it would be best to fund an anonymous survey. See what people think about this whole shit.”

“Oh God, Lisa. This is all my fault.”

“Hush child. This is not your fault at all. It’s only on page six. It will probably have a small effect but not enough to derail him completely. Keep your fingers crossed, okay?”

The days that followed were like torture as she waited for word from Lisa. When it finally came she was light-headed with relief. The good news was the survey Hunter’s group conducted only indicated a slight dip in his popularity rating. All wasn’t lost. But the rift between them felt wider somehow.

Two weeks before the start of campaign season, the bombshell dropped.