In 'We are not going back', Eleonora, a dedicated attorney in her thirties working for President Kamala Harris, faces a tumultuous personal life as she grapples with her strained marriage to Olivia Coleman, a rising Republican star and 2028 presiden...
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Doug had been pacing the living room ever since the interview aired. The room felt smaller with his restless energy bouncing off the walls. I was still in shock, replaying every word Eleonora had said in my head, knowing it was all a lie. The ring reshaped? I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all, but there was nothing funny about what I’d asked her to do. About what I’d made her do.
Doug finally stopped pacing and turned to me, his arms crossed over his chest. His expression was hard, his eyes filled with something I hadn’t seen in him for a while- disappointment. “Kamala,” he said, voice low and controlled, “we need to talk about this. About Eleonora.”
I swallowed, trying to find the words, but nothing came. I didn’t know how to begin, or even if I could. The interview had been excruciating to watch. Seeing Eleonora next to Olivia, smiling, pretending everything was fine, while the pain in her eyes told a different story. She’d looked empty, hollowed out. And I knew it was because of me. Because I had told her to go back. To lie. To hide us.
Doug stepped closer, his frustration palpable. “You saw her, Kamala. She looks… she looks dead inside. And I think you know why.”
I flinched at his words. They cut deep because they were true. I tried to hold my ground, keep my composure, but I could feel my resolve crumbling. “What was I supposed to do, Doug? Let Olivia tear everything apart? We agreed-”
“No,” he cut me off sharply, shaking his head. “You decided. You’re the one who told her to go back to Olivia. To pretend like everything is fine when it’s clearly not. And look at what it’s doing to her.”
My throat tightened as I forced out, “I didn’t have a choice. If this gets out, it’ll destroy everything. The presidency, the campaign… everything.”
“Everything?” Doug’s voice rose now, a bitter laugh escaping him. “What about Eleonora? What about what this is doing to her? Have you even thought about that?”
“I think about it every damn day!” I snapped, my voice louder than I intended. “Do you think I wanted to ask her to go back to Olivia? Do you think this is easy for me?”
Doug stared at me, his face softening slightly, but there was still an edge to his words. “I know it’s not easy. But what’s happening to her… it’s not just stress, Kamala. She’s… she’s fading. I’ve never seen someone look so… broken.”
I sat down on the edge of the couch, my hands trembling. Doug sat beside me, but he didn’t touch me. “I don’t know what to do,” I admitted quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. “If I ask her to stay with Olivia… I’m killing her. But if we’re together, it’ll destroy us both.”
Doug sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. “Look, I’m not saying go public with it. But you can’t keep pushing her back into that life. She loves you, Kamala. And you love her.”
I stayed silent, my mind racing with every possible outcome. I did love Eleonora, more than I ever thought I could love someone. But what kind of life could we have? How could we survive this without tearing everything apart?
