She laughs slightly, crossing her legs in a practiced way that makes it appear smooth and swanlike. “He certainly did not. How would you feel if you were a child star desperately trying to stay relevant as a producer and director and your newbie girlfriend was now more popular than you ever were?” She brings her tea back to her mouth, taking a sip. I do the same, allowing her a moment to collect her thoughts.
“He increasingly grew more and more controlling, possessive, angry. I couldn’t even give an interview without him having a meltdown over something I said, regardless of how meaningless it was. He found something wrong in everything, something to make him think I was being unfaithful, that I was going to leave him. I insisted I’d never leave him, that I owed him everything, that I loved him. Because I honestly thought I was to blame for his insecurity, I did what I thought I had to in order to fix it and assure him he was the only man I wanted.
“So the next week, we boarded a plane to Bora Bora and got married in front of our other celebrity friends. It was so different from the wedding I imagined when I was a little girl.”
“Why was that?”
Her eyes light up at my question. All women love talking of their childhood fantasies. It brings us back to that time in our lives when we believed the world was our oyster.
“I’d always envisioned marrying the man of my dreams in the church in Mexico where my parents said their vows, then have a reception at this gorgeous restored farm near my grandparents’ house there. Instead, our guests were Hollywood types there just to say they were. I remember having second thoughts, thinking I could just fly away and start over again, but it seemed impossible. I was too recognizable. I couldn’t disappear. It was the first time I felt trapped. And that only increased over the years.
“Don’t get me wrong. Ethan and I had some wonderful times, times when I did love him. There were moments he was so full of life and excitement. But as I learned, for every up, there would eventually be an even bigger down. And when that happened, it was near impossible to reason with him. He’d find something lacking with me, something that made him lose his mind. In those moments of mania, I believed that to be the case, believed I was at fault.”
I lick my lips as I prepare to ask my next question. “Did he hurt you?”
She lowers her eyes, nodding slightly.
“How often?”
Blowing out a long breath, she looks up. “I lost track over the years. After a while, I could predict when it would happen. It was a cycle. Things would be great. Then he’d grow increasingly irritable. It was only a matter of time before something set him off and he’d lose all control. The next day, he’d apologize, beg for my forgiveness, promise to get help, to never drink, to make it right, and he’d be the man I remember him to be when we first met.
“This went on for years. Each cycle got increasingly shorter and more volatile. In retrospect, I should have jumped ship ages ago, but when Ethan was in a good mood, he was sweet, charming, endearing.” She laughs to herself, a shimmer in her eyes. “I used to joke he could charm the skin off a snake. He had this energy you wanted to be around. And when he looked at you in a way that made you think he saw no one else, well… There’s nothing like that.”
“I’ve heard a few rumors that he…”
“Cheated on me?” she finishes. “I blamed myself for that, too. He blamed me for it, told me if I was the type of wife he needed, he wouldn’t have to seek comfort in another. I should have expected this, considering he was still married to his previous wife when we met. So I did what I could to be the perfect wife just to save some poor girl who was trying to make a name for herself in this industry from suffering the same fate I did.”
My mouth grows dry at her words, a chill enveloping me. “What made you seek out August? There must have been some triggering event, something that made you say enough.”
“The premier of my latest movie.” With shaky hands, she places her cup back on the table. “Until then, I’d done mostly upbeat romantic comedies. But my latest film was more of a romantic drama. A very sexy romantic drama.”
I nod. “I’ve seen it.”
“Honestly, I was surprised when Ethan suggested I throw my name into the hat for the lead, but he claimed he was okay with the nudity and intimate scenes. It wouldn’t be my first sex scene, but all my previous ones were lighter and more fun. When I got the part, he was thrilled for me. But after we got home from the premier, he was different…aloof, sinister. He accused me of enjoying those intimate moments too much, more than when we were intimate. I told him he was crazy, that I was merely acting. Things spiraled out of control, and before I could make sense of what was happening, he forced himself on me, demanding I tell him he’s the best lover I’d ever had.”
I cover my mouth with my hand, shaking my head. I can’t even begin to comprehend what she’s been through. I never would have imagined it was something like this. She’s been dubbed America’s Sweetheart, a gorgeous woman who came from nothing and made a name for herself in an industry that’s notoriously exclusive. I may have complained about Trevor’s lack of attention, especially later on in our relationship, but he always treated me well, always respected me. I couldn’t imagine feeling so trapped, so degraded, so worthless.
“You’d think that would have been enough for me to leave.”
“It wasn’t?”
She shakes her head. “No. I stayed, mainly because I believed his threats that I’d never work again, that he’d use his sphere of influence to make sure no producer or director ever hired me again. Not only did he have a long history in the movie industry, his father was Theodore Price, owner of half the world, it seemed. It didn’t matter that his father had been gone several years. Ethan was still connected to many of his powerful friends. It wasn’t until the Red, White, and Blue Gala in the Hamptons last summer that something changed.”
“The gala?”
“Often, the household staffs from the surrounding homes work the event, as well. During the fireworks display, I politely excused myself, the weight of the lies I’d been forced to tell all night suffocating me. Every time someone else congratulated me on my latest role, all I heard were Ethan’s threats, all I felt was the burn of his body covering mine as he forced himself on me, destroying my soul.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“I didn’t think they’d believe me. Ethan had me so brainwashed that I honestly thought they’d dismiss me. I was his wife. I’m supposed to want to have sex with my husband.”
“But that wasn’t sex. Regardless of any marriage vows, consent is still required.”
“I know that now,” she says. “I knew it at the time, too. I was worried what he’d do if I said anything. Acting was all I had. I couldn’t lose that.”
“What happened at the gala?”
She straightens her spine. “I went to the ladies’ room. It was vacant, apart from one attendant.”
“Who?” I press, my gut telling me this woman might be integral to the story, someone I could potentially speak to this coming weekend.
Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, she considers what to tell me. “I’d rather not say. I don’t want to put anyone else in Ethan’s line of fire, so to speak. I’d never be able to live with myself.”
My shoulders fall as I blow out a breath. “I can understand that.”
“After I finished washing my hands and reapplying my makeup, she stopped me. Without saying a word, she carefully lifted the flutter sleeves of my gown, revealing the bruises on my biceps from where Ethan had restrained me the previous evening during one of his rage-filled moments. I could have said we were into the rough stuff, but there was no masking the fear in my eyes. Then she withdrew a business card from her back pocket. No name. No address. Nothing. All that was on it was a phone number. She said when I was done living in fear to call it. After that evening, I left the Hamptons and locked myself away, trying to figure out my next move. I didn’t call until February twenty-seventh.”