The Game (Wagered Hearts Series, #3)(60)



When the show started, I turned off the TV. I couldn't watch anymore and began to pace around the room. This was it. In less than an hour, I'd be standing in front of her, pouring my heart out. She had the fate to crush it or receive it. I hadn't rehearsed what I was going to say. I knew when I saw her, the words would come.

Finally, the moment came. I got a call from Warren telling me it was time. A young woman knocked on my door to get me. I had no idea who she was, and she didn't introduce herself. She wore a simple black dress and carried a clipboard along with a walkie talkie, which made her look official.

We didn't speak on our way down to the elevator. Her brisk, business-like demeanor calmed my nerves somewhat. It seemed like she'd seen this many times before, and that what I was doing wasn't completely insane. As if people regularly crashed the stage of a major award show. We got off the elevator and she led me backstage, stopping just short of the stage, away from the crew and presenters.

"Ok, you're going to wait out by that end over there," she said pointing to an area at the far right corner by a set of stairs. "I'll give you the signal when you can go up on stage. Remember, you've only got five minutes."

"Got it," I said. I made my way over to the stairs, keeping my eyes straight ahead. No one took notice of me, so I managed to make it unscathed. From my vantage point, I was able to look out onto the stage and the crowd in the auditorium. The audience was milling around, and talking in between commercial breaks.

Then the announcer informed them we were coming back from commercial, and everyone sat back down in their seats. The music started up and the host of the show began to speak. They were introducing the next presenters for Best Screenplay.

This was it. I looked over to the woman with the clipboard and she nodded at me, holding her index finger up to indicate that I still had to wait. I stared at her intently, waiting for her to give me the signal. A moment later, she started pointing her finger at me and mouthing the words "Go! Go! Go!"

There was no backing down now. I took a deep breath and made my way up the stairs toward the stage. I heard a hush settle over the crowd as I stood in front of the mic. Obviously I wasn't Reese Witherspoon, who was supposed to be presenting the award.

My eyes searched the crowd looking for Emilia. I spotted her sitting in the third row. She looked up at me, a mixture of shock and disbelief on her face. A hushed murmur started throughout the crowd, and I could feel the seconds ticking down internally. Four minutes, thirty seconds, four minutes twenty nine seconds... I cleared my throat and began.

"I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing..." I trailed off, the hot lights and stares of thousands of eyes momentarily giving me pause. I collected myself and started again. "There has been a lot of talk in the papers lately about what has gone on with myself and Emilia Holliday. Not all of it true, but maybe a lot of it is. But how this all started doesn't matter, really. Things changed, and along the way it all became real. It was no longer a game."

My eyes never left her face as I spoke. No one else mattered. As I stood there, pouring my heart out, I could see her expression slowly change out of shock. I couldn't tell if it was a good thing or not. She sat there, her face an unreadable mask. But I kept going.

"You've changed my life indelibly, Emilia. I know I was a jerk, perhaps unforgivably so. But I want to apologize for the way I treated you."

"No one knows the real situation, but us two. I was a fool and I didn't know what I had until you walked out of my life. Now I'm here, probably making a fool of myself again, but I don't care. All I care about is doing whatever it takes to win you back."




I waited for what felt like an eternity. Emilia sat glued to her seat looking at me in that unfathomable way. I felt like my heart was going to pop right out of my chest. Finally, she stood up. The audience was silent, except for a few murmured whispers.

She scooted her chair back and began walking to the front. I let out a tentative smile, until she turned right and ran out of the room. I could hear several gasps in the crowd, echoing what I was feeling myself. Shock. I hadn't really expected her to do that. I knew it was a possibility, but truthfully, I thought she'd rush up to the stage and right into my arms. But she was gone.

I didn't have much time to brood over it because security came right then. Two men in black suits and ear pieces surrounded me and escorted me off the stage. I got a round of applause as I left, though it didn't do much to brighten my spirits.

The security guards were ready to escort me all the way out of the building, but before we made it past the backstage area, I heard my name being called. I turned around to find Emilia standing not ten feet away from me. She waved off the security guards to give us a moment of privacy. They looked hesitant at first.

"It's all right guys, he's with me," Emilia said.

They looked between Emilia and me before shrugging and walking off. "Don't do anything stupid or next time we'll have you arrested," they warned before they left.

Once they were gone, Emilia walked up to me, and I could see she had been crying. I felt bad instantly, realizing now how stupid I'd been. I'd only been thinking of myself when I got on that stage, thinking I could convince her to give me another chance. I never considered how she'd feel. Maybe she didn't want to have our relationship played out for millions of people to see.

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