Hearing her call herself a whore just stabs a shard of glass right into his heart. He's heard others call her that before. Most of the time, he usually wants to beat the crap out of them. But now here she is using it herself. He wants to shake her by the shoulders until she understands where he's coming from.

"Dammit, don't do this!" He slams his fist down on the table hard enough to form a small, fist-shaped dent. That gets the worst of his anger out. It leaves a trail of worry and concern in his mind. How could he make her see that their association wouldn't cost them the election?

"I love you too. Look, we'll find another way around this. I know you're thinking this is the best solution, but it's not!" He ran his thumb over her knuckles. ""Please, sweet-pea. The power I get won't be worth much without you by my side."