“It’s going to be okay, Mer. We’ll meet a lot of hot guys. You know, I heard Ibiza was a whole lot better than Bali. And I’m telling you, Bali is crazy. Imagine Ibiza!” Lily screeched excitedly.
She tried to smile, but not hard enough to actually make it happen.
She didn’t want to spoil Lily’s excitement, but she just couldn’t feel it herself. She was about to leave everyone and everything she knew. She’d be leaving the one man she loved.
Meredith and Lily fell in line when the gate called them to board for first class. Every step felt like she was walking on a pile of nails.
“Relax, it’s going to be okay. You’ll be okay,” she heard Lily whisper.
“Yeah,” she agreed, releasing an exasperated sigh and hoping to placate her friend.
When they boarded the plane, she noticed that several flight attendants were pointing and smiling at her. Her stomach plummeted, and her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. She pulled her cap lower and bit her lip, hoping that they would stop acting rude.
She felt a light squeeze on her shoulder.
It was Lily, smiling at her.
“None of this will matter anymore once we get there,” she said, fixing her seatbelt the moment they settled in their seats.
“Yeah, I know.” Meredith couldn't stop the tears that began to well up in her eyes..
She wanted to slap herself in the face for feeling so emotional. It wasn't like she was going away forever. It was just for a couple of months.
Lowering her head to hide her tears, she grabbed a magazine and started flipping through the pages. She could hear passengers getting onboard, filling the plane. She was not in the mood to talk when a flight attendant walked up to her suddenly.
“Meredith Fields?” asked the brunette woman in uniform. She had a nice smile on her face, and she held an iPad in her hands.
Meredith looked up. “Yes?”.
“I think you should see this before you fly across the ocean,” the flight attendant said, turning the screen of the iPad to face Meredith..
“What are you doing?” Lily said. “She’s not supposed to ”
Lily’s protests were left hanging in the air when a video on the iPad started playing. It was a recording of Elijah’s TV appearance, confessing his feelings, saying that he was willing to give up being president just to be with her.
The tears she was trying to swallow flowed freely down her cheeks. She raised her head and looked at the smiling cabin crew, who were clearly delighted and giddy.
Meredith bit her lip and took a quick glance at Lily who was frozen, still looking at the iPad.
“Do you think… it's too late for me to get off the plane?” she asked the flight attendant.
The woman smiled then shook her head.
Meredith looked at Lily who was already on her feet, looking more energetic than ever.
“Well, what are you waiting for? I think there’s a man you need to track down.”
Lily made it sound like a manhunt. Yes, she was out to hunt down the man who had stolen her heart.
Dropping the magazine, she grabbed Lily’s wrist and they ran down the aisle of the plane together.
She was in pursuit of her happiness.
And it was to be with Elijah.
Chapter Forty
Eli paced back and forth in his office at campaign headquarters with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the election coverage. He grew more and more anxious with every passing minute. He hadn't even bothered to try and look good. He hadn't shaved, but at least he'd taken a quick shower this morning. He just felt like there wasn't any need to make the effort..
He doubted his chances of winning after what he'd done on television.
When the results started rolling in, he was shocked when he saw that people were responding positively to his message of love… or they were voting for him out of pity, one of the two. He didn’t know.
The campaign staff and volunteers had gathered in the main room, watching the bank of televisions to monitor the results of voting. He joined them for a couple of minutes then retreated back to his office and ended up staring at the photos lined up behind his desk – one of him and Henry, another of him with Ellie and their mom.
Eli breathed in and out slowly.
Soon he would be surrounded by people. Time to put his slightly-scruffy game face on..
There was only an hour left before people started gathering. And that’s when he would really start sweating bullets. Though he had already stated that he was willing to give up the presidency, he couldn't help but feel weary.
He had worked so hard for it, after all.
His eyes traveled to the door of the headquarters, wondering if Meredith even saw the broadcast – silently hoping that she would magically appear in front of him somehow.
It’d been hours since the broadcast. It was all over the news and social media sites. How could she have missed it? She had been out of touch since the scandal broke out. And he had been waiting for her call. If she would just call him…
God, he missed hearing her angelic voice.
But of course, if their positions were reversed, he would have fled the country by now.
Is that what she did?
The mere idea of being miles apart from Meredith made his heart sink. He sat on his swivel chair and rested his head in his hands, leaning over. He closed his eyes, trying to enjoy the peacefulness of his office. Hopefully people would stop bombarding him with questions now that the election was almost over.
When he heard the tapping of heels on the floor, he opened his eyes immediately… it was just Sosie. He looked at her without hiding his disappointment, then turned away.
After his confession on air, Sosie had turned ice cold. She was extremely displeased with what he'd done. And he was almost certain that she'd been the one who leaked the affair to the press.
He turned away from the door to face a TV screen which silently replayed a clip of him. It was an ad he'd made for the campaign. The image was replaced with several people clustered around a table, talking about their take on what he’d said.
He sighed, feeling suffocated and claustrophobic even though he was alone in his office.
His fingers rested on the handset of his office phone impatiently. He had considered calling Meredith a million times. But no… his pride was stopping him.
He had made a heartfelt plea on national TV. And calling her from a landline just to get around Sosie who had his mobile phone would be dumb.
He was desperate, yes. But he hadn’t considered begging – not yet.
Because if Meredith felt the same way, she would come back to him.
And he was blindly hoping that she would…
He groaned in frustration, putting his head on the table. He was so damn tired, but couldn't rest. Everything was just getting more and more intense and complicated.
And a nap was a luxury he couldn't afford, not yet.
He closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them again, things would be a little better.
“Hey…” said a familiar voice. His eyes snapped open.
He straightened up in his seat to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
Before him was Meredith, looking at him with her deep blue eyes. She was panting heavily like she had just finished a marathon. There was an uncertain smile on her lips as she walked toward his desk hesitantly.