/ Istvan – FC Rob Evans
/ Both images borrowed from their Instagram
/ I own none of these images, all used with love and respect <3
/ Rings – enoirvado / Vegas view – Instagram sin1city / Quotes – all taken from Pinterest and none had credit for where they came from.
Maxwell’s eyes lit up at the sound of Viktoria’s voice,
“Oh Blossom!! Where the devil have you been?!”
Istvan lurched across the room at Maxwell, trying to grab the phone from him, Maxwell twisted away from him, shaking his head at him. Viktoria answered him,
“A hotel in the Meatpacking District. Thinking.”
Maxwell giggled,
“You’ve been thinking for three weeks??”
Viktoria rolled her eyes,
“How rude, I’ve had a lot to think about…”
Maxwell smiled, holding his hand out trying keep Istvan at bay, but failing, overpowered by the stronger man.
Istvan wrestled the phone out of his hand, his voice breathless as he spoke,
“Viktoria??”
Her heart skipped,
“I-Istvan??”
Tears involuntarily started to roll down his face at the sound of her voice, he exhaled deeply,
“Viktoria, where are you? I’ve been trying to return your call all night and couldn’t reach you, I thought something happened to you – I’ve been so worried! Are you ok??”
She smiled down the phone; he still cared despite what she’d put him through over the past few weeks…
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. When I tried to call you and I didn’t get through, I didn’t want to wait any longer. I need to talk to you Istvan, there’s so much I need to tell you. I’ve spent a lot of time gathering my thoughts… I’ve just landed in Schiphol and switched my phone back on – as soon as I did, Maxwell started to ring it. I couldn’t get a direct flight to Cordonia last night and I didn’t want to wait another day. This was the best route they had available. I’ve got a six hour layover here, but all being well, I should be back in Cordonia tomorrow morning… I’ve missed you so much Ist…“
Istvan stood open-mouthed in disbelief. His wife was on her way back to Cordonia. It sounded like he had a chance to save his marriage. And he was in Las fucking Vegas!!
Viktoria bit her lip on the other end of the phone… Radio silence. Maybe he didn’t want her to come back to Cordonia after all? Maybe he’d just been genuinely concerned about her welfare, but not in an ‘I want to give it another go’ kind of way…? She could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes; had she left it too late?
“I’m not there.”
The voice snapped Viktoria back from her internal monologue. She shook her head,
“Sorry, you’re not where?”
His voice sounded small,
“I’m not in Cordonia…”
She grimaced a little, she hadn’t given that any thought. He was away a lot with royal duties, even after she’d walked out, she supposed life, and world economics must go on… In a soft voice she said,
“Istvan, can I go home and wait ‘til you get back? I need to see you.”
Hearing her say those words ‘home’, Istvan’s emotions swelled inside his chest and his voice cracked as he said,
“Yes, my love. Please go home, and I promise you, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
—
As he hung up the phone, Istvan shouted at Maxwell,
“Fuck!! She’s on her way back to Cordonia Maxwell!! She’s in fucking Amsterdam and I’m here!! I need to go, I need to get to McCarron, now!!”
Drake wandered through to the lounge, his hand running through his hair,
“What’s going on now? I’ve had an insight into hell – this is it… Why are you yelling Istvan?”
Istvan shook his head as he barged past Drake, pulling his clothes out of the closet,
“No time, I need to get out of here. Viktoria’s halfway back to Cordonia. She wants to see me, I can’t be here!”
Drake’s eyes lit up,
“She wants to see you? To talk? Heh, that’s amazing Ist… I’m happy for you. But there’s no point in rushing to the airport, lets check on the flights first…”
—
Drake had quickly established that if they moved quickly, they could be on a Condor flight that would connect to a Cordonia flight in Frankfurt. Seats were available for purchase at the airport due to how soon the flight was departing. The foursome had quickly collated their belongings, checked out and rushed to the airport in a cab. When they arrived they were lucky to find they had four of the remaining five seats on the plane. Only two together, and all in coach…
Istvan rested his head against the window, closing his eyes as the planes engine roared into life. It would be over fifteen hours until he was home. His wife would be there waiting for him tomorrow. His Viktoria. Istvan wondered, would it be weird when he saw her? It had only been a few of weeks but his world had been turned inside out when she walked through that door… She’d hurt him beyond measure; he never knew he could feel so alone, so broken… Istvan was so angry with Viktoria for running away. When she’d given back his rings she may as well have stuck a knife in him… But despite all of that, he still loved her. He loved her so completely and so desperately, he just wanted her back with ever fibre of his being. He wanted his life back. He’d worry about the details once he could lay his eyes on her.
—
Viktoria’s flight in Schiphol was delayed due to fog, as so many flights out of Amsterdam are. She was sitting in a coffee shop people-watching when her phone started to ring again. Bastien. She answered tentatively,
“Hi?”
His gravely voice boomed down the line,
“Your majesty, I understand you’re enroute back to us? The King has requested that you’re collected at the airport and brought straight back to the palace. He’s also enroute. Can you furnish me with your flight details so that we can make the necessary arrangements?”
She smiled a little,
“Sure, I’ll text them to you. See you soon Bastien.”
Her stomach was in knots. How would she feel when she saw him again? How would Istvan feel? Would he hold her? Would he scream at her? Would they be able to move on? What would he say if she told him she was willing to start a family with him? He mind raced and her heart pounded as all the what-ifs and possibilities raced through her mind.
—
TBC – VP 💖
