Notes: Inspired by the Alicia Keys song “Like You’ll Never See Me Again”. Takes place during Liam and Madeleine’s engagement.
A few hours ago she was laying in his arms. Conflicted about it but still, he was in her bed. It was the only place where she felt like he was truly hers, and she was his. The only place where they could freely express their love for each other without holding back. But it was also the only place where she felt the burden of being the other woman weighing her down.
When I wake up in the morning
You’re beside me
I’m so thankful that I found
Everything that I’ve been looking for
She knew he wouldn’t be there in the morning though. It had been this way for the past few months. He would show up in the middle of the night, spend the night with her, and he would have to leave before sunrise. Their lives depended on the fact that no one could ever know about their late night trysts.
She looked up as an older woman sat on the empty seat across from her. She gave a small smile, trying to hide the despair that was threatening to resurface through the tears she had cried earlier. She quickly looked down feeling her eyes start to water at the memory of that morning’s events.
I don’t wanna forget the present is a gift
And I don’t wanna take for granted the time you may have here with me
Cause Lord only knows another day is not guaranteed
She wanted the memory of him forever etched into her mind, before the rising sun would come and take him away. She watched the way his chest moved up and down, his breathing even and content. How he had been asleep and she whispered “I love you”, only to hear him respond back with an “I love you, too” and lazily kissed her forehead while pulling her closer to him. She watched the way he would change his sleeping position, only to have his arm feel around the bed for her. How he was finally able to fall back asleep when his hand finally came into contact with her body.
Making her way out of the restroom and back into her seat, the older woman had tried to make conversation, but she wasn’t in the mood. Not today, anyway. She politely smiled and nodded before putting on earphones to signal to the kind stranger, and anyone else, to not disturb her.
Every time you hold me
Hold me like this is the last time
Every time you touch me
Touch me like this is the last time
She still remembered waking up to him sitting on the edge of the bed, getting dressed. She had asked him to come back to bed for a little bit longer but the sad smile on his lips gave her his answer. She quickly got up from bed and placed her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. His hands wrapped around her waist, bending down to hold her close, as she kissed the crane of his neck. Fighting to hold the tears back, she broke the hug, and moved her lips to his. It turned into a fervent, passionate kiss that left both of them breathless.
Every time you kiss me
Kiss me like you’ll never see me again
Promise that you’ll love
Love me like you’ll never see me again
“I’ll see you tonight, my love,” he had said before leaving her room. He wouldn’t though, and with the realization of never seeing him again, she finally gave into the despair that had been gnawing at her for the past couple weeks. Her knees felt weak as she dropped to the floor and broke down.
She mourned for Liam…and for herself. She mourned for what could’ve been, what should’ve been. Everything had seemed so perfect and in an instant, it all fell apart. She couldn’t keep up the guise of not having his love, his heart, any longer. It hurt to have to watch him be with someone else, but it hurt even more to have to hide their love from the world, as if they were ashamed of it.
Picking herself up off the floor, she packed her bags, and called for a car to pick her up from the Beaumont Estate. Writing a quick note to Bertrand and Maxwell, she said a silent good-bye as she looked over the house that had been her home for the past several months. With her belongings in hand she climbed into the taxi and refused to look back.
“This is the final boarding call for Flight #4991 to New York City at Gate B9.”
Riley looked up, surprised to find the seats around her empty, as the rest of the passengers had boarded the plane. She quickly stood, grabbed her carry-on and made her way to the gate.
This was for the best, she kept telling herself.
I can’t be the other woman.
I won’t be the other woman.
If I had no more time
No more time left to be here
Would you cherish what we had?
Was it everything that you were looking for?
Looking out of the plane’s window as it ascended, Riley looked over Cordonia, no longer trying to suppress the tears and the cry that had come so easily.
‘Good-bye my love.’