EMOTIONAL GOODBYE

Damian rolls down the window, and I watch as he shakes hands with a guy in a black suit. There is a sense of urgency in the air, a reminder that time is slipping away, and soon I will be boarding that plane, leaving everything I hold dear behind, if only for a little while.


"Hey, man? Sorry for bothering you with an emergency that late." Damian says, his other hand resting on my shoulder.

"It is nothing, man. We are buddies, after all. I am always just a call away whenever you need me. Is she the one?" The man in the window asks, looking at me.

"Yes, she is," Damian says, running his hand up and down my shoulders, and I don't know if that is to send a message across or not.


The guy in the suit peeks at me, smiling at me as he extends his hand to shake mine. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Riccaford! I am Rodgers, by the way—Rogers Austins!"

The smile, though! It even caught the eye of Damian.


"Pleasure meeting you, Rodgers. I am..."

"Ellie!" Shit! The way he asserts my name might earn him a punch on his well-displayed teeth from this other guy. "Who doesn't know the infamous princess of Riccaford?"

My! I never knew I was a celebrity until I ran away. Maybe because I didn't associate so much with people.

"And she is off-limits!" Damian utters with a rigorous possessive tone that drags Rodgers' face to him, his hand dropping from mine.

Thank God! What is wrong with men, though? Do they have to be so obvious even when a lady is in the company of another man? How immoral? And disrespectful, right?

"Ooh, ooh! Someone is defending his territory! Don't tell me you two are..."

"A couple!' Damian doesn't waste any time. No hesitation. I even had to drag my eyes to him. He seems so serious. More like furious, actually. His possessiveness is taking a toll on him. 'So keep your eyes off her if you don't want to end up without a tooth in your flirtatious mouth!" He warns, and Rodgers' mouth zips in a flicker.

"She is all yours, sir! But I will have to borrow her so that I can take her to the plane. She should be aboard in five minutes. I am harmless, honestly, and I know better than to surpass my boundaries," Rodgers explains in defense.

As if a lion roars when taming its prey! Give me a break! I mean, he was clearly flirting with me with his eyes a second ago.

"No," Damian interjects. 'I will take her myself. You stay in my car and wait for me," Damian says, getting out of the car, and Rodgers has nothing to say in objection. He just hands Damian my departure papers once he is outside.

I get out and murmur goodbye to Rodgers as Damian wraps one hand around my waist, the other one dragging my suitcase as he leads me to my flight.

"Take care, and always call me. If you need anything or nothing at all, I am just a call away, love," he says once we reach the flight.

"I will. Take care too, love, and reserve yourself well for me. Call as much as you can because I will be missing your voice every passing second," I respond, wrapping my arms around his neck as he drapes his on my back.

"I will wait for as long as it takes," he says.

We engage in a kiss that doesn't last long due to where we are. We have to play descent, albeit with compelling desires. I step away and grab my bag, but he doesn't let go.

"Ellie!" He whispers, earning a glare from me.

He is afraid to let me go. I would like to stay and soothe him, even for a minute, but the flight attendant is calling for me. It's time—that difficult moment to say goodbye. My heart is heavy and downcast, and that makes me understand him right now. He doesn't want to let me go, and neither do I, but we have to.

I give him a small peck, yanking his hands slowly away from me, albeit unwillingly. "Bye, Damian!" My heart feels like a stone as I mumble that three-letter word.

He pulls me to him again forcefully, shocking even the attendant. "It is not goodbye, love. It is SEE YOU SOON!" He whispers with a raspy voice.

That sounds better, I think. "Okay. See you soon, love!"

He drops one hand from me, fishes out something from his jeans pocket, and places it in my hands.

Chocolates?

"I thought you would need some company. Did you talk to the person who will pick you up from the airport?" he asks.

"Yeah. My chauffeur will pick me up," I respond.

"Alright. Safe flight. Call me immediately when you land, okay?" he says.

"Definitely. Thank you so much. Seeya!"

With that, he allows me to start the lander up the plane. Every single stair is a step away from him, and the distance is being registered in my heart. I feel awful—weirdly so distant from him. It is like I am leaving him on one planet and traveling to a different one, and the fear is paralyzing my nerves.

Settling on my seat, I peek through the window, realizing he was just a few steps from where we were standing.

The attendant announces that we are leaving, and I adjust my safety belt, taking my eyes back to my man.

He is still there, his hands in his pocket, and his eyes on me. The flight starts, and my heart breaks into a million pieces as we leave him behind as the plane takes off. He turns to watch me, and I do the same, leaning my forehead on the small window and fixing my eyes on him until we are up and far up to a point that I can't recognize his features anymore.

I shut my eyes to the tears threatening to break from eyes. Goobyes really hurt, huh! ‘This is not goodbye. I will see you soon, Damian Almeda—my love.'