𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟. 𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧.
Humans reveled in the idea of immortality, but those who possessed it were...
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"You idiot," Hayley nearly yelled at herself as she shoved through the door of the cafe. She should never have come. Klaus told her Elijah was happy in France, but she couldn't leave well enough alone. She had to come see for herself. And now she felt even worse than before.
Pulling out her phone, she nearly ran into a poor couple who were trying to enter the cafe. She apologized quickly in English and they rolled their eyes. Clearly her American accent wasn't doing her any favors. Another thing to feel stupid about, she thought. Elijah would probably meet a great French woman who spoke numerous languages and they could both laugh at how foolish she had been.
"Hayley." Her body tensed as she heard him call after her. He couldn't just let her go in her own embarrassment. He had to be a gentleman and come after her. "Are you alright?"
"Yep," she grunted, not daring to turn around. Instead, she fiddled with her phone, nearly dropping it in the process.
"May I help you?" He asked, his tone gentle as he slid the phone from her trembling fingers before she dropped it. "What are you looking for?"
"Directions to my hotel," she muttered, wondering if she could possibly embarrass herself any further. "I'm sure I can find it though."
"It's late," Elijah observed, not ready to let her wander off on her own. "I'll walk you. I know the way."
"No need." She reached out for her phone and realized her mistake at the same time Elijah saw her hand. She had taken her wedding rings off after she and Jackson signed the divorce papers with Mary. After all, they were his family rings.
His eyes flew from her naked finger up to her eyes, the burning question reflected there.
"Jackson and I are divorced." The words slid out of her as if they had been bursting to get out all day. Which they had been. If she was honest, he was the first person she wanted to tell. Not just because she wanted him to know, but because she wanted his comfort. She wanted her friend to wrap her in his arms and tell her she hadn't messed everything up and that it would all be okay.
But Elijah didn't move to hold her, rather he seemed to stiffen even further. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Are you?" She couldn't help but say. Out of everyone, he was the least likely to be upset by the news.
"I never wanted you to be hurt," he murmured, his eyes clouding over in pain. "But if you are looking for a place to escape to, I'm not sure Manosque is the right place to cure a broken heart. Paris may be better. Or Vegas. I'm sure Rebekah and Astra would love to take you."
Hayley's head dropped as she tried to hide her smile. He was worried about her being heartbroken. Even with all of his healing and improvement, he was still her Elijah. He would always put others first over his own wants.
"Would you be there?" She asked, letting some of the earlier teasing creep back into her tone.
"No," he replied slowly, clearly trying to catch up on some joke he missed. "Paris and Vegas aren't my ideal locations."
