The Love Of My Life

Chapter 6

Maya's POV

The morning light poured through the curtains, casting a soft glow over the room. I felt the warmth on my face first, then the familiar ache in my chest as I opened my eyes. I blinked a few times, adjusting to the light, and that's when I saw him. Tony was sitting in the chair by the window, his head leaning back against the wall. He looked exhausted—dark circles under his eyes, his shoulders slouched as he could barely hold himself upright. He wasn't asleep, though. His eyes were open, staring at some invisible point in the distance, his expression heavy with something I couldn't quite place.

For a moment, I thought about saying something. Asking him if he'd been up all night. Telling him I was sorry for the way I left things last night. But the words caught in my throat. What could I even say? Nothing I came up with felt like enough, so I didn't say anything. Instead, I slipped out of bed quietly, the cool floor shocking against my bare feet. Tony didn't move, didn't even glance in my direction, but I could feel his eyes on me as I grabbed a towel and headed into the bathroom. I turned the shower on, the rush of water filling the silence. Steam quickly fogged up the mirror, and I stood there for a moment, staring at my reflection. I looked as tired as I felt, my hair a mess, my eyes red and puffy from crying the night before. The water was scalding, but I didn't care. I stepped in and let it wash over me, trying to drown out the thoughts swirling in my head. Tony's face kept flashing in my mind—the way he looked at me last night, so scared, so desperate.

I stayed in the shower longer than I should have, scrubbing at my skin as if I could somehow scrub away the guilt and confusion knotting in my stomach. When I finally stepped out, I felt cleaner but no less heavy. Back in the bedroom, my husband was still in the chair. He looked at me this time, his eyes searching mine, but I didn't meet his gaze. I couldn't. I grabbed my suitcase from the closet and set it on the bed, unzipping it and laying it open. "You're packing," he said, his voice hoarse from what I assumed was a long night of silence. "The campaign starts tomorrow," I replied flatly, pulling clothes from the dresser and folding them neatly into the suitcase. "Baby," he started, but I cut him off before he could finish. "I don't have a choice, Tony. You know that. I have to do this for my sister," I said, putting clothes in the suitcase, "You do have a choice," he said, his tone sharper now, like he was fighting to keep his voice steady. "You don't have to go. Not like this. Not when..." He trailed off, running a hand over his head, his frustration evident.

"Not when what?" I snapped, slamming the suitcase shut. "Not when I'm barely holding it together? Not when you're worried I'm going to fall apart on the road?" He stood up then, his exhaustion replaced by something more urgent. "Yes, Maya. Exactly that. You don't have to be everything for everyone right now. You need to take care of yourself." I turned to him, finally meeting his eyes. "And what? Let everyone down? Let my sister down? Let the entire campaign fall apart because I couldn't handle a little stress?" His jaw clenched, and he stepped closer. "This isn't just stress, and you know it. You've been running yourself into the ground for days, and last night... last night scared the hell out of me, baby. I can't sit here and watch you destroy yourself." he said, looking at me deep in my eyes. The words hit me like a punch to the gut, but I refused to let it show. "I'll be fine," I said, my voice cold, distant. "I've handled worse."

"No, you haven't," he said softly, and the quiet in his voice was somehow worse than the shouting I'd expected. "You haven't, and you don't have to," he said, I turned away, blinking back tears as I grabbed more clothes to put in the suitcase. "I'll be fine,"  Tony just walked out of the room. I repeated, more to convince myself than him. But even as I said it, I could feel the weight of his words pressing down on me, making it harder to breathe. I didn't know if I was trying to prove something to him, to myself, or the world, but now it was time to pull it together, I had to get out and help get my sister elected president.