The Love Of My Life

Chapter 16

Tonny's Pov 

Two Weeks Later

It had been two weeks since that night in the hotel room. Two weeks since Maya finally let it all out—everything she'd been holding back, everything I'd been too scared to ask. I still remember how her voice cracked, how her shoulders shook as she spoke. Her words were heavy, sharp in some places, and heartbreakingly soft in others. They broke me in ways I didn't even realize I could be broken. But before I left, we sat and talked in that room together, and she told me she would try and let me in when she needed help. That is all that mattered. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start. Now, two weeks later, I felt like I was holding my breath again. She'd been in Nevada campaigning while I was in Florida doing the same thing, and the distance felt unbearable. I missed her so much it hurt. Not just her presence but everything about her. The way she moved through a room, her quiet hums when she thought no one was listening, even the way she looked at me when she was annoyed. I'd replayed our time in that hotel room a thousand times in my head. The way she looked at me was raw and vulnerable, like she wasn't sure if I'd stay or if I'd run. And how she let herself fall apart in front of me, piece by piece until there was nothing left to hide. She didn't know it, but that night changed me. Hearing her, really hearing her, made me realize how much I hadn't been listening before. How much I'd been trying to fix things without understanding what was broken.

But now I was here, in the airport, waiting for her. My plane had landed first, and I was pacing near the gate where her flight would come in. My hands kept drifting to my phone, thinking I should text her, but I didn't want to seem impatient—even though I was. The arrivals board updated, showing her flight had landed, and my heart started racing. I stood up straighter, scanning the crowd as passengers began spilling out. I felt like a kid waiting for a gift; my nerves frayed, and my excitement barely contained. And then, I saw her. The love of my life. She was walking toward me, her bag slung over her shoulder and her head down like she was lost in thought. She looked different, though I couldn't quite put my finger on how. Maybe it was the way she carried herself—still tired, still weighed down, but there was something else there, too. A small flicker of hope, maybe. "Maya," I called out, my voice trembling a little. She looked up, her eyes finding mine in the crowd. For a moment, she just stood there, like she wasn't sure if she should come closer. Then she started walking again, faster this time, until she was right in front of me. I didn't think. I just wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close.

"Oh, baby," I murmured into her hair. "I missed you so much." She melted into me, her arms coming up to hold me just as tightly. For a long time, neither of us said anything. We just stood there, holding onto each other like the world might fall apart if we let go. Finally, she pulled back just enough to look at me. Her eyes were glassy, her lips trembling like she was trying to find the right words. "I missed you too," she said softly, and her voice was enough to undo me completely. Hearing her say she missed me, even in that soft, hesitant way, was like a weight lifting off my chest. I cupped her face with my hands, my thumbs brushing against her cheeks as I looked at her. "Baby," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. "You don't know how much I've been waiting to hear you say that."

She gave me a small, shaky smile, but her eyes darted away from mine like she was still unsure if she deserved to say it. That hesitation, that doubt, cut through me like a blade. I wanted to tell her everything—how I'd spent the last two weeks feeling like a part of me was missing, how I'd replayed her words from the hotel room over and over until they were burned into my mind, how I was more determined than ever to be the man she needed me to be. But I held back. I didn't want to overwhelm her. Instead, I kissed her forehead, lingering there for a moment before stepping back. "Come on," I said, reaching for her bag. "Let's get out of here," I said,  She let me take the bag without a word, falling into step beside me as we made our way through the airport. The silence between us wasn't as heavy as it had been before, but it wasn't quite comfortable either. It was... tentative like we were both afraid of saying the wrong thing and breaking whatever fragile understanding we'd managed to build.