She just had to accept it. She had to face reality. She and Vincent are on the same flight to the same city and residing in the same hotel for the same number of days and returning home by the same flights, even the connecting ones. This was too much of a coincidence if you ask me. I think she's right to think that he got her ticket and hotel booking information from either a third source or actually opened her computer and went through her search history and files. Okay, and here I was thinking that Pauline and I were the creepy ones who were persistent for years in bringing our gang back together. Well, since Vincent said that he couldn't get his seat in business class, Olivia doesn't have to worry about putting up with him for twenty hours. If that were also to come true, the entire flight of passengers would have to brace themselves for whatever argument or war is going to transpire on that flight. Well, if some passengers are authors and are looking for some story ideas, they have chosen the perfect flight, whereas the others might surf everything in the in-flight entertainment program and would get the golden opportunity to enjoy an actual live show in front of them.
Vincent bid goodbye to Aiden and Samar the night before his journey at the bar where the men have drinks regularly. The spark between Samar and Olivia had completely faded away. However, as a keen observer of everything that happens around me, I have noticed that Samar's eyes are still filled with love. Fortunately, that didn't go away. But I did notice a difference. Who knows why...
*AT THE AIRPORT*
After bidding them goodbye, they went on to the check-in counter which has a ridiculously long queue in front of them for the same flight. Well, I'm speculating that most of the passengers are doctors from Kindred like Olivia, so maybe if she gets engaged with them for the duration of the flight, she and Vincent won't even have an argument.
Olivia immediately scanned her pockets, removed her headphones and cell, plugged them to the device, searched through her saved playlists on YouTube and played one of her favorite songs. Evidently, she was prepared and avoided making any eye contact with Vincent at all costs. Vincent merely smirked at her and decided not to bother her in the meanwhile. Suddenly, Vincent's phone starting buzzing with an incoming text from his back pocket. He reached out for his phone and unlocked it to reveal Samar's text. At first, when I heard this story, I was amazed that Samar wanted to check in with Vincent to see if his beloved wife was doing well. But when I came to know what happened after that, I came to the conclusion that his ego didn't vanish after all.
*IN TEXT CONVERSATION*
SAMAR: Hey Vincent, could you tell me where did you keep Alice's favorite cereal? Sarah doesn't know, Aiden's at work and Mavis and Pauline went to hell!
VINCENT: What do you mean by went to hell?
SAMAR: They keep freeloading here every day and all of a sudden they're like, "We're goin' home!"
VINCENT: Your angry version is so cute even on text that it's distracting me from the huge line front of me; so I'm just gonna answer you quickly; it's in the cabinet above the sink. GTG.
SAMAR: Kk thx. Tc.
VINCENT: Will call you once we get there
SAMAR: K.... talk to you then.
*END OF CONVERSATION*
Vincent swiftly kept his phone in his leather jacket pocket and zipped it up before Olivia's gaze could land on him. He felt pretty guilty of not reminding Samar that his wife is with him. Well, but one can text long when in a huge line right? Or else, before you know it, some moron would pounce in front of him and snatch his position in the line; only dragging his wait for a longer period. Even after considering that Vincent was a famous musician, no one would ever recognize him since he is in disguise. If he revealed his true identity here, he would be treated like a king. He evidently knew that Olivia would never reserve a spot for him in a queue for a number of reasons. His gaze landed on Olivia, who was conversing with another man.
The woman was tapping her foot on the white marble floor, according to the lively beat of the roaring rock music playing from her phone. Deeply immersed in her own world, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. As she looked up, her eyes widened as she saw the man standing in front of her. He greeted with a warm smile while adjusting the strap of his bag, "Well hello Dr. Madhavan Anand! I didn't anticipate that your husband would join you!" His eyes then immediately landed on Vincent who was standing next to her and was as startled as Olivia. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Olivia in perplexion.
"Oh no Dr. Liu, this guy actually---" Olivia started to clear the prevailing misconception but Vincent interrupted while tightly covering her mouth and pulling her towards her, "--the love of my life! I can't live without my beloved, so I purchased a ticket myself! But don't worry, my wife will surely attend the conference and I won't be there."
"Y-y-yeah because I'm pretty sure that spouses aren't allowed there. Oh, looks like I'm next! See you guys on the flight!" Dr. Liu responded and removed his passport for the attendant to scan.
During that entire exchange, Olivia's eyes remained fixated on Vincent and were as narrow as a nylon string. A few seconds after Dr. Liu turned around and got busy with his check-in, Olivia bit Vincent's hand so hard that there were teeth marks all over and his skin turned bright red.
"Owwwww!" He groaned in pain.
"Are you out of your mind!?" Olivia whispered angrily. "Now Dr. Liu thinks that you're my husband! And a very clingy one at that!"
"Look, I only did that because that guy saw me and I couldn't reveal my identity," Vincent explained. Olivia was about to get a handful and punch him with all her anger and resentment towards him. But she stopped midway as Vincent blocked her attack and said, "And also, you don't want him to know that your marriage is failing right?"
After all these years, Vincent knows exactly how to push Olivia's buttons. Olivia shoved Vincent away and responded, "Excuse me!? What do you know about my fucking marriage? This is my battle; not yours!"
Vincent grabbed her shoulders and said while squeezing them so tight that his green nerves which was visible got firmed up, "Battle? Marriage is a battle for you? Five years ago, I saw both of you saying 'I do' at the altar with determination, courage, and love in your eyes. Do you regret the decision of marrying your high school sweetheart?"
There was a gleam of uncertainty in her eyes. So much so that it was evident to him that she did regret her decision as she believed it to be rash and based on irrational feelings. However, Vincent is not a mind reader, he didn't know what made her feel that way and what else was she thinking about.
He released her out of his grasp without another word and the two of them stood in silence until their turn came.