Winning My Ex-Crush

Fenella’s POV

I checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to the airport. Clearly, I was now so anxious because I didn’t know if Laird was still at the airport or not-he hadn’t responded to my messages!

The taxi drove slowly while he tuned the radio to Spanish songs that I didn’t understand. I thought I would reach the airport in half an hour, but the taxi slowed down due to roadwork ahead.

My taxi got stuck in traffic for over fifteen minutes. When we finally reached the construction site, the driver rolled down the window and spoke to the construction workers in their orange safety vests. They spoke a while, and after the driver closed the window, he suddenly turned the car around.

“Uh, what’s going on?” I asked in English.Content © copyrighted by NôvelDrama.Org.

The taxi driver just glanced at me through the rearview mirror without giving any answer. I opened the online map app on my phone and saw that the route we had abandoned was indeed experiencing severe traffic. Once my taxi finally moved away from the congestion, I saw my map update the route to the airport.

Damn, this was a much longer route than it should have been. I checked the estimated arrival time at the airport-still another hour and a half to go! If we had stayed on the same route, my phone’s estimated travel time would have been only 45 minutes, which was shorter despite traffic.

“Sir, please take the route back to the airport earlier,” I said to the Spanish translator app.

I played back the translation to the driver and pressed the translator’s response button. The driver spoke back, and I listened to the English translation.

“No. I can’t do it. Roads are closed due to severe traffic. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the airport,” my phone replied.

Then the driver continued speaking.

“Road’s closed tonight. Only one lane. We’ll go through another route. Don’t worry.”

I wasn’t sure if he genuinely intended to take a less congested route to the airport or if it was just a ploy to rack up the taxi fare.

It was late at night. I was a lone woman in a foreign country I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to take the risk of getting out to change to another taxi willing to push through that route. In the end, I just sighed and sat back in the rear passenger seat.

I continued trying to call and text Laird, but he still didn’t respond. Didn’t he promise not to leave me alone again? Didn’t he promise to go through this relationship with open communication?

My hand rested on the car window, and I massaged my forehead. Really, I didn’t want to end up like this again. Whatever happened, I had to explain the misunderstanding earlier, and if Laird still didn’t accept it, then maybe I would have to accept our breakup.

***

“Please, just one ticket. I know my boyfriend is in there,” I begged and pleaded with the flight ticket counter seller.

“I’m sorry, Miss. Our last flight tonight is already boarding and ready to take off. We can’t sell tickets anymore,” the woman said, shaking her head.

“Please, I’ll pay double.” I begged again for the umpteenth time. It usually works out in movies.

“I’m sorry, Miss. The only option I can offer is to reschedule your flight to the earliest one tomorrow morning. You’ll arrive in New York around 10 a. m. local time.”

This couldn’t be happening to me. I hoped this wouldn’t happen to me! The entire chain of events tonight made me lose Laird, the person I loved and cared for.

I knew, and I shouldn’t blame anyone. It wasn’t Jessy’s fault or Alan’s. It wasn’t Laird’s fault either, because I understood this was confusing and anyone in his position would be angry.

I am a bitch! I’m an ambitious bitch!

My tears finally flowed. After four hours, I restrained myself since Mallory invited everyone to toast to my relationship with Alan. I finally burst into tears in public. My hands rubbed my tears repeatedly, and I tried to hold back tears.

“Miss, my deepest sympathy is with the situation you’re going through. Would you like me to reschedule you for the earliest flight in the morning?”

I took a deep breath. The ticket agent was kind enough to give me tissues to wipe away my tears and runny nose. Finally, I nodded and spoke hoarsely.

“Yes, please reschedule. Thank you.”

I paid an additional fee to reschedule my flight. Because I didn’t want to deal with the streets of Mexico City anymore and was afraid of being late if I slept in a transit hotel, I ended up just sitting in the waiting area and staying awake all night at the airport.

I curled my knees up on the waiting chair and buried my face in them. The most crushing part of it all was hearing the final boarding call announcement for the flight that I believed Laird was on and not being able to do anything. It was all beyond my control.

***

“Hola! Fenella!”

Jessy’s voice sounded cheerful right after I picked up his call upon arriving in New York.

“Oh, so you’re still alive?” I replied sharply, walking briskly while dragging my suitcase on the airport floor.

“Hey, why are you being mean? Mike took me to a beautiful villa in Puerto Vallarta last night, and my phone had an accident falling from the balcony into the sea, so I had to buy a new one.”

“Oh, wow, great,” I said, still skeptical.

“Where are you now?” he asked.

“New York.”

“Didn’t you say you were extending your vacation in Mexico until Monday?”

“Oh, you’re so annoying, Jessy. You swore to me that you would always watch over me and take care of me, even when you’re together with Mike, but you weren’t there when I needed you the most.” I stopped beating around the bush and started scolding him in a raised voice.

“Hey, what’s your problem? I heard from Alan that you’re now counted in Mallory West’s circle of friends. So why do you have to act like a bitch?”

I groaned irritably and told Jessy everything. Of course, I wasn’t sure if Jessy could solve my problem with Laird now, but I was really disappointed in him.

“Oh, gosh. That’s really bad. I–”

“Just save your apologies because now I don’t know if I can still rely on you since you’ve been so busy with Mike, with your vacation while I failed a vacation, and you’ve been ignoring me.” I huffed in annoyance.

“Hey, you know what? Congrats! You’ve earned yourself a lifetime silent treatment ticket from me. Enjoy it.” I said it firmly.

I immediately hung up and turned on silent mode. I was fed up with Jessy and Alan today.

***

With a private access card, I took the private elevator specifically for Laird’s apartment residents. I also opened the door with the same access card. As I opened the door slowly and brought my suitcase inside, I immediately realized something was wrong.

It was already 11 a. m., and the sun was shining brightly outside. Today was slightly cloudy, but any apartment in the Mercer Street area should be getting enough sunlight, but not inside Laird’s apartment. It was dark, with thick curtains still covering the windows in the room.

The only light visible came from the open bathroom. I didn’t hear any sound or noise, but this atmosphere reminded me of when I found Tom cheating with his secretary.

Slowly, I moved towards the bathroom. My heart was pounding fast, afraid of seeing the same scene as before. I swallowed hard and finally dared to peek into the brightly lit bathroom space.

Huh? There was nothing.

I entered the bathroom further and finally realized there was someone lying in the bathtub.

“Laird?!”