Jennifer ate calmly, occasionally stealing glances at Elijah. He tried hard to focus on his food, and excused hinself once he finished.
Jennifer stalled for a minute or two, before excusing herself too and went after him, holding the box close to her chest.
Elijah was removing his coat when she came in, and she stood by the door.
"What is wrong?" Elijah asked, then turned to her.
"Uh...I wanted to give you your privacy. That's why."
He smiled and unbuttoned his cuffs, then pulled the sleeve upwards and walked to her slowly.
"You can come in. I am just going to freshen up."
"Uhm, Elijah? You, uhm..got me this gift..."
He nodded. "Yes?"
"I mean, there is no occasion and it just have been expensive."
He looked at her for a minute, wondering if he heard it correctly.
"I just..." He let his voice trail off as he took in a deeo breath. "I just thought of you the moment I saw it. And they said I could customize it and that's why I did that." He threw his hands up in defeat, lacking proper words. How hard was it to say he was attracted to her and he really hoped she was as attracted to him too? And that it was natural instict to want the best for someone you are beginning to like so much?
"I meant..."
"I will take a shower now, Jennifer." He said, cutting her off, then turned to the bathroom.
He was escaping more from himself than from her, and he worried his nervousness would show.
He let the water run through his body, calming his nerves, and his rapid heartbeat. What was he going to say to her? He has never done this in his life and what if he was too late for it?
He stayed in the shower longer than usual, and only came out when he thought she would be asleep. He had planned on leaving for his study quietly.
Jennifer was sitting in front of the mirror, her hand delicately on her neck as she tried to put up the necklace.
He had seemed rather offended when he left, so she decided to wear it to please him. She was actually happy with it, she just didn't want to be a burden.
Elijah stopped by the door, as his eyes took in the sight of her wearing the necklace. It looked exactly as he had thought it would, beautiful, with her hair falling behind her.
She was still trying to put it on, but she couldn't, and he came to her slowly, the heart he had managed to calm in the shower starting to rapidly beat again.
"Wait," He said gently so he wouldn't startle her.
She turned and nodded, then turned back to the mirror as he came beside her and leaned, bringing his face right to the side of her face.
She watched him in the mirror, his hair dripping wet as he slowly moved her hair away to the left side of her shoulder. Her long hair fell gracefully in front of her, and she fought the instinct to close her eyes.
"I'll be quick," He said. His breath fanned against her cheek, and this time she closed her eyes.
Her heart was beating audibly, her breath sucked in as she felt his fingers delicately put the necklace around her, and then the slight pressure as he crossed it together.
He didn't stand up immediately, but returned to the side of her face, almost resting his head on her shoulder. His hands held her shoulders as he smiled and she opened her eyes slowly.
"I wasn't wrong," He said, watching her refection in the mirror.
"What do you mean?" She asked, her voice only a mere whisper.
"You make it even more beautiful." He said, then took his eyes off her refection, and then turned slowly to her as she turned to him too.
Deep blue eyes met sea green ones, each holding a restricted tenderness, each holding things they knew they wouldn't say.
He smiled at her again, unable to resist saying it. "You are beautiful."
She slowly averted his eyes, feeling her heart thumping in her ear.
He slowly leaned away, almost reluctantly.
"Thank you." She managed to say, her voice cracking.
He only acknowledged it with a small mod, before he went to the walk in closet and changed, then went out of the room.
Jennifer finally released the breath she didn't even realize she was holding, her heart palpitating.
What was that just now?
It felt like the atmosphere between then had shifted, not just a little but a lot, and it upset her. The little treacherous voice in her head however told her that feeling giddy to your feet wasn't exactly a characteristic of being upset.
She swallowed as she sat in front of the mirror, and brought her hands to feel the cold stone of the necklace. For some reason it was warm, way warmer than she had expected, or could handle.
The night passed by with Elijah on his desk, working through details. He was trying hard to identify the woman whose body was found, as for some reason she hadn't even been reported missing. Neither the police nor them have any statement regarding her, and he wondered if she didn't have any relatives here. She did look a bit familiar, but he wasn't too sure.
"But what if it is a boy?" Stephanie asked as she adjusted her seat next to Mrs. Morrison. She had her hair piled up in a bun with her pen holding it, and Nicholas wasn't around. Jennifer sat on her usual seat, her hands clasped on her lap as she slowly tapped her feet on the floor.
"I think we should just make it independent of gender. Maybe go with a red theme. That way, even if it's a girl or a boy, it would fit. It is way better that way." Susan suggested, and Stephanie flicked her thumb.
"I agree. We should choose a colour that is gender neutral. If it turns out to be a boy, then good or a girl, good too. Right, Jennifer?"
Jennifer looked up, surprised that her name had been mentioned
"What were you thinking of?" Stephanie asked.
"No, nothing. I just have a slight headache."
Mrs. Morrison's eyes widened. "You should take care of your body, Jennifer. There are dire consequences of not doing so." She looked at Mariah and rolled her eyes, before focusing her eyes back on Jennifer.
Mariah didn't feel offeneded, though. Her plan was foolproof and on saturday, the day of the celebration, she would execute it and finish off Jennifer and Susan once and for all. Nothing could offend her now.
"Oh, mother. I will take care of her, don't worry. Please rest. Your body needs rest too."
Mrs. morrison's eyes thinned at her, before she moved on to doing other things.
Elijah came down, elegantly dressed in a pristine velvet blue suit, his hair gelled back.
"Ooh..Elijah. Are you going somewhere?" Stephanie asked.
Elijah nodded, then sat beside Jennifer and poured himself some coffee.
"There is a function with the governor and other government officials and I have to be there."
He took a sip, then turned to Jennifer, whose eyes were lowered. "I was actually supposed to bring someone...my wife, I mean."
The dining table grew quiet as Mariah stood up. "I know. You always take me to such events, so I was waiting for you to tell me. I will go get ready."
She started to walk before he held her hand back. Everybody looked at it, Jennifer's eyes widening.
"You don't need to get ready for anything, Mariah."
"What do you mean?" She asked, then looked down at her elegant dress. "Oh, you think I am dressed up enough?" She giggled and slowly removed her hand from his grip. "It is still better for me to wear something more elegant, since a lot of the government official's wives will be there and..."
"I am not going with you, Mariah. You have, in my opinion attended enough functions by my side." His eyes never left Jennifer as he said it.
"So who will you be going with then if not me?" she asked, then seeing how he wasn't even looking at her, followed the direction of his gaze to Jennifer. She scoffed and folded her hands in front of her. "You want to go with her? What does she know about the public eye? What does she know about talking to the cameras? What does she know about being the mayor's wife?"
Elijah sighed, finally tearing his gaze off Jennifer as he turned to Mariah, his eyes cold.
"Mariah, when last did you come to my room?" He suddenly asked, and Mrs. Morrison's eyes widened. He put his index fibger and his thumb on the bridge of his nose. "I mean, when did you ever ask me to come back safely? When ddi you ever look out for me or wondered how I was doing? For you, marrying me is all about being in the public eyes, making donations just so people can make placards of you and worship you, with no actual good intentions. Am I wrong?" He was looking at her without batting an eyelash, his brows knitted.
"Elijah...I am the reason you won the election."
"The reason Elijah won was because so many people loved him. All you did was try to make a name for yourself." Mrs. Morrison said as she stood up.
Elijah turned to Jennifer. "Would you like to come with me?"
Jennifer swallowed and looked up to Mariah, who looked livid.
She turned back to him, hesitating and he took in a deep sigh.
"Fine." He stood up and left the dining hall, and made his way back upstairs.