Here we go again. . . enjoy!

No one here is mine. If I owned them, I wouldn't be writing this chapter. I'd have seen what I wanted to happen on Sunday night!

What Really Did Happen

Alicia stood up from the bed, a million butterflies migrating in her stomach at the sight of Will at their hotel. What was he doing here? Surely he wouldn't try and confront her tonight. Not here. Not tonight. Not with Peter and Eli and Jackie and the kids and all of the campaign staff here. Didn't he understand what tonight was about?

She drew in a breath, stepping closer. She had to stop him. She had to send him home. She'd tell him that they would talk tomorrow. He had to understand that. But she had to get him out of here before Peter saw him.

Just then, the man turned and she saw that it wasn't Will. She had been convinced mere seconds ago that it was him, thought she'd recognized his facial features, but the man in front of her now was most definitely not Will. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She had to get over this. She had to find a way out. She knew she had a way out, but she absolutely did not want to take it.

As she heard Peter's voice calling to her, she snapped back to reality. She had to do this. She had to end it. She had to sever the ties.

In Peter's arms, she convinced him that she was alright. She kept her tone level, she kept her smile certain, and she excused herself as soon as possible. She had to make this work now. She was the First Lady of Illinois. It was time she started to act like it.

In the bathroom, she stared at her reflection. She was going to do this. She was going to take that road that she'd told herself she wouldn't take. It would be hard. It would be impossible, but she knew now that she absolutely had to do it.

She pulled her phone out of her bag, and steeled herself for taking action as she dialed. This was unavoidable. This had to happen and she had to be the one to do it.

The knock at the door was distracting, and the conversation was quick and dull, but she didn't let it sway her. As she made her way through the crowded hallway, she felt ashamed. She knew she shouldn't do this and she knew that she should. She knew that this would be painful, for her, for others, for people that she valued in her life. But she wouldn't let herself stop it now. She'd made a decision and she wasn't turning back. She picked up her head and carried out her plan.

Alone in her apartment, waiting for a knock at her door, she fell into uncertainty again.

Wine. She needed wine.

The dark liquid flowed into her glass and she hoped that she would feel better by the time she finished it. Maybe she should talk to Will before she started this. Maybe she owed him an explanation before she took any action. No. No, she knew she couldn't be alone with him again. It was too much, and soon those moments would be over forever.

Towels. She needed towels.

Her heartbeat rose as she glanced at the door, mindlessly folding the towel in her hands. He would come, wouldn't he? She needed this off her chest. The sooner the better. She put away the towels and didn't know what to do with herself next.

Reassurance. She needed reassurance.

She stared at her reflection in the cold glass. She read the uncertainty on her own features and said her thoughts aloud. "Is this stupid?" she asked the room. Yes, it was. And no, it wasn't. She wouldn't let herself think about it anymore. She was doing it. It was nearly done. There was no use in overanalyzing it.

The knock at the door came and she opened it. A new chapter in her life.

"Thanks for doing this here," she said to Cary.

"No problem," Cary said, pausing to figure out what he was doing here on election night. He thought she was supposed to be the good wife tonight. He didn't understand that that was the reason why he was here. "What are you thinking?"

With an inhale and a nod of certainty, she told him, "I'm in."

Up next...What should happen next. This one might take me a bit longer to figure out. Suspense is good for you, right?