A/N: Hi all, I apologize for not updating sooner! Been super busy on my end but it's slowing down so I will be updating more frequently. Thank you for your interest in this Stelena story! It's becoming one of my favorites :) Enjoy!
Elena suddenly grew nauseous and ran to the nearest garbage can and began gagging.
That couldn't have been him, She thought, Why would he be here? It's not Stefan, it's not him.
Elena kept repeating that to herself as her breathing slowed down and she began to grow calm again. A bystander asked her if she was all right and she just nodded yes with a small smile. Elena couldn't let herself think Stefan was there racing against her husband because that would be silly. Elena composed herself and decided to go back to her hotel room and get some rest. Between seeing Katherine and possibly seeing Stefan, Elena had exhausted herself. Elena went back to the pit and spoke to Elijah's manager.
"Hey Jim, can you tell Elijah I went back to our room when he's done? I'm not feeling too well so I'm going to rest up. I'll watch the race from there. Thanks." Elena said calmly and walked away.
By the time Elena made it back to her room, the race had finished and Elijah placed first. Since Elijah placed first, he would have to attend a press conference afterward and probably wouldn't be back for several hours. Elena didn't mind though, half of her felt happy her husband won but the other half was grateful she would have some time alone.
Elena sat on the bed, just relaxing, for an hour or so before she began to grow hungry. She looked out her window, watching the blue sky turn orange and reached for her phone. She played with her phone in her hands while she was deciding what to do. She looked into her contacts and selected a name.
"Hello?" The voice answered in a cool, business like fashion.
"Hey, Katherine. It's me, Elena!" Elena said in friendly tones.
Katherine scoffed and stifled a snobby laugh, "I know Elena, I do have caller ID."
Elena laughed and gritted her teeth at her mistake, "Right! So.. I was wondering if you still wanted to get dinner tonight and catch up? Elijah won the race so he won't be back for a while and I'm sort of hungry so I just thought I'd take you up on your invitation from earlier."
There was a moment of silence before Katherine spoke, "Okay, yeah. You know what? That sounds really good actually. Let's meet in the lobby in an hour. We'll go to Elsa, it's right on the water. Wear something nice."
Elena rolled her eyes and laughed, "Does Prada and Yves Saint Laurent sound good?"
Katherine clicked her tongue and smiled through the phone, "God, you are blessed. See you in a bit!"
Elena was looking forward to her meeting with Katherine considering she hasn't had much interaction with anyone but Elijah for the last few months. She hopped into the shower and got herself ready for her dinner date with Katherine Pierce.
"Elijah! Elijah! How does it feel to win after such a long retirement?" A report yelled. Thousands of cameras were flashing and millions were waiting for his answer. Elijah slicked his hair back and gave a wide smile.
"How does it feel? It's the best feeling in the world. It might be a little better than when I found out I was going to be a father." Elijah jokingly stated and the whole conference room erupted into laughter.
"Where is your wife now? I didn't see her at the winner's circle." Another reporter shouted. Elijah cleared his throat and plastered on a smile.
"She went back to our room. She isn't feeling very well since her pregnancy is a delicate one. She was there when I started and that was motivational enough for me to win." The whole room awed but one reporter wasn't buying it.
"I find it strange that your wife wasn't present today or at any of your previous practices." A female called out. The room became silent and Elijah perked up at this statement and began to grow impatient.
"Why is that strange? Formula 1 isn't a favored female sport. I'm sure most of our wives would rather be out shopping than watching us drive in circles." Elijah laughed and the room laughed along with him.
"Her absence wouldn't have anything to do with a past relationship she's had with another driver, would it?" She asked. The room murmured and gasped a little while Elijah was scanning the conference room to see who was saying these things so publicly. Elijah sighed and tugged on the collar of his shirt with frustration.
"Look, my wife has had no previous relationships with anybody on the roster this season or any season. We've been together for five years, married for four, and we are expecting out first child. I don't know who you are referring to, but I'm sure you're just making this shit up to have something published in your shitty tabloid." A few people clapped and cheered on Elijah but then the woman stood up and spoke again.
"So you're telling me, that you have no idea that Stefan Salvatore competed against you today?" Elijah was stunned when he saw who was asking him all of these questions. He pressed his lips in a firm line and gritted his teeth.
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. It's bad luck to know who you're competing against because it psyches you out. Nice to see you again, Bonnie. No more questions. Press conference over." Elijah stood up and angrily walked out of the room. When he entered the lot to go into his car, almost a hundred people were waiting to receive autographs from him. Elijah put on a friendly smile and signed a few before he got into his blacked out Mercedes Benz and drove off to the first of many victory parties sans Elena.
"What the fuck Stefan? Are you kidding me right now? You were so close and you lost to not one, not two, not three, but fours morons! You came in FIFTH, Stefan. Fifth fucking place. " Katherine was screaming in Stefan's face as soon as he got out of the car and into the lobby of the hotel. Stefan continued to ignore Katherine as she chewed him out.
"Are you listening to me? Your career is on the line here. You left your steady and well paying job to pursue this dream again and now you're just pissing it away. Why? Why weren't you focused, huh?" Katherine stopped Stefan from walking away from her and Stefan snapped his head around at her with wide, frustrated eyes.
"I'm aware of how poorly I did Katherine. I have a lot on my mind today. Stop yelling at me before you say something you're going to regret. And please, for the love of all things holy, shut the Hell up. I'm going for a drive. You can do whatever you want." Stefan said carelessly. He walked away from Katherine and Katherine went to chase after him but her phone started buzzing. She looked down to the screen and saw Elena's name flash across the screen. She groaned and thought about whether or not she should answer. Katherine suddenly considered if Stefan may have caught a glimpse of Elena which would explain his behavior… Katherine decided to answer Elena's call.
Elena got into her elevator and looked at herself in the reflection of the elevator doors. She was wearing a white custom-made Prada dress that had cobalt embroidery on the hemline and the neckline with a pair of tan leather Yves Saint Laurent heeled sandals. All though Elena's feet were a little bit swollen and starting to hurt, she wanted to show Katherine that she's still got it. The dress was empire cut, accenting her growing stomach and her long legs contrasting against her olive skin. Elena left her hair down but decided to opt for beach waves since it was fitting of their dinner location. She wore her usual jewelry (wedding band, engagement ring, diamond studded earrings) but decided to wear the bracelet that Stefan had give to her for her 21st birthday. The bangle was gold and engraved with the latitude and longitude coordinates of where Elena and Stefan where Stefan had confessed his love for Elena. She wasn't sure what possessed her to wear that bracelet but she knew that it felt right to wear it either way. She looked down at her bracelet and smiled at the memory of it.
"Happy birthday, Elena" Stefan whispered in her ear as they were laying next to each other on an open field of grass in Yellowstone National Park. They were there for their senior trip. Everyone had gone to sleep already in their tents but Elena wanted to star gaze and Stefan wanted to go with her. Elena smiled at Stefan's warm voice in her ear and she looked over to him.
"My birthday isn't for another five minutes, why are you saying it now?" Stefan cracked a smile and exhaled deeply. He sat up and Elena followed suit.
"Look up at the sky, Elena." Stefan gently commanded and Elena did so with a happy smile, "Now, try to count all of the stars." Elena looked over at Stefan with an exasperated smile and slight confusion.
"What? You know it's impossible to do that. I don't even know where to begin!" Stefan laughed at her grimace and he continued on.
"Just try…." He waited a few minutes as he saw Elena start counting, and then count over again because she lost her place, "Now, multiply that amount of stars with the amount of galaxies and then multiply that number with the amount of potential universes that exist." Elena was growing frustrated because she was literally trying to figure it out. She huffed and puffed and Stefan threw his head back and laughed contently at her frustration.
"What's the point Stefan? The answer is infinite." Elena finally stated. Stefan cleared his throat and grew serious yet again.
"That's the point. The way I feel about you is exact to the amount of space there is. It's infinite. My love for you is infinite. You're the only woman I will ever feel this way about. You are the one I love Elena Gilbert. I love you."
Elena jumped at the noise of the elevator when it rang to notify that she's reached the lobby. The doors slid open and Katherine was already there with open arms. Elena smiled and embraced Katherine awkwardly.
"This is a beautiful place Katherine." Elena commented as the hostess was sitting them down at their waterfront table. Katherine smiled with cockiness and arrogance.
"Isn't it just fabulous? My uncle is the head chef here." Elena smiled politely and nodded. The hostess asked if they would like anything to drink.
"A sparkling water please, with extra lemon on the side. Thank you." Elena stated. Katherine smiled and giggled.
"I'll have the finest bottle of champagne. And a glass of water." The hostess quickly went off to fetch their beverages and Katherine dove right into a conversation.
"So, how's your pregnancy going?"
"Oh, it's going well, I guess. You know, I suffer from high blood pressure and things like that so I have to be careful. It's been a little bit of a struggle but it's worth it. It's been difficult for me to get pregnant so I'm taking this as a blessing and just being overly cautious with everything I do." Katherine raised her eyebrow and titled her head to the side.
"Well, my hat's off to you, Elena. Good for you for being careful, you wouldn't want a repeat of last time… You are one tough bitch. How does Elijah feel about fatherhood?" Elena looked down to her hand and then back up to Katherine.
"I don't know… really, I don't. He hasn't really been to any of my appointments being that he's been training. He asks of course, and he tells me how much he's looking forward to it but it's been hard dealing with it on my own. And I know, last time.. it was my fault. It's different this time." Katherine felt a pang of sympathy for Elena because here Elena was with an unsupportive husband and a risky pregnancy. Katherine immediately knew that if Elena ended up with Stefan, Elena's situation would be the exact opposite.
They were both silent as the waitress brought their drinks and asked if they were ready to order.
"I'll have the Mediterranean pasta, please. But with no seafood." Elena ordered. Katherine widened her eyes and laughed at Elena.
"Loading up on the carbs, are we? I'll have the Monaco salad but with the dressing on the side and extra vegetables." Katherine waved the waitress away and looked at Elena.
"You're going to consume carbs? Are you trying to get kankles?" Elena couldn't believe what Katherine was saying so all she could do was laugh.
"Katherine, it's fine. I need to have as much energy as possible. I'm on a diet but it's beneficial for the baby, not for me. I'll do whatever it takes to have a healthy child."
"Even if it means compromising your ankles?" Katherine smiled at her question, knowing it would provoke bewilderment from Elena.
"Yes, even if it means I'll get kankles." Elena continued to laugh and so did Katherine.
"Anyway, what's new with you? Any love interests?" Katherine half smiled at Elena with lust in her eyes. Elena shook her head with a gentle smile.
"Oh no, I've never seen that look so this must be serious. Do tell Katherine."
"There's nothing to tell… really." Katherine answered but Elena wasn't convinced.
"Do you love him?" Elena asked. Katherine twisted her mouth and was stumped for a minute.
"I am not in love with him. I just love being with him. He's very… easy to be with but not easy to love. He's great in bed though." Katherine winked and maliciously smiled. Elena raised her glass and so did Katherine.
"Well, cheers to that." Elena exclaimed. Their glasses clinked and the waitress set their food on the table. Katherine noticed Elena's ring and whistled at it. Elena blushed slightly and played with her ring.
"Jesus Elena, how much did that set him back?"
"It's in the family. It was his mother's and so on. I thought Klaus would give it to Caroline but we got married so young so to Elijah it went. Sometimes I feel like it's too much, sometimes I feel it's too heavy." Katherine stopped skimming through her salad and glared at Elena.
"You know what that means right?" Elena didn't know and shook her head. Katherine leaned forward with an ominous stare.
"That means that you're not meant to be together. If you're truly in love with him, your ring should feel weightless. If you think you might sink one day in your marriage, you'll definitely drown with that thing on." Elena took in Katherine's superstition and coyly brushed it off.
"Don't be ridiculous Katherine, you're too much." Elena said with offense. Katherine put her hands up and raised her eyebrows.
"Don't get mad at me, Elena. I'm just telling you the truth. I think the whole world knows you and Elijah just aren't meant to be together but who are we to stop you?" Elena became irritated and clenched her fist.
"Stop it, Katherine. If you're here to chastise me about my actions and decisions then you can continue and I'll just leave. Do you not think that I know how everyone feels? Do you know what it's like being home and having everyone look at me as if I'm ready to fall apart because of a decision I made five years ago? I know what I did was wrong and I know everyone thinks Elijah and I aren't supposed to be together but it's too late to consider what could have been. I'm two months pregnant; I just can't abandon Elijah, the father of my child, because I don't love him." Elena gasped at her confession and Katherine sat in silence with a smug look. Elena placed her elbows on the table and covered her eyes with her hands.
"Have you seen him?" Katherine finally broke the silence and Elena angrily looked up with tear stained cheeks.
"What? What kind of question is that? I can't face him after what I did to him. I broke his heart. I shattered all the good he had in him. I wanted to go back to him, I still do but I can't. I just can't. We didn't stick to the plan. We're broken." Elena started to cry again and Katherine looked around hoping no one would pay attention to the scene that's unfolding between them.
"Look, Elena… I don't… you can't be so hard on yourself, okay? You were young, you thought you loved him but you didn't. You didn't know what love was." Katherine tried to calm Elena down but when Katherine accused Elena of not knowing what love is, she got really mad very quickly.
"How dare you try to tell me that I don't know what love is. I love Stefan; I never will stop loving him. The day I married Elijah was the worst day of my life. I'm stuck, I can't get out and you know what? The night I slept with Elijah was the worst mistake I've ever made. And you want to know something else? That baby was never Elijah's, it was Stefan's and I miscarried. I was so mad and frustrated with myself for what I did that I killed Stefan's child. I regret everything in my life from the moment I left Stefan to now. I constantly think about him. I wish Elijah was him. I grow sick just thinking about the life Stefan and I could have had together. Everything we had is no longer infinite." Elena quietly cried and was ready to continue but Katherine shook her head "not now" and stood up to look over Elena's shoulder.
Elena turned around in her seat and was frozen with fear when she saw who was standing behind her.
It was Elijah and judging by the look on his face, he heard everything Elena had just confessed.