Chapter 1

The storm raged outside. I'd just settled into my first-class seat when a flight attendant approached, her expression apologetic.

"Ms. Sterling, I'm terribly sorry. Due to overbooking and the captain's request, we need you to take the next flight out."

My eyes darted to my seat. There, wrapped in my husband Blake Harrison's pilot jacket, sat Chloe Davis, his childhood sweetheart.

She was curled up, her face half-buried in the uniform collar.

"Ava, I'm so sorry...It's just so stormy, and I'm so scared..."

I ignored her, pushing past the flight attendant and heading straight for the cockpit door.

Blake emerged from his seat. His gaze was cold, final.

"Ava, Chloe's always been timid. She only feels safe when I'm flying the plane. As my wife, you should understand. Let her have the seat."

"So you do remember I'm your wife?" I let out a dry laugh. "Three years ago, when my appendix nearly burst and I begged you to fly me home for surgery, what was your excuse?”

Blake's frown deepened, his annoyance plain at being challenged in front of so many people. He closed the distance between us, his voice dropping into the cold, condescending register he used on junior staff.

"Regulations prohibit transporting an unstable patient. It was a policy call."

My gaze shifted past him to Chloe. Her phone screen glowed in her lap, the lock screen showing a brazen selfie taken from inside a cockpit, her cheek pressed against Blake's in the pilot's seat.

A fresh wave of fury crested in me. "And you must know the regulations prohibit taking passengers into the cockpit for photos?"

Blake stiffened, a flush of anger creeping up his neck. "Chloe was curious. I let her look for one minute. That's all."

Just then, Chloe let out a sharp yelp. The paper cup in her hand "slipped," sending a splash of scalding water across her own skin.

"Oh! That hurts so much!"

Blake's head snapped toward a flight attendant. "What are you waiting for? Get a burn kit. Now!"

Then he turned to me and ordered the flight attendant to escort me off the plane.

A staff member stood awkwardly beside me, holding my carry-on. I snatched it from his hands and stepped back into the relentless rain, soaked through in seconds.

I stood there, watching the plane bearing my family's crest taxi toward the runway.

Finally, I pulled out my phone and made a call.