Chapter 2

The plane shook violently. Screams echoed through the cabin.

Luggage tumbled from the overhead bins, mirroring the collapse of my entire world.

I clutched my phone so hard my knuckles turned white.

The screen still showed the call log of my unanswered dials.

In the row ahead, Vivian's loud crying gradually died down into soft whimpers.

"But what about Clara? She’s my best friend..."

Just then, the PA system crackled to life.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have successfully cleared the turbulence. We expect to land at JFK in twenty minutes."

The cabin erupted into cheers of relief.

Some people hugged and cried. Others folded their hands in prayer, thanking God.

Vivian instinctively turned around.

The moment our eyes met, she panicked and tried to cover her phone screen.

"Clara... how much of that did you hear?"

I pressed my lips together. "Every single word."

Even without the speakerphone on, I could hear Julian’s frantic voice bleeding through the receiver.

"Vivian? Don't be scared! I'm already contacting emergency services—"

I snatched the phone from her hand and spoke into it, my voice icy.

"The plane is stable, Julian. Nobody is dying."

"But since you're both so lively, tell me—when did this start?"

The other end fell into a long, heavy silence.

When he finally spoke, his first instinct was still to protect Vivian.

"I fell for Vivian first. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

"The wedding in three months is off. I'll pay whatever compensation you want."

Yet just yesterday, when I excitedly told him I was coming to see him,

Julian had counted the days on his fingers. He had whined like a lost puppy, saying he hadn't seen me in a month and three days.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in my mind.

During our last FaceTime call, Vivian had been sitting on the edge of my bed, drying her hair.

Julian’s gaze had seemed so intense, but it had never actually focused on my face.

At the time, I thought he was just busy with work while talking to me.

But now I realized that deep, passionate look staring through the screen

was actually focused on the blurry silhouette behind me.

Vivian snapped out of her shock and stumbled over, throwing herself at me.

"Clara, please don't misunderstand!"

"I was just so terrified... my hands were shaking and I dialed the wrong number!"

"Julian and I... there’s nothing between us!"

Julian must have heard the commotion over the line. His voice raised defensively.

"Clara Miller! Don't you dare take this out on Vivian. This was all my doing."

"If you want to scream, scream at me. Don't hurt her!"

I hadn't even raised my voice, yet Julian was already convinced I was going to abuse Vivian.

With a cold laugh, I shoved the phone back into her hands.

I went back to my seat, pulled the blanket over my head, and let my tears fall in the dark.

The year my mom adopted Vivian, she held me and cried, saying she finally had a real family.

A year ago, when Julian and I got engaged, his eyes had welled up as he swore I was the only woman he would ever marry.

But three people in a relationship is just too crowded.

The two people who only met because of me

had now locked me out of my own life.