Chapter 3

Hannah's POV

On the crew bus.

The window seat in the first row had always been mine. I get a little carsick, so Adrian had made it a rule that no one else could sit there. Every time before I boarded, there would be a cup of warm water Adrian had prepared waiting in the cupholder.

I dragged my injured leg onto the bus and instinctively headed for the first row.

Only to find Sophie already sitting there, holding a steaming cup of warm water in her hands.

When she saw me, Sophie blinked her big innocent eyes and bit her lower lip. "Hannah, I'm so sorry. I get a bit carsick, and Captain Pierce told me to sit here. You don't mind, do you?"

I stared at that cup of warm water. My stomach churned.

I turned to look at Adrian, who'd come up behind me.

Adrian avoided my eyes, tossing his flight bag onto the seat next to Sophie. He spoke flatly. "She's new, and she's not feeling well. Go sit in the back. Don't make a fuss with her."

Don't make a fuss with her.

My lips twitched. I didn't say a word. I turned and walked to the very back row of the bus.

The bus started, rocking and swaying. I sat in the corner of the last row, watching as Adrian tilted his head toward Sophie in the first row, patiently explaining something. Sophie laughed happily.

I closed my eyes and rested my head against the cold window.

At the crew hotel, Adrian got the room keys at the front desk. He handed one to Sophie, his voice gentle. "Get some good rest. I'll take you somewhere nice for dinner tonight."

Then he tossed the other key onto the counter without even looking at me. "Yours."

I picked up the key and rode the elevator up alone.

Back in my room, I peeled off my uniform and rolled up my pant leg. My right knee was already mottled purple, swollen like a macaron. I didn't get ice, didn't apply any ointment. I just sat quietly on the edge of the bed, staring at the bruise.

Did it hurt? You get used to it after a while. The pain stops registering.

I pulled out my phone and opened the airline's internal system.

Pinned to the homepage was a recruitment notice: 【Notice Regarding the Selection of Outstanding Cabin Crew for Long-Term Deployment to Damascus】.

Damascus. A volatile city in the Middle East. Constant warfare, brutal conditions, where even basic personal safety couldn't be one hundred percent guaranteed. Once you went, you couldn't transfer back for at least three years—essentially severing yourself from your current comfortable life.

The posting had been up for two weeks. Out of thousands of flight attendants in the entire airline, not a single person had signed up.

I stared at the screen for a long time.

Before, Adrian would fuss for hours over me flying a single red-eye. He'd find every way to switch me to his daytime routes. He used to say, "Hannah, as long as I'm here, you'll never have to suffer through anything like that."

But now, the man who promised to protect me forever was holding his umbrella over someone else.

I didn't hesitate. My finger tapped lightly, filling out the application, and I hit submit.

A dialog box popped up: 【Once submitted, this application cannot be withdrawn. Please confirm to continue?】

I pressed 【Confirm】.

Watching the screen display "Submission successful. Pending review," I let out a long breath. It was like I'd finally carved out a piece of rotting flesh from inside myself.