Chapter 3

The next morning, I placed the signed promotion form on Robert's assistant's desk. Just as I was about to leave, the hallway intercom crackled:

"All crew members please report immediately to Conference Hall One. The new purser arrives today."

My steps froze. The Boeing 787 was getting a new purser? So sudden?

I hurried toward the conference hall. Just reaching the entrance, I saw Noah and several executives standing on stage. He wore his captain's uniform, crisp as always, gold shoulder stripes gleaming under the lights. Below, flight attendants stood in neat rows, their deep blue uniforms creating a sea.

Then the operations director smiled and gestured to the side of the stage. "We're pleased to introduce our Boeing 787's new purser—Bella Jones."

Applause erupted instantly. I froze in place, watching Bella glide elegantly onto the stage. She naturally took Noah's arm and smiled radiantly at the crowd.

"Fate works in mysterious ways," her voice carried through the microphone to every corner. "Five years ago, when Noah first became captain, I was his purser. After all this time, we get to fly together again. It must be destiny."

"This looks familiar," I heard a flight attendant whisper nearby. "Five years ago, they were just like this."

Bella leaned lightly toward Noah, and they exchanged a smile. The crowd burst into even warmer applause. My nails dug silently into my palms.

Noah didn't pull away. Their chemistry stung my eyes. I quietly turned and pushed through the heavy conference hall doors.

......

That evening's welcome dinner was at an upscale restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. I hadn't wanted to go, but several crew members dragged me along.

"Come on, Skyler," Jenny linked her arm through mine. "Everyone knows you've always liked Noah, but for the company's sake, at least make an appearance."

I sat in a corner watching Bella circulate like a hostess. She'd lean in to whisper to Noah, fingers lightly touching his shoulder.

The scene was especially painful to watch. In public before, Noah never let me get that close. He always said "we need to avoid suspicion." I'd believed him. Now I understood—those rules only applied to people he didn't love.

"I heard they were madly in love back then," Mark, the copilot beside me, sipped his whiskey. "When Bella was going to work in Dubai, Noah even wrote a resignation letter. If the flight director hadn't stopped him..."

"And you know the most romantic part?" Flight attendant Lisa joined in. "When Noah wanted to propose, he specially requested a new route and confessed over the radio while crossing the Arctic Circle."

I gripped my wine glass. Those flying memories I thought were uniquely ours—turns out they were all reruns of someone else's story. The whole company knew about their romance, but no one knew about Noah and me these past five years.

Bella wove through the crowd, stopping before me with her perfect professional smile.

"You must be Skyler," she extended her hand. "I'm Bella. Consider me your senior."

This double-edged comment was laughable. This woman who'd been provoking me with messages was now playing the first-meeting card.

"Pleasure." I barely touched her fingers before pulling away.

Her smile froze for a moment, quickly recovering as she turned toward Noah. He was listening to her, his lips curved in that gentle arc I hadn't seen in weeks. Not once did he look in my direction.

I couldn't take anymore and found an excuse to leave.

Just outside the private room, I heard Bella say to Noah, "Noah, your copilot doesn't seem to like me much? She left without even eating."

After an awkward silence, someone chimed in: "Don't mind her. She's been pining after Noah for five years, playing second fiddle the whole time. Now that you're back, naturally she's uncomfortable."

Sympathetic murmurs arose as Bella spoke up: "Don't say things like that. We'll all be colleagues going forward."

I leaned against the cold wall and laughed silently. So in everyone's eyes, I was just a pathetic woman who couldn't get what she wanted.

Fine. In eleven more days, this pathetic woman would vanish from their sight forever. After all, no one ever knew I was Noah's actual girlfriend.

I'd just reached the restaurant entrance when Noah came after me.

"Skyler," his voice carried obvious reproach, "you shouldn't have left like that. Bella is a new colleague, after all. You made things very awkward for her."

I stopped and turned to face him directly. "You care so much about her embarrassment—is it because she's a new colleague, or because she's your ex-girlfriend?"