Chapter 2
“And the watch isn’t the only thing,” Rose went on, clearly warming up now that she had an audience.
She reached down and pulled out an orange Hermès Birkin bag, its color almost blinding under the cabin lights.
“Birthday gift from last year.”
She ran her hand over it like she was petting something precious.
My breath caught.
That bag was one of only fifty made worldwide.
It had vanished from my closet six months ago. Jet told me he had accidentally damaged it and thrown it out. Then he had a friend track down a replacement for me. I had thought that was so sweet of him.
“Mom.” Ruby tugged my sleeve. “That lady’s necklace looks just like yours.”
I looked at Rose’s neck.
Rose-gold chain. Tiny airplane pendant. Diamond-studded wings.
I had that necklace custom-made for our fifth wedding anniversary. Our initials were engraved inside.
“You’re right,” I said, my voice coming out flat.
Rose’s smile flickered for just a second, then came right back.
“No way, it’s the same. My husband had this made just for me. He said it means something special, like he’s flying me all over the world.”
Jet had said the exact same thing to me at our anniversary dinner. He had put it around my neck himself and said it was one of a kind, just like our love.
When it went missing, he tore the whole house apart looking for it. Finally, he held me and said, “Out with the old, in with the new. I’ll get you something even better.”
A month later, a fancier necklace showed up in my jewelry box. “Custom-made by a friend,” he said.
Paid for with my money, of course.
He’d been stealing my things to give to his mistress, then using my own money to replace them.
My stomach turned.
“Are you okay?” Rose finally noticed.
“Just a little airsick,” I said, forcing a smile.
A flight attendant handed me some water, and I took a slow sip, pulling myself together.
“How long have you two been married?”
Rose hesitated. An awkward look crossed her face.
“We’re not married yet.”
She must have caught something in my expression, because she quickly added, “Don’t judge me. He and his wife have zero feelings for each other.”
My grip tightened around the cup.
“He said his family pressured him into it. That woman basically pushed her way into his life.”
Rose’s voice was full of contempt.
“He says she’s boring. That every day with her is miserable. If he hadn’t met me, he doesn’t know how he’d survive.”
A storm was raging inside me.
Pushed her way in?
Jet, you had the nerve to say that?
I remembered the first time I brought him home. He wore a faded white shirt and stood stiffly in my family’s living room. His family had nothing. His parents were factory workers. He had ground his way through aviation school, then spent years doing airport groundwork before barely making it into a low-level flight engineer role.
If he hadn’t been persistent enough to chase me, where would he even be right now?
I was the one who went to my father, begging him to use his connections to push Jet all the way up to the captain’s seat. I made sure Jet never had to worry about money.
When his father got seriously ill, I called in every favor, hired the best doctors, and covered every single bill.
My parents were dead set against the marriage. I was the one who threatened to do something drastic if they didn’t agree.
They gave in for me.
And in return, I became the woman who had forced herself on him.
The nausea hit me all over again.