Chapter 1

I booked first class for an overseas medical conference, planning to get some real rest.

As I boarded, I bumped into my husband, who swore he was on a business trip back home. A young girl was sound asleep with her head in his lap, draped in his jacket.

The flight attendant smiled and asked him, "Sir, does your wife need a blanket?"

I strolled over with a smirk and chimed in, "Bringing family along on a business trip, Edward? Your wife looks awfully young."

His face drained of color in an instant. And just like that, the revenge I'd been holding back for years finally began.

*****

I was heading to Altenberg for a medical conference, so I splurged on a first-class ticket. After pulling non-stop surgeries for two straight weeks, all I wanted was to catch up on sleep during the flight.

But the moment I boarded, I caught sight of someone I knew way too well.

He was Edward Reed. My husband of five years.

He was supposed to be miles away in Riverside City, "slaving away" on business.

Instead, he was sitting by the window, gazing down fondly at a young girl sound asleep in his lap. She was bundled up in the expensive camel coat I had bought him.

Sunlight streamed through the window, making it look like a picture-perfect moment. It was also a knife to my heart.

I stood in the aisle, the blood running cold in my veins.

Right then, a flight attendant approached with a polished, professional smile. "Ma'am, your seat is right here."

She pointed to the exact spot next to Edward.

What are the odds?

I nodded and started walking over.

The flight attendant glanced at Edward and the girl, her smile widening. She leaned down and asked him softly, "Sir, does your wife need a blanket?"

I stopped dead in my tracks a step away.

Edward hadn't noticed me yet. He was about to answer.

I walked over with a smirk and beat him to the punch. "No need, thank you."

My voice wasn't loud, but it hit like a thunderbolt in a quiet sky.

The warmth on Edward's face instantly froze. He whipped his head up and caught sight of me.

The blood drained from his face. The sheer panic in his expression was worse than a doctor watching a patient bleed out on the operating table.

The girl in his lap was startled awake. She sat up, groggy and confused, staring at me like she had no idea what was going on.

She looked like she was in her early twenties, her skin glowing with youthful vitality, and her eyes were wide and innocent.

The camel coat slipped off her shoulders, revealing a spaghetti-strap dress underneath.

Ah, to be young again.

I lowered my head, smiling as I looked at Edward's stunned, ghostly pale face.

"Edward," I said, using the most affectionate, innocent tone I could muster. "Bringing family along on your business trip? Your wife looks awfully young."

The second those words left my mouth, Edward's face turned from ghost-white to livid.

The girl in his arms blinked. She instinctively clung to Edward's arm, her eyes wide with panic and confusion.

The air around us seemed to freeze.

The flight attendant's smile glitched. She glanced between me and the girl, her eyes full of awkward curiosity.

A few nearby passengers in first class turned around, eyeing us with keen interest.

The cabin was dead silent, save for the faint hum of the jet engines.

Edward's lips moved, but not a single word came out. He was probably racking his brain, desperately searching for a half-decent excuse.

She was a coworker he bumped into on his business trip or she was a close distant cousin?

Too bad the flight attendant's "your wife" line had completely painted him into a corner.

I didn't give him a second to think. I handed my boarding pass to the attendant, keeping my smile cool and collected. "My seat, please."

Snapping out of her daze, she nodded frantically, no longer daring to make eye contact with the three of us. "Right this way, ma'am."

My seat was across the aisle from Edward.

I settled in with total poise and set my handbag aside. Through it all, I didn't spare Edward another glance, though I could feel his eyes boring holes into me.

The girl beside him was on the verge of tears, biting her lip hard as her shoulders trembled.

I slipped on my eye mask and headphones, ready to tune out and get some rest. It was time for me to press pause on this drama.