Chapter 2

A few minutes later, Edward unbuckled his seatbelt and walked over.

He crouched down beside me, reaching for my hand.

I kept my headphones on, eyes closed, not moving a muscle.

"Sophia," he whispered, his voice pleading. "Please, let me explain."

I acted like I didn't hear a thing.

"Sophia, it's not what you think," he added. "Her name is Angela Carter. She's a new intern at my company, and for this project—"

I finally slid off one earphone, opened my eyes, and looked at him deadpan.

"Mr. Reed," I said calmly. "You've got the wrong person."

He was stunned.

"Also, please return to your seat. The plane is about to take off." My tone was polite and distant, like I was brushing off a total stranger.

Edward's face turned even grimmer. He probably never bargained for his usually docile wife treating him like a complete unknown.

"Sophia, let's talk when we get home, okay?" he pleaded, making one last ditch effort. "Don't make a scene here."

I let out a soft laugh. A scene? Since spotting them, I hadn't even raised my voice. I merely stated a fact. How was that "making a scene"?

"Sir," I said, locking eyes with him, my voice steady and cool. "If you keep harassing me, I will call the air marshal."

Edward froze. He stared into my eyes, finding no anger and no sorrow but only cold and dead silence. It finally hit him that something had shattered beyond repair.

He shuffled back to his seat, looking completely shell-shocked. The girl, Angela, immediately leaned in, whispering sweet nothings to comfort him.

I popped my headphones back on, cranked up the volume, and closed my eyes. Finally, peace and quiet.

But I knew this was only the beginning.

For the rest of the dozen-or-so-hour flight, Edward and I didn't exchange a single word. He tried coming over a few times, but my icy glare backed him right off.

Meanwhile, Angela played the scared little lamb the entire time, not even daring to raise her head.

The plane touched down at Zurich airport.

I grabbed my luggage and was among the first off the plane. Edward and Angela trailed closely behind, but I never once turned around.

Walking out of the jet bridge, I pulled out my phone and switched it on. A flood of messages and missed calls blew up my screen. All of them were from Edward.

The most recent ones were sent while we were still on the plane: [Sophia, please don't be mad. Let's talk once we land.]

[There's nothing going on between us. I'm only taking a junior colleague out so she can get some experience.]

[You have to believe me, you're the only one I love.]

I stared at those messages, thinking how utterly ridiculous they were.

Just then, a bank transaction notification popped up on my screen: [Your credit card ending in 6688 has been charged 26,160 dollars.]

I tapped for details. The spent location was at the Bellevue Grand Hotel in Altenberg, and the room type was a presidential suite for three nights.

My heart sank.

This was Edward's supplementary card, which had always been linked to my phone. He probably forgot that there was still this tiny, yet utterly fatal, connection between us.

I gripped my phone tightly and slowly turned around.

Edward and Angela were dragging their suitcases toward me. Spotting me, Edward stopped in his tracks, forcing a kiss-up smile onto his face. "Sophia, wait up..."

I ignored him and walked straight up to Angela. Scared by my gaze, she took a step back and timidly ducked behind Edward.

I stopped in front of her, held up my phone, and showed her the bank alert.

"Ms. Carter, is it?" I asked with a smile, my voice as sweet as casual chit-chat. "Your dear Mr. Reed here booked you two a three-night stay in a presidential suite using my supplementary card.

"So, tonight, are you planning on sleeping in my bed or spending my money?"