Chapter 1 · I Survived the Crash, Not Us

I spotted my fiancé on the earthquake relief broadcast.

He stood in his suit, pressing himself against the cold steel rebar despite everyone's warnings, and spoke firmly to the person trapped inside.

"If you make it out alive, I'll marry you."

The rescue team eventually pulled the girl out. A reporter asked him, "You must have a lot to say to her."

My fiancé laughed through his tears, his face flooded with relief. "Thank God she's okay. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if something happened to her."

The internet crowned them the most beautiful couple of the earthquake. People all over the country cried over their love story.

Nobody knew that day was supposed to be our wedding day. Our anniversary.

He left me and every single guest behind without a second thought, and ran straight to his ex.

A month later, on a routine flight at cruising altitude, the plane began its descent toward the open sea.

I stared into the camera, my voice flat and steady. "If I make it back alive, I'm calling off the engagement."

*****

When the plane went down, I looked out at the vast ocean and felt an eerie calm settle over me.

I knew, with absolute certainty, that I could not afford to panic.

Everyone else on this plane was allowed to lose hope. As the captain, I was not.

After directing the emergency evacuation protocols, I gritted my teeth and hauled back on the control column. Biting wind tore through the cracks in the fuselage and cut across my cheeks.

The plane kept plunging toward the blue water, completely out of my control. Screams filled the cabin. Cold sweat beaded across my forehead.

Despair crept into my chest, slow and suffocating.

My hands still gripped the yoke on instinct, but something inside me had already given up.

Clouds rolled past the window in thick, white waves. I thought of my fiancé, Damian Cross, the sharp line of his jaw, and the softness in his eyes when he smiled at me.

If I died here, he wouldn't have to explain me to anyone ever again.

A thousand thoughts raced through my head, but the one that stuck was that image from the earthquake broadcast, Damian's tear-streaked smile.

He had been wearing his suit when he flagged down a cargo truck, ignoring every one of my desperate pleas. He curled up in the back of that truck and endured the grueling ride all the way to the disaster zone.

He shoved past every hand that tried to pull him back, planted himself beside his ex, Olivia Stone, and whispered through the twisted rebar, "If you make it out, I'll marry you."

It all happened in that chaotic, godforsaken place.

Damian's declaration of love bloomed like a flower pushing through the rubble, fragile and beautiful, yet stubbornly alive.

Maybe heaven took pity on them and refused to let two lovers be torn apart.

Olivia was pulled out alive. Apart from some scrapes and bruises, she walked away without any serious injuries.

They became the fairytale couple of the earthquake, blessed by fate itself.

So nobody noticed what he was actually wearing. It wasn't just any suit. It was his wedding suit.

And nobody noticed that the day he chose to be a hero was the day we were supposed to get married. Our anniversary.

That was the day I gave up on loving him.

Maybe fate was looking out for me, too.

The instant the belly of the plane kissed the ocean surface, right when every pair of eyes had gone hollow with despair, the nose lifted. The aircraft surged upward and climbed back into the open sky.

The tears I had been holding back finally broke free.

My legs nearly buckled when we touched down. I knew this miracle landing would make my career. It would fast-track my promotions and silence everyone who had ever questioned whether a woman belonged in the captain's seat.

But I couldn't bring myself to feel happy.

In those final moments between life and death, the person I thought of was Damian.

And what about Damian? He never loved me.

The moment I stepped off the plane, everyone at the airport swarmed me. Seeing that I was in one piece, a reporter shoved a microphone in my face.

I looked straight into the camera. My voice came out flat. "I have a fiancé.

"In those moments, besides wanting to bring everyone on that plane home safe, I had one other thought. If I survived, I was going to call off the engagement."

Chapter 1

I spotted my fiancé on the earthquake relief broadcast.

He stood in his suit, pressing himself against the cold steel rebar despite everyone's warnings, and spoke firmly to the person trapped inside.

"If you make it out alive, I'll marry you."

The rescue team eventually pulled the girl out. A reporter asked him, "You must have a lot to say to her."

My fiancé laughed through his tears, his face flooded with relief. "Thank God she's okay. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if something happened to her."

The internet crowned them the most beautiful couple of the earthquake. People all over the country cried over their love story.

Nobody knew that day was supposed to be our wedding day. Our anniversary.

He left me and every single guest behind without a second thought, and ran straight to his ex.

A month later, on a routine flight at cruising altitude, the plane began its descent toward the open sea.

I stared into the camera, my voice flat and steady. "If I make it back alive, I'm calling off the engagement."

*****

When the plane went down, I looked out at the vast ocean and felt an eerie calm settle over me.

I knew, with absolute certainty, that I could not afford to panic.

Everyone else on this plane was allowed to lose hope. As the captain, I was not.

After directing the emergency evacuation protocols, I gritted my teeth and hauled back on the control column. Biting wind tore through the cracks in the fuselage and cut across my cheeks.

The plane kept plunging toward the blue water, completely out of my control. Screams filled the cabin. Cold sweat beaded across my forehead.

Despair crept into my chest, slow and suffocating.

My hands still gripped the yoke on instinct, but something inside me had already given up.

Clouds rolled past the window in thick, white waves. I thought of my fiancé, Damian Cross, the sharp line of his jaw, and the softness in his eyes when he smiled at me.

If I died here, he wouldn't have to explain me to anyone ever again.

A thousand thoughts raced through my head, but the one that stuck was that image from the earthquake broadcast, Damian's tear-streaked smile.

He shoved past every hand that tried to pull him back, planted himself beside his ex, Olivia Stone, and whispered through the twisted rebar, "If you make it out, I'll marry you."

It all happened in that chaotic, godforsaken place.

Damian's declaration of love bloomed like a flower pushing through the rubble, fragile and beautiful, yet stubbornly alive.

Maybe heaven took pity on them and refused to let two lovers be torn apart.

Olivia was pulled out alive. Apart from some scrapes and bruises, she walked away without any serious injuries.

They became the fairytale couple of the earthquake, blessed by fate itself.

So nobody noticed what he was actually wearing. It wasn't just any suit. It was his wedding suit.

And nobody noticed that the day he chose to be a hero was the day we were supposed to get married. Our anniversary.

That was the day I gave up on loving him.

Maybe fate was looking out for me, too.

The tears I had been holding back finally broke free.

But I couldn't bring myself to feel happy.

In those final moments between life and death, the person I thought of was Damian.

And what about Damian? He never loved me.

The moment I stepped off the plane, everyone at the airport swarmed me. Seeing that I was in one piece, a reporter shoved a microphone in my face.

I looked straight into the camera. My voice came out flat. "I have a fiancé.

"In those moments, besides wanting to bring everyone on that plane home safe, I had one other thought. If I survived, I was going to call off the engagement."