Chapter 1
I was the world's best pilot, but on my final mission—just three days before my wedding—I lost my hearing.
Three years passed, but Rory loved me all the same. Every time he held my body tight and made love to me, he'd always kiss the ear I couldn't hear from.
He didn't know my hearing was finally starting to return.
I gently pressed my hand to his throat, just about to surprise him, but his phone rang at that very moment. "Rory, you've kept this hidden perfectly for three years.
"If I hadn't checked out Madge's case file myself, I would've honestly thought she was never going to recover."
Rory sounded smug. "Now that she's out of commission, Mona can finally take her spot as the ace pilot—and marry Danny, the guy she's been into for years. As long as Mona gets her dream, it's nothing to me if I have to make some sacrifices.
"But Mona's illness can't wait. Madge is the only match for her. I need to get her onto the operating table and take one of her kidneys as soon as possible."
In that instant, I felt my heart shatter to dust. Turned out, my whole life—my career, my love—was nothing but a massive scam.
Seizing the moment while Rory was distracted, I quietly pulled out my phone and fired off a text. [I'll take the flight assignment in the no-man's land, three days from now.]
*****
Rory's lips wandered down my neck and chest. Thinking I was deaf to everything, he didn't even bother to hang up the phone. He continued, "Mona's had it tough.
"She finally gets married, only to end up with kidney failure. Lucky for her I had the foresight to keep Madge tied to my side—makes it easy to use her as Mona's permanent blood supply."
The person on the other end sounded worried. "But what are you going to tell Madge when she wakes up and realizes she's missing a kidney?"
My hearing was only just returning, so Rory's voice was still a bit muffled to me.
But even through that haze, I could still catch the cold indifference and mockery in his tone.
Rory said slowly, "Madge is easy to fool. I just have to toss out some excuse and she'll believe whatever I say.
"Besides, I'll just treat her extra nice from now on. That'll be my way of making it up to her."
Hearing that, my chest tightened so much it hurt to breathe. I clenched my fists so hard my nails bit into my skin, just to keep myself from shaking.
Rory seemed to notice something was off. He frowned and slowed his words. "What's wrong?"
Ever since my hearing was damaged, I picked up lip reading, so I could still catch what he was saying.
I shook my head, but all those memories came flooding back—the flight that stole my hearing from me.
We got orders to evacuate the doctors, and everyone else got on the plane. Except for Rory.
I had to risk it all again, heading back into the blast zone, just to look for him.
The acrid stink of smoke and gunpowder burned its way up through my nose and into my head, explosions erupting right by my ears and rattling my skull.
The fighter jet went nose-first in a freefall, but my pilot instincts kicked in—I was scrambling to wrestle back control, desperate for any shot to survive.
The moment we crashed, darkness swallowed me whole. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed.
Everyone had left me behind. Just when I was at my lowest, Rory showed up.
He wrapped me up in his arms and showed me a little note, filled with words of love.
Back then, I genuinely believed this was what true love looked like.
But I never imagined he was lying to me all along—just for the sake of his precious Mona.
My damaged, discarded body? Just a backup kept around for Mona, nothing more than her emergency supply.
A low, relentless buzzing filled my ears, drowning out everything else. I pressed my hands tight over my ears, agony twisting through me as tears slid down my cheeks.
Rory's face went pale in a flash. Without a second thought, he wrapped his arms around me, desperate to soothe me. "Madge, what's wrong?"
With tears streaming down my face, I looked at him, weakly pointing to my ear and whispered through sobs, "It hurts."
Rory panicked, fumbling to comfort me—just like he always did, softly massaging behind my ear, trying to take the pain away.
His touch was gentle, just like the old days. But this time, it couldn't reach my heart.
Once I finally calmed down, he pulled out his phone and started typing. [Madge, seeing you in so much pain breaks my heart. Maybe we should try surgery?]
[Don't worry, I'll find the best doctors out there. I promise, we'll get you better. And even if it doesn't work, I'll always be here for you.]
I stared at those words, my nose stinging with tears.