The tears I’d been holding back finally spilled over, and he reached out to wipe them away.
“Claire,” he said softly, his tone almost tender now. “My heart is still pure. I would never truly betray you.”
“You should be content. Don’t talk about leaving anymore—it’s exhausting for me too, you know?”
Ethan was so convinced I was bluffing, just trying to scare him.
I looked up at him and forced a smile. “Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve,” I said, my tone sweet, almost playful. “Are we still going to Iceland?”
He brightened immediately, pulling me into a hug. “Of course! I’ll book the tickets right now.” He grabbed his phone and started tapping away, already planning the trip.
“We’ll leave tomorrow,” he said, grinning. “Spend the New Year abroad. When we get back, everything will go back to normal. Just you and me.”
What he didn’t know was that I wasn’t coming back.
...
The airport was packed the next morning. Holiday travelers were rushing to catch their flights. Meanwhile, Ethan and I checked in without issue, but just as we reached the gate, his phone started buzzing relentlessly.
It was Madeline Brooks.
He hesitated but eventually picked up. I stood there, listening as he tried to calm her down.
“Madeline, I can’t talk right now,” he said in a low voice, glancing at me. But whatever she said on the other end made him tense up.
“Claire, I’m sorry,” he said, turning to me with a forced smile. “Looks like you’ll have to go on this trip alone.”
“Madeline said if I don’t see her, she’ll sue you for intentional harm. I can’t let that happen—not for your sake.”
Even now, he framed his betrayal as though it were some selfless act for my benefit.
“Ethan,” I said quietly, “if you walk away right now, you’ll never see me again.”
He chuckled, ruffling my hair like I was a child throwing a tantrum. “Don’t talk nonsense, Claire. I’ll be back before you know it.”
Without another word, he turned and walked out of the airport.
Minutes after he left, the boarding process began. Then, as the plane taxied down the runway, a deafening explosion rocked the airport. Flames erupted into the sky as the plane crashed to the ground.
It was the flight to Iceland.
...
