Chapter 2

"Jeremy!"

"Papa!"

Eleanor, Poppy, and Kevin cried out at the same instant and lunged forward in a panic to pull Jeremy back.

The car swerved hard to avoid him, spun out of control, and came hurtling straight toward Simon.

Simon's eyes went wide. Before he could get out of the way, the car slammed into him and knocked him to the ground, and its wheels rolled right over his legs!

Searing pain tore through his entire body, and Simon let out an agonized scream.

Passersby rushed over to check on him and call an ambulance, yet his friend, his wife, and his daughter did not so much as glance his way.

They crowded around Jeremy, their voices full of worry.

"Papa, are you okay?"

"Jeremy, I've always thought of you as my own brother! I won't let you do something this stupid ever again!"

Eleanor was so frantic that her eyes went red. "If something happened to you, what would Poppy and I do?"

Jeremy's eyes reddened as well, and his voice broke. "I'm sorry. I never meant to worry you! I owe Simon so much. I just wanted to give a little of it back."

Eleanor's tone grew even more urgent.

"Simon's just upset and acting out! We've known each other for more than 20 years, and he loves me so much. How could he ever bring himself to leave me and Poppy?

"Don't worry. Once I smooth things over with him, he'll come around."

It felt as if a gaping hole had been ripped in Simon's heart, with cold wind howling straight through.

Eleanor was right.

He had once loved her more than life itself because she had been completely devoted to him, too.

When they were little, he had looked at a toy a moment too long, and Eleanor had saved up her allowance for three months to buy it for him, grinning like a fool as she handed it over.

"From now on, whatever you want, I'll save up and buy it for you!"

In high school, when Simon said he wanted to become a pilot, Eleanor, who had been at the bottom of the class, began studying like a madwoman. She pushed herself so hard that she developed stomach problems, all so she could get into the same college as him.

Later, they served as commander and deputy commander of the flight squadron. They worked in perfect sync and became famous as both the best flying partners in the squadron and a model couple.

After they successfully completed their 1000th mission together, Eleanor proposed to him beside the plane. "Simon, let's get married! Let me be your wings and stay by your side for the rest of your life."

Then, three years ago, they hit violent turbulence during a mission flight together.

As a whirlwind dragged Simon's plane toward a ravine, Eleanor broke protocol and released a steel cable, hauling him out of the vortex by sheer force.

However, her own plane lost power, trailed black smoke, and plunged into the ravine right before Simon's eyes.

Just before the signal cut out for good, her soft voice came over the radio. "Simon, remember that I love you."

By the time Simon reached the crash site, all he found was charred wreckage scattered across the ground. Even her body had burned to ash.

They had been childhood sweethearts for 20 years, and Eleanor had long since become a part of him.

Her death took every last bit of his hope with it, and he seemed to age ten years overnight.

For three years, he cut line after line into his arm and swallowed whole bottles of sleeping pills, only to throw them back up.

Every day and night, he was eaten alive by regret, and living felt worse than dying.

He had always believed that he was the one who should have died. Now, how could he possibly accept that all of it had been a lie?

As a tear slid from the corner of his eye, Simon slipped into unconsciousness, consumed by despair and pain.

When he woke up again, he was in the hospital.

Eleanor had slipped a plain band she had made herself onto his ring finger, and the room was filled with all kinds of gifts.

"Simon, I was wrong to lie to you." Eleanor sat beside the bed, her voice incredibly gentle.

"Jeremy's illness has tortured him until he's barely recognizable. I just couldn't bring myself to refuse his dying wish. He's your brother, which makes him my family too. Faking my death was the only way I could keep it from you.

"Simon, I hope you can understand. You're the one I love. Once Jeremy's gone, I'll reclaim my identity right away, and we'll get remarried! After that, we can finally live as a family again."

Simon's heart was dead. No matter what Eleanor said or what gifts she gave him, it would never come back to life.

Without a word, he quietly turned away, took out his phone, and opened an email.

It was an invitation he had received three months ago from a special task force surveying the airspace over remote frontier regions.

Once he joined, his identity would be classified, and he would be cut off from the world on a desolate high plateau.

He had never been able to leave his family and friends behind or give up his dream of flying.

Now, however, everything had changed.

Simon pulled himself out of his thoughts and typed his reply with resolve.

Simon: [I would like to join the task force.]