Chapter 2

"I've regretted it for three years."

He said it calmly in front of the entire arrivals hall.

I stepped back, unable to believe this was the man who had confronted my unfaithful father for me three years ago.

On our wedding night, he had handed me access to his bank account and sworn before my mother's memorial photograph.

He had promised to love and protect me for the rest of his life.

Celeste looped her arm through Damien's and lowered her lashes, the faintest smile touching her lips.

I had seen that smile countless times in the old photographs of her that Damien still kept.

"Sir?"

An airport security officer jogged over, slightly out of breath.

"A traveler reported that someone was causing a disturbance and blocking luggage. What's happening here?"

Damien immediately pointed at me.

"My wife. She's emotionally unstable. She saw me speaking to a friend at the airport and lost control."

"Ma'am, you cannot interfere with other travelers."

I forced down the pain in my chest, straightened, and felt sweat collecting in my palms.

"I have reasonable grounds to suspect that suitcase contains prohibited biological material. Please detain the carrier."

The officer frowned. "Do you have credentials?"

I opened my mouth.

Damien laughed beside me.

"She's a low-paid office assistant making barely three thousand dollars a month. What credentials could she possibly have?"

Celeste spoke at exactly the right moment, her voice wounded.

"I'm a physician with Doctors Without Borders. I just returned from an outbreak zone. The suitcase contains personal belongings and medical notes. This woman may have misunderstood."

She pulled an identification card from her purse and handed it to security.

The officer glanced at it and visibly relaxed.

"She has official organizational credentials, ma'am. You need to..."

"The credential is fake," I said.

The hall went silent for a second before louder laughter erupted.

"Oh, now it's fake? Then show us a real one."

"Did catching her husband with another woman break her brain?"

"Even her husband says she's unstable. Poor guy, marrying someone like that."

Damien's face went dark.

He strode toward me, lowered his voice, and spoke as though granting mercy.

"Nothing improper has ever happened between Celeste and me.

"Nora, come with me right now, and I'll give you one final chance."

I didn't move.

"You're refusing?"

He grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away.

"Damien, don't touch me. I'm preg..."

"This again?"

His voice was full of disgust.

"Last time you fought with me over a female student, you pretended to have a migraine and went to the hospital. Now you're claiming you're pregnant?

"If you were really pregnant, would you be running around an airport making a scene instead of staying safely at home?"

Celeste stood beside him with one hand on the suitcase handle while the other searched inside her purse.

The suitcase was seconds from passing through the exit gate.

I braced one hand on my knee and stood, but I didn't chase Damien.

Instead, I hurried toward the wall beside the security station ten feet away.

A red button sat beneath a clear plastic cover. A small label read:

LEVEL ONE BIOSECURITY ALERT.

I lifted the cover and slammed my palm down.

A piercing alarm instantly filled the airport terminal.

Red warning lights flashed violently. The noisy crowd went silent for several seconds before dissolving into panic.

Celeste stopped walking.

Her hand emerged from her purse, her fingertips trembling.

When Damien realized I had triggered the alarm, he charged at me in fury.

His hand rose, cutting through the air, about to strike my face.