My Pilot Fiancé Framed Me, Now I'm His Boss

Sweat beaded on my forehead from the pain. I clenched my teeth so hard I thought they might crack.

A physician assistant used tweezers to pick bits of gravel from between my fingers.

Every nerve in my fingers screamed, and the pain shot through my entire body.

Frank Bennett, my manager, hurried to calm me down.

"Hang in there, Cassandra. The company's already told Cedric to come back.

"You saved 12 passengers this time. That's huge, and the company's definitely going to reward you for it.

"We talked it over, and as of now, you're a senior supervisor in the tower."

Frank had brought me a bouquet of flowers, but I couldn't bring myself to feel happy.

After that plane went down, I'd searched through the snow for 18 hours straight.

No one knew how terrified I'd been as I dug through the snowdrifts.

I was afraid one of the faces I uncovered would be Cedric's.

Frank saw how worried I was and tried to reassure me. "Don't worry. I've already called everyone who was off duty back in.

"If nothing's gone wrong, Cedric should already be on his way back."

I couldn't get that photo out of my head: the two of them wrapped up in each other, kissing like nothing else in the world existed.

Frank had barely finished speaking when a staffer ran in with news.

"Frank, none of us can get through to Cedric."

Frank's brow furrowed as he pulled out his own phone.

The call went through. But the voice on the other end wasn't Cedric's.

I heard a woman's shameless moans and a bed creaking wildly.

"Mmm... Cedric... you've got so many calls coming in..."

Then I heard Cedric chuckle wickedly.

And the sharp crack of a palm against bare skin.

"Focus. I took time off and swapped my shift. I don't have to answer anybody's calls.

"Get distracted again and I'm going to punish you. Hard."

My heart twisted. I even caught myself trying to make excuses for him.

Maybe it was the wrong number. Maybe it was just some sick joke.

Any excuse I might have made for him died with Elena's next words. "Cedric, promise me you'll never touch that fat pig."

My heart lurched. I was waiting for his answer just as much as she was.

He burst out laughing. "Elena, how could I ever touch her?

"She can't hold a candle to you. One look at all that fat on her makes me sick."

In three years together, Cedric had never once touched me.

Even on our anniversaries, all he ever gave me was a kiss on the forehead.

He always told me, "It's because I respect you, Cassandra."

Every sound coming through the phone cut into me. I clenched my fists so tight my nails dug into my palms.

Frank was red in the face. He shouted into the phone, "Cedric, your leave is over. Get back here. Now!"

He hung up. After a moment of silence, he came over to comfort me.

"Don't read too much into this, Cassandra. Cedric does care about you.

"Maybe he just got carried away in the heat of the moment!"

I didn't answer Frank. Once my wounds were treated, I went straight back to work.

I spent three hours sorting files at my desk, and blood started seeping from my shoulder.

I'd barely stepped out to find some gauze when I ran right into Cedric, who had just rushed back.

His clothes were a mess. Elena was right beside him.

There were red marks on Elena's neck. She'd tied a scarf around her neck, but it didn't quite hide them.

Cedric saw me and stopped dead.

"Cassandra, you're hurt?"

He hurried over and took my hand, holding it tight.

When he saw the blood seeping from my shoulder, he frowned.

"Why are you bleeding so much?"

He quickly grabbed a first-aid kit from the office and carefully bandaged my wounds.

His touch was gentle, just like back when he used to love me.

A second later, his voice dragged me back to reality. "Cassandra, I need you to do something for me.

"I arranged the time off directly with my coworkers. It was never entered into the system.

"If management gets involved, I-I could be suspended from flying."

He looked up at me, his eyes pleading.

"You help run the system. You handle communication between the tower and the pilots.

"Just change the record for me, and we can cover this whole thing up."

I looked at the bandage he'd just put on me, and my arm dropped limply to my side.

I waited five hours for him. All I wanted was an explanation.

But he didn't rush back because he was worried about me. He didn't care how badly I'd been hurt out there in the snow.

He came back because I was still useful to him. Because I could help him cover his tracks.

Elena stood behind him, smiling as she slipped her arm through his.

"Cassandra loves you so much. She'd never ruin your career."

Cedric didn't push her away. Instead, he took my hand.

"Once you take care of this for me, Cassandra, we'll get married right away.

"Yesterday was Elena's birthday. That's the only reason I took time off to take her out."

I looked at his other hand, his fingers intertwined with hers, and a bitter smile tugged at my lips.

"Okay."

Cedric let out a breath, his relief obvious.

Maybe in his mind, I was still the same old Cassandra. No matter how much he hurt me, I'd deal with the pain on my own.

No matter how big a mess he made, I'd be the one to clean it up.

What he didn't know was that the moment I turned away, I called the wedding planner.

"The wedding's off. Just refund my deposit. No need to tell the groom."