Chapter 2

For a moment, Mabel seemed to hesitate.

Jason immediately jerked upright in his seat and started frantically pulling at his seat belt, screaming and crying.

"Mabel, you lied! You promised my friends could come with us! If they can't come, I'm not going either! I'm staying with my friends!"

Mabel tried to calm him down, but Jason was a grown man. He quickly unbuckled himself and tried to climb out of the helicopter.

Mabel grabbed him so tightly that one of her fingernails tore off, but she barely seemed to notice the pain as she turned on me.

"Felix! Would it really kill you to evacuate a little later? Can't you see how upset Jason is? Why do you have to keep pushing him?"

The wind howled across the rooftop. I looked up at the thick black clouds racing toward us, my heart sinking.

A Category 5 hurricane was bearing down on us, powerful enough to destroy almost anything in its path. Everyone else had evacuated three days ago, and Mabel seriously thought I could just hang around and wait?

I shot right back at her. "Would it kill you to put those action figures on the floor or hold them in your lap? Mabel, I'm your fiancé! Are you seriously telling me my life matters less to you than a bunch of plastic toys?"

Before Mabel could answer, Jason grabbed a nearby box and hurled it straight at me.

With my broken leg, I couldn't get out of the way in time. The box struck me square in the face, breaking my nose.

Blood streamed down my face, but Jason jumped out of the helicopter and started punching and kicking me.

"They're not toys! They're my best friends! You're trying to take my friends away! You're so mean! I hate you!"

Jason was strong, and nearly every punch connected.

I desperately raised my arms to shield myself, but he kept swinging until my face and head were covered in blood.

When I saw his fist coming straight for my temple, I instinctively fought back and shoved him away.

I barely put any strength into it, but Jason fell onto his butt and immediately burst into tears.

Mabel rushed out of the helicopter. The moment she saw Jason sitting on the ground, she stormed over and slapped me across the face.

"Felix, have you completely lost your mind? How could you hurt Jason? Jason, let me see. Where does it hurt?"

Mabel fussed over Jason, checking him over and over even though he had only landed on his butt. She even bent down to brush the dust off his pants.

Meanwhile, she completely ignored the blood streaming down my face.

Even after making sure Jason was fine, Mabel was still furious with me. She actually demanded that I apologize to him.

I had always known Mabel favored Jason, but this was so ridiculous that I couldn't help letting out a bitter laugh.

I pointed at my bloodied face. "He beat me bloody, and you expect me to apologize to him?"

Mabel glanced at my injuries, and for a moment, she seemed to hesitate. But her expression quickly hardened again.

"Well, none of this would've happened if you hadn't insisted on taking the seat Jason needed for his action figures!

"You know about his condition, but you keep pushing his buttons on purpose. If anything happens to Jason today, you can forget about marrying me!

"Now stop causing trouble and stay here until the next rescue helicopter comes. The hurricane's almost here, and I need to get Jason somewhere safe first!"

With that, Mabel took Jason by the hand and started leading him back toward the helicopter.

A cold emptiness settled in my chest.

So she knew the hurricane was almost here. She knew exactly how dangerous it was to stay behind. Yet she still chose to save Jason's action figures instead of me.

If that was her choice, then I had no reason to keep protecting her.

I struggled to my feet and limped into their path.

"Neither of you is leaving on this helicopter. You can stay here and wait for the next one."