Chapter 3

Mabel frowned.

"Felix, are you out of your mind? This is a Category 5 hurricane! People are going to die! How can you even think about leaving me and Jason behind?"

I already knew Jason meant far more to Mabel than I ever would, but I couldn't help asking.

"And what about me? You think I won't die if you leave me here? Tell me something, Mabel. I'm your fiancé. When you gave my seat to Jason's action figures, did you even stop to think that I might not make it out alive?"

Mabel hesitated, opening and closing her mouth as she struggled to come up with an answer.

Finally, she muttered, "There are other rescue helicopters, aren't there? Why can't you just take the next one? You're a grown man. Stop being so dramatic."

She pushed past me and continued toward the helicopter with Jason.

But I got there first. I climbed aboard and threw every last one of Jason's stupid action figures and personal belongings out onto the rooftop.

Jason's face crumpled, and he started bawling even louder than before. "Mabel! He's throwing my friends away! Are you going to leave me behind, too?"

"Of course not! You're the most important person in the world to me!"

Mabel gently wiped away his tears before turning on me.

"Felix! What the hell do you think you're doing? Jason's not like you! He has a serious condition. Why can't you show him a little compassion? I must've been out of my mind to agree to marry someone like you!"

Mabel had said those exact words to me three months earlier, shortly after Jason was rescued.

Back then, she kept putting off our wedding because of Jason. She even tore up the application I had prepared to help her get a position in my department and moved Jason into the house we had bought to live in after getting married.

She claimed the quiet neighborhood would be good for his recovery.

Yet I wasn't even allowed inside the home that was supposed to be ours because Jason supposedly couldn't handle being around strangers.

I still remembered our third anniversary. I had finished my classified assignment ahead of schedule and spent 15 hours on a train just to get home and surprise her.

When I opened the bedroom door, I found Mabel lying naked in our bed with Jason.

She didn't even bother explaining herself. Instead, she accused me of having a dirty mind. Then she casually handed Jason the anniversary gift I had traveled all that way to give her, and he smashed it to pieces.

Maybe that was when our relationship started falling apart. I just hadn't realized it at the time.

I pushed the memory aside and looked Mabel straight in the eye, speaking slowly and clearly.

"You want to call off the wedding? Fine by me. But this helicopter was sent here to evacuate me.

"If you and Jason want to come, get on board. Otherwise, you can stay here and wait for the next one.

"You've got three seconds to decide."

Mabel stared at me in disbelief before snapping, "What the hell are you talking about? Since when is this your helicopter?"

I had no interest in arguing with her anymore. Instead, I started counting down.

"Three!"

Panic flashed across Mabel's face, and she reached out to grab my arm. "I asked you a question!"

I shook off her hand and kept counting.

"Two!"

Jason panicked and scrambled toward the helicopter, but just as I reached "One," I slammed the cabin door shut and signaled the pilot to take off.

The engines roared to life. Mabel finally realized I was serious and started pounding frantically on the cabin window.

"Felix! Open the door! The hurricane's almost here. Are you seriously going to leave me and Jason here to die?"