Chapter 3

Andrew's POV

The news of Hayley's public proposal quickly spread through the operations center.

"A captain and a flight attendant are a match made in heaven. They're meant for each other!"

Someone nudged me with an eager grin. "You're close friends with both of them. Do you have any inside gossip?"

I forced a smile and shook my head.

At that moment, the star of the day's gossip appeared at the door. Ignoring all the curious stares around her, Hayley looked directly at me and said, "I'm here for Andrew."

Out in the hallway, Hayley didn't say a word. Instead, she suddenly buried her face against my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist.

I froze. Out of habit, my hand drifted to her hair. The scent that greeted me was fresh pine from the detergent we'd bought together just last week.

After a long while, she finally let go and carefully straightened the wrinkles in my uniform.

"I'm sorry, Andrew." Her voice was thick with exhaustion.

The old me would've felt extremely heartbroken. But now, I felt nothing at all.

"Captain Clark, please maintain professional boundaries."

Hayley froze, staring at me in disbelief. "What?"

I pushed her hand away, putting distance between us. I said coldly, "We've broken up. You're Dylan's fiancee now."

For a moment, her expression turned strange. Then, she grabbed my arm. "Drew, stop this. You know I only did that to get him out of trouble. What else was I supposed to do? Did you really want to see Dylan kneel and beg for forgiveness from that woman?"

I pulled out my phone. "I sent you a message."

She paused before taking out her phone. Glancing down, I saw her screen. Pinned at the top were Dylan's chat and our group chat. She scrolled for a long time before finally finding my profile picture. Beside it, the unread notification glowed strikingly.

"Let's break up."

As expected, Hayley hadn't even seen my message.

"I don't agree." She deleted the message and handed me a ring box. "Andrew, I was planning to propose to you after this busy period was over."

She took out a man's wedding band and reached for my hand. "Will you marry me? I've been looking forward to this day since high school."

I took the ring and slid it onto my finger. It was too small. I couldn't wear it at all.

In an instant, the last bit of hope I'd been holding onto turned to ash and blew away. I calmly removed the ring and placed it back in her palm.

"I don't want a ring that's already been worn by someone else."

Just as I turned to leave, Dylan came running over and blocked my path.

"Andrew, don't make life-changing decisions because you're angry! Hayley's been with you for years. How can you break up with her now? She'll be devastated.

"Did you watch another one of those relationship videos online? Those creators just make things up for attention. Stop believing everything you see. Hayley loves you so much. Are you really doubting her because of some nonsense on the Internet?"

I stared at him, and suddenly, the face I'd known for years felt unfamiliar.

Why was Dylan standing beside Hayley? Why did he think I was causing a scene because I was influenced by people online? And why could he only see Hayley's sadness while being completely blind to my pain?

"I won't be attending your wedding. Dylan and Hayley, our friendship ends here."

Dylan, face full of panic, wanted to argue, but Hayley stopped him.

Her eyes were colder than ice as she said, "Let him go, Dylan. The people who make mistakes will never admit their fault. If he hadn't been so stubborn and unforgiving, you wouldn't have been distracted during that flight and made a mistake."

I paused mid-step. My tears finally spilled over.

So, when someone stopped loving someone, everything became the latter's fault.

I didn't return to the break room. I went straight home. The moment I lay down on my bed, I fell into a deep sleep.

In my dream, I fell down a staircase. There weren't many people around. Hayley, still just a teenage girl, somehow found the strength to carry me all the way to the infirmary. Sweat soaked her face, her teeth were clenched, but her steps never wavered.

"I might not be able to fly with you anymore," I whispered.

Young Hayley grabbed my hand tightly, her eyes red and filled with desperation. "Andrew, I just want you to be safe. I don't care about flying. I won't go anywhere. I'll follow you."

However, she still enrolled in aviation school without a second thought. And to keep up with her, I chose to become an air traffic controller. At least that way, I could accompany her through the radio during every takeoff and landing.

I'd thought it was love. But to her, it was a burden. It was a lack of independence, blindly following someone else's path.

The dream slowly blurred. Then, an urgent ringtone woke me.

"Andrew! There's an emergency with Flight 863. Come, quick!"

I immediately jolted awake. My blood ran cold.

Flight 863 was the flight Hayley and Dylan were operating.