Home / Grounded by His Affair, Cleared for Freedom / Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

All Chapters of Grounded by His Affair, Cleared for Freedom: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

Melissa's POVOnce I left the terminal, I regained the signal on my phone.Immediately, I received a notification that my best friend, Hailey Winters, had uploaded something on her Instagram."I'm in a terrible mood today. If only the entire city of Gradenburg could drown in the rain with me."Overhead, the heavy clouds finally unleashed their burden, the pouring rain instantly drenching my uniform.Soon, blood seeped through the gauze on my wrist. I received this injury the 98th time the flight was delayed, when a passenger hit me with their suitcase.The scratches on my face that hadn't yet healed were from the 80th time the flight was delayed.Then there was that time I ended up with two broken ribs after some passengers beat me up for yet another delay.In the span of six years, the flights I was supposed to be piloting ended up getting delayed 99 times.Every time, I would end up returning home with new injuries, and every time, Samuel Zayner, my husband, would tend to my

Chapter 2

Melissa's POVMy tears mixed with the rain as they ran down my cheeks. Only by clamping a hand over my mouth tightly was I able to stop the sobs from escaping.Back when I woke up in the hospital and found out that Samuel had never left my bedside in over two weeks, I was incredibly touched. I even thought that, even if I never got to pilot a plane again, it wouldn't be that unbearable as long as I still had him.However, I've realized now that his unwavering care was all simply because he was worried about another woman exhausting herself.Unable to bear listening to them any longer, I charged out into the rain.The smile on Hailey's face froze. "Mel, what are you doing here…"The instant Samuel saw me, he instinctively pulled Hailey behind him protectively. However, when he spotted the blood seeping through my bandage, the wary look in his eyes eased a little.Taking off his jacket, he draped it over me and asked, "Why did you do this to yourself? Don't you know that you're no

Chapter 3

Melissa's POVI had almost suffered a miscarriage before I even realized that I was pregnant.I clutched the test result with one hand while the other lay gently on my abdomen. Without any warning, tears spilled from my eyes.Finally, other than my mother, there was someone else in this world who shared my blood.For the first time, I thought that maybe leaving Samuel wouldn't be that terrifying.Against the doctor's advice, I insisted on being discharged and hurried to the mountainside convalescent home Mom was in.Mom lay on the bed, her bony hand pressed against my abdomen. A glimmer of light appeared in her cloudy eyes."Was Sam over the moon when he found out?"It felt like a lump had lodged in my throat, and it took me a moment before I was able to nod tearfully."Yeah, he was overjoyed. Mom, you're about to be a grandmother, so you have to get better as soon as possible, okay?"Mom clutched my hand and nodded. "Alright, I'll definitely do my best to live on."She had

Chapter 4

Melissa's POVIn the end, I lost the baby.After handling Mom's funeral affairs, I dragged my battered body back home. Taking out my suitcase, I began to slowly pack everything I owned.I didn't want to stay even a second longer in this city with its unpredictable weather and people.Despite having been married for six years, it wasn't until I was truly about to leave that I realized all my belongings could fit in just one suitcase.A plane-shaped luggage tag was still attached to the suitcase.It had been a gift from Samuel back when I piloted my very first flight. He had personally hung it on my suitcase, then pulled me into a tight hug, his eyes filled with love."I hope that my little pilot will forever be graced with sunny skies and safe travels."However, time had worn the tag away until the paint had come off, and I never got to see a sunny sky again.After staring at it for a good long while, I ultimately ripped it off and tossed it in the trash.Behind me came the so

Chapter 5

Third-Person POVThe skies opened up soon after.Hailey sat in the side passenger seat, gazing out the window at the rain that was growing heavier by the minute. A tremor of delight shot through her before she put on a worried expression."Sam, it's been raining for a while now. Why hasn't Mel come back yet? Could it be that she left first because she was angry?"It had been an hour since Melissa entered the terminal.Glancing down at his watch, Samuel felt a wave of unease wash over him. Nonetheless, he replied, "Where can she go if she leaves me?"With how bad the weather was, there was no way the planes could take off. Wasn't that exactly what had happened to Melissa the last 99 times?She would cry or throw a tantrum, even lock herself in the cabin and refuse to eat or drink. Yet, in the end, she still came crawling back home to him.Still, when Samuel recalled her pale face as she turned to leave without saying a word, the frustration and annoyance in him intensified.Thi

Chapter 6

Third-Person POVSamuel practically ran over to the convalescent home. The mud and debris from the storm hadn't been completely cleaned away yet, so the mountain road was still a mess.According to the staff member, Melissa had braved the storm with her mother on her back and made her way down the mountain on foot that night.It felt like a hand was squeezing Samuel's heart tightly whenever he recalled those words.At the convalescent home, the nurse who had been caring for Melissa's mother recognized Samuel. Her expression instantly turned frosty."Mr. Zayner, don't you think it's a little too late for you to come here now?"Feeling like his throat had closed up, Samuel asked in a shaky voice, "What exactly happened to her mother?"The nurse was quiet for a moment before she answered, her voice tinged with sorrow, "She had a heart attack. At the time, there was a landslide on the mountain road, so the ambulance couldn't come up here. "If a helicopter had come in time to take

Chapter 7

Third-Person POV99 disciplinary notices for flight delays.In the past, Samuel had never bothered to count them. After all, to him, they were nothing more than a few rainstorms and a few flight delays.A lost flight route was something he could restore.A penalty was something he could pay.An injury was something he could make up for.In fact, even if Melissa's job ended up at stake, with him around to back her up, nobody would dare fire her. Hence, he had always thought that he had never really done wrong by her or mistreated her.It wasn't until now, with the evidence spread before him, that he realized just how much he had hurt Melissa over the years.He flipped through each disciplinary notice before something suddenly occurred to him. With shaking hands, he tapped into Hailey's Instagram profile.Six years ago, the day Hailey first said she wanted a rainstorm also happened to be the day of Melissa's first aviation test.For the tenth request, Hailey said she wanted t

Chapter 8

Melissa's POVI rented a small house by the ocean and buried Mom's and the baby's ashes in a cemetery nearby.Before I left for work every morning, a gentle breeze would welcome me through the window. It was as though Mom and the baby were telling me, "Have a safe flight. We'll be waiting for you."For the first week after I got to the new base, I went through flight requalification training again.This wasn't Gradenburg, so there was nobody here to call me a jinx. Nonetheless, every time the weather report showed that there would be rain, I couldn't stop instinctively curling my fingers into fists.After glancing at the data, my co-pilot reassured me, saying, "It won't be serious enough to affect us much. Don't worry, Captain Sander."For a moment, I was surprised, but then I nodded with a smile.Six years was a long time—so long that I had nearly forgotten what a normal flight was like.Now, the weather was completely up to nature, and my flights wouldn't be at anyone's mer

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