Miles Farrow
Ten seconds before the bomb detonated, I decisively clipped the blue wire, saving hundreds of lives inside the high-rise building.
At the celebration dinner, Robert Vance—our bomb squad captain—handed the top honor to the new rookie, Vivian Reed.
“Let the new girl have it. You don’t want people to say I favor you, do you?”
Throughout our five years of secret dating, he had used this same excuse repeatedly to shut me up before I could even complain.
Every life-threatening mission fell entirely on my shoulders.
Yet every honor and public commendation was without fail handed to someone else.
Clutching my bleeding side, I retreated to a corner.
From afar, I watched Vivian accept the vibrant bouquet and medal, soaking in everyone’s adoration under the blinding glare of the live broadcast cameras.
During dinner, a teammate curiously asked her how she had possessed the nerve to make the critical choice.
Vivian cast a shy, fluttering glance at Robert, covering her mouth with a coy laugh.
“Oh, that wasn’t any technical strategy. Red was our captain’s favorite color, so I just couldn’t bear to do it.”
The hall erupted into a wave of suggestive laughter, even colleagues chanting for them to kiss.
Swept up in the electric mood, Robert—who had always shunned my very shadow in public—cupped her chin and pressed his lips to hers right before everyone’s eyes.
A pang erupted in my heart.
Five years of life-or-death missions together had taught Robert to take my presence and devotion for granted.
He had forgotten one fundamental truth: elite bomb technicians never hesitate.
It was high time I defused him like the ticking time bomb he was.