Chapter 3
Then Anne stood, smoothed the front of her navy blazer, picked up her black leather handbag, and walked down the aisle.
The cabin seemed to notice.
A man paused with his drink halfway to his mouth. A teenager lowered his headphones. The flight attendant near the galley looked up, sensing the change in the air before anyone understood it.
Lucas didn’t see Anne at first.
He was looking down at Felicia, brushing a strand of hair away from her face with a tenderness Anne had begged for in silence.
Then Felicia looked up.
Her smile vanished.
Lucas followed her gaze.
The color drained from his face so quickly Anne almost pitied him.
Almost.
“Anne,” he breathed.
Felicia jerked upright, dragging the blanket with her. “Oh my God.”
Anne stood in the first-class aisle beside them, perfectly composed.
For one long second, the only sound was the airplane engine.
Then Anne smiled.
It was not a warm smile.
It was not a sad smile.
It was the kind of smile that made guilty people understand they were already too late.
“Wow, honey,” Anne said softly, “your replacement wife looks younger than I imagined.”
Lucas opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
Felicia’s face turned white. “I—I didn’t know she was on this flight.”
Anne looked at her calmly. “That’s probably the most honest thing you’ve said all morning.”
“Anne,” Lucas whispered, reaching for her hand.
She stepped back before he could touch her.
“No.”
That one word cracked through him harder than a shout.
Several passengers had turned now. The flight attendant stood frozen with a tray of drinks. Somewhere behind Anne, someone whispered, “That’s his wife?”
Lucas lowered his voice. “Please. Not here.”
Anne tilted her head. “Not here? Interesting. Because here seems to be where you chose to introduce your secretary as your wife.”
Felicia flinched.
Lucas’s jaw tightened. “It’s complicated.”
Anne laughed once, quietly. “No, Lucas. Bridges are complicated. Labor negotiations are complicated. Storm delays on steel shipments are complicated.” Her voice dropped. “This is simple.”
“Anne, I can explain.”
“You already did.”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“That’s what men say when they meant to enjoy themselves and hoped no one would notice.”
The words landed with brutal precision.
Lucas swallowed hard. “Let’s talk when we land.”
Anne reached into her handbag and took out her phone.
Lucas’s eyes widened.
“Anne,” he said quickly. “What are you doing?”
She unlocked the screen.
Felicia grabbed Lucas’s sleeve. “Lucas, what is she doing?”
Anne looked at him, and for the first time since seeing him with Felicia, she allowed him to see exactly how deeply he had underestimated her.
“I’m protecting my company,” she said.
His face changed.
Not heartbreak.
Fear.
Because Lucas suddenly understood.
The Denver contract.
His company’s expansion.
The deal he had built his entire year around.
The deal that depended on Anne’s name, Anne’s trust, Anne’s approval.
“Anne, don’t,” he whispered.
She pressed call.
Lucas stood halfway, panic breaking through his polished face. “Anne, please, wait.”
But Anne turned slightly away as the call connected.
“Richard?” she said into the phone.
Richard Vale was the chairman of the supplier board in Denver.
Lucas knew that name.
Felicia didn’t, but she understood enough to go completely still.
May you like
Anne’s voice was calm, almost businesslike.
“Yes, I’m on Flight 902. We need to suspend final approval on the Perry Logistics partnership immediately.”
