Chapter 5

The cryogenic trial was scheduled to last five years.

For Ethan, those five years would pass normally.

For me, time would stop.

When I woke again, Ethan would be five years older, while I would remain exactly as I was the day I entered the chamber.

It was a strange thought.

But by then, none of it would matter.

Ethan didn't return to the Carter estate until the following day.

The moment he walked into our bedroom, I knew Madeline had lost the baby.

His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot with exhaustion and anger.

"Claire, I never thought you could be this cruel."

He slammed the door behind him.

"Madeline was pregnant. Now she's lost the baby because of what you did."

His voice cracked.

"That was my child."

He stared at me as though I were the one who had betrayed him.

"Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to be a father?"

My hands instinctively moved over my stomach.

Beneath my palms was the child Ethan still knew nothing about.

For some reason, I wanted to shield my baby from his words.

From him.

"So let me understand this."

My voice was calm.

"You slept with another woman while we were married. You got your mistress pregnant. And somehow, I'm the one at fault?"

Ethan's jaw tightened.

"You've known Madeline for barely a month," I continued. "And that was enough for you to break every vow you made to me?"

He rubbed his temples impatiently.

"Claire, stop using those vows against me every time we argue."

I almost laughed.

"Using them against you?"

"And stop calling it betrayal."

His voice rose.

"I slept with her. That's all."

Ethan looked at me as if what he was saying made perfect sense.

"It was physical. I wanted something different for a while. My heart never left you."

Something tightened painfully in my chest.

My eyes burned.

Ethan exhaled in frustration.

"Men in our world have always been like this, Claire. Half the wives in the Families know exactly what their husbands do outside the house, and they don't make a war out of it."

His expression hardened.

"Why can't you?"

The tears I'd been holding back finally slipped down my cheeks.

Ethan's anger softened immediately.

He stepped closer and reached up to wipe them away.

"Claire."

His voice became gentle again.

"My heart still belongs to you."

I turned my face away from his hand.

He didn't seem to notice.

"I would never truly betray you."

Then he sighed.

"You have everything. You're my wife. You're Mrs. Carter. No woman could ever take your place."

He looked almost exhausted by my refusal to understand.

"So stop talking about leaving me. It's exhausting for both of us."

I stared at him.

Ethan still thought I was bluffing.

He believed every threat to leave was nothing more than a wife's attempt to frighten her husband into behaving.

So I smiled.

"Tomorrow is New Year's Eve."

His expression shifted.

I kept my voice light.

"Are we still going to Iceland?"

The tension disappeared from Ethan's face almost instantly.

"Of course."

He pulled me into his arms.

"I'll book everything now."

He took out his phone and began arranging the trip through one of the Carter Family's travel contacts.

"We'll leave tomorrow and spend New Year's abroad."

Ethan smiled as though our marriage had already been repaired.

"When we come back, we forget all of this. It'll be you and me again, just like before."

I lowered my eyes.

"All right."

What Ethan didn't know was that I wasn't coming back.

...

The airport was packed the next morning.

Holiday travelers crowded the terminals, dragging suitcases beneath departure boards while Ethan and I made our way through check-in.

Everything went smoothly.

We were almost at the gate when Ethan's phone began vibrating.

Once.

Twice.

Then again.

He looked at the screen.

Madeline Brooks.

Ethan rejected the first call.

She called again.

And again.

Finally, he answered.

"Madeline, I can't talk right now."

He lowered his voice and glanced at me.

I couldn't hear what she said, but Ethan's expression changed almost immediately.

His jaw tightened.

After several minutes, he ended the call.

"Claire."

He gave me an apologetic smile.

"Looks like you'll have to go to Iceland without me."

I looked at him quietly.

Ethan continued, "Madeline says she's going to press charges against you for what happened at the gala if I don't go see her."

He reached for my hand.

"I can't let her do that to you."

I almost admired him for it.

Even now, Ethan could turn abandoning me for his mistress into an act of devotion.

"For my sake?" I asked.

"Of course."

I slowly pulled my hand away.

"Ethan."

He looked at me.

"If you walk away now, you'll never see me again."

For a moment, he stared at me.

Then he laughed.

He reached out and ruffled my hair as though I were a child threatening to run away from home.

"Stop talking nonsense, Claire."

He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"I'll make this right and come after you. You won't have enough time to miss me."

I said nothing.

Ethan turned and walked away.

I watched him disappear into the crowd.

He never looked back.

Not even once.

A few minutes later, boarding began.

I joined the other passengers moving toward the gate.

Soon after, the aircraft left the terminal and began taxiing toward the runway.

Then the airport shook.

A deafening explosion tore through the air.

Screams erupted throughout the terminal.

Outside the windows, flames surged into the sky as thick black smoke rolled across the runway.

The departure screens flickered.

Then came the announcement that sent the entire terminal into chaos.

The aircraft that had just crashed was the flight bound for Iceland.

My flight.