The Captain Took My Life Jacket to Save His Ex Chapter 1

My fiancé was a commercial airline captain.

He was dedicated, precise, and highly respected in his field.

But when our flight hit severe turbulence and faced a potential crash, he grabbed my life jacket and gave it to his first love.

Later, when I confronted him, he just looked at me with sheer impatience. "It’s not like you died, Chloe!"

As I clutched my chest and collapsed, he carried his first love in his arms and walked away without looking back.

He didn't know I had a congenital heart condition. I couldn't handle extreme stress.

In the end, that flight had only one casualty.

Me.

* * *

Panic was spreading fast in the cabin. As the lead flight attendant on this flight, I had to hold onto the handrail in the aisle just to stay upright, doing my best to calm the passengers.

"Please remain seated and keep your seatbelts fastened! We are just experiencing some severe turbulence. Everything is under control!"

Honestly, even I didn’t believe my own words. Turbulence was common, but violent shaking like this was highly unusual.

A terrifying thought crossed my mind.

Sure enough, my words did nothing to soothe the passengers. As the plane took another violent dip, the screams grew louder and more desperate.

Right then, Ethan walked out of the cockpit. I was stunned to see him. "Ethan? What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be at the controls?"

He kept his head down, giving me a dismissive, half-hearted answer. "The co-pilot has the controls. I came out to help manage the cabin."

I nodded, assuming he only came out because the passengers were getting too hysterical.

Even though a tiny voice in my head told me something was off, the urgency of the situation didn't give me time to think. I immediately went back to securing the cabin.

Because of that, I missed the way Ethan’s eyes drifted toward the left side of the cabin.

Right where his high school sweetheart was sitting.

"Ethan, quick! Put your life jacket on!"

I had just grabbed my own life jacket. Before I could even put it on, I hurriedly handed the last available crew jacket to my boyfriend.

The entire plane was shaking violently. It was almost impossible to stand.

Ethan took the jacket from my hands and slipped it on without a second thought.

I held his hand tightly, my heart hammering against my ribs.

In our flight attendant training, we practiced for every emergency scenario. We knew the protocols by heart.

But when real danger hit, and the ground was literally slipping from beneath my feet, fear still took over.

At that moment, only one thought kept me sane.

At least the man I loved was right by my side. If the worst happened, at least... we would die together.

With that thought, I squeezed Ethan’s hand even harder, trying to feel his warmth.

But I didn't notice that his eyes were never on me. He was staring intensely at a woman a few rows away.

"Watch out!" Ethan suddenly yelled, throwing my hand off him. He lunged toward the other side of the aisle.

A heavy carry-on bag had slipped from the overhead bin. It slammed hard against his back, but he didn't care. He was shielding a woman beneath him.

Seeing the dark stain of blood instantly seeping through his white captain's shirt, I gasped. "Ethan!"

But Ethan didn't hear my worried cry. He frantically pulled the woman up, his voice trembling with anxiety. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

The woman stared at him in a daze for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Thank you... I'm okay."

At first, I thought Ethan was just being a hero, doing his job to protect a passenger.

Until my eyes accidentally fell on the passenger manifest clipboard on the nearby seat. A name jumped out at me, turning my blood to ice.