Chapter 1

After three years of marriage, Thaddeus Pierce still hasn't legally registered our marriage.

Today marks his thousandth successful flight - a milestone celebration that was supposed to end with us finally registering our marriage, his seventeenth promise to do so.

At the celebration banquet, while his supervisors kept toasting me, Thaddeus was busy sharing dishes and drinks with his student pilot, Scarlett. Despite my high fever and near fainting from all the drinking, he didn't spare me a single glance. My colleagues" pitying looks said it all - everyone could see who I was suffering for.

After the banquet, instead of heading to the registry as planned, Thaddeus broke his promise again. At his car, he stopped me from getting in.

"Scarlett had too much to drink on my behalf. I need to take her home. Take a cab back," he said. "We"ll have to postpone the registration. Another day."

Without waiting for my response, he rushed to help Scarlett into the passenger seat. Eight years of dating, three years of marriage, and this was the seventeenth time he"d postponed our legal registration because of Scarlett.

Usually, I would have broken down crying, demanding to know who his real wife was, who had really been drinking on his behalf. But this time, I just smiled softly and said, "Of course. Drive safely."

Thaddeus seemed surprised by my calm response but quickly reverted to his cold demeanor. "I"ll buy you something nice to make up for it when I get home."

Before driving away, he carefully closed Scarlett's window, protecting her from the wind in her drunken state. I remembered how he used to insist on keeping the windows open when I"d been drinking, even in winter, claiming he couldn"t stand the smell of alcohol in his car. Now I understood - it was just because it was me.

The San Francisco noon sun was scorching, but my heart felt ice cold. I took a deep breath and put the marriage certificate application back in my bag. After eight years, it was time to let go.

That afternoon, I returned to Pan American Airways office and submitted my resignation. My supervisor was shocked - I"d been the top-rated flight attendant for seven consecutive years.

"Does Thaddeus know about this?" he asked.

I smiled bitterly. "I"ll tell him tonight, though I doubt he"ll care."

"You two were the company's dream couple," my supervisor sighed. "Flying new routes together, winning awards, even the CEO attended your wedding three years ago. Everyone envied you..."

Yes, those were beautiful memories. But memories are just memories - you can never go back.

It was past 10 PM when I got home. The house was eerily quiet and empty. Then Scarlett's social media post popped up on my phone - she"d tagged me specifically:

"Thanks to my mentor for spending the afternoon with me. As a treat, taking him to Coldplay's concert tomorrow! Can't wait!"

I knew Thaddeus wouldn't be coming home tonight. It had happened countless times in our three years of marriage.

After microwaving a frozen pizza, I opened my email...

Chapter 2

Looking at the invitation emails from over a dozen international airlines, my cursor landed on Air France's offer. Without hesitation, I accepted and booked a flight to Paris for two days later.

Five years ago, Thaddeus experienced the worst incident of his career while flying to Paris. Since then, the city's name had become taboo. Not only did he stop flying there, but he'd also prevented me from taking any Paris routes.

Thaddeus, once I'm in Paris, we'll probably never see each other again.

The next morning, I started packing. Halfway through, Thaddeus came home wearing a pink dress shirt, trailing a strong scent of rose perfume. I froze momentarily. He used to hate perfume. Throughout our years together, I never wore any, even throwing away my cherished collection. Now I realized - he didn't hate perfume, he just didn't like it on me.

Noticing me packing, he hesitated. "Scarlett took too long sobering up last night, so I got a hotel room and stayed there." I glanced up, surprised. This was his first explanation in three years of marriage.

I nodded silently.

He approached me slowly. "Are you flying for work?"

I nodded again. "Something like that."

He seemed relieved. "I have some business today. Just came to grab something. Won't stay for lunch."

"Okay." I continued packing, not looking up. I'd planned to tell him about my resignation over lunch, to officially end our eight-year relationship. Seems that chance was gone now.

He grabbed a red gift bag and some clothes from the door hook before rushing out.

Crash!

Our framed photo, hanging by the door for eight years, fell and shattered. It was from our first concert together, both of us smiling with clasped hands. He'd promised to attend a concert with me every year, no matter how busy. That promise, like many others, was forgotten when Scarlett became his student.

The clock ticked in the empty room. After a long silence, I cleaned up the glass and threw away the photo of our happier times, along with my remaining attachment.

That evening, exhausted from packing, I received a call from my best friend.

"What's wrong with Thaddeus? He's flaunting his relationship with that vixen Scarlett on social media. You're not even divorced yet!"

I checked my phone. Scarlett's latest post showed her wearing a Van Cleef & Arpels four-leaf clover necklace, holding the red bag Thaddeus had retrieved earlier. The caption read: "Three wonderful years together. So grateful for you, Thaddeus. Happy anniversary!"

Then it hit me. Anniversary? Right... today was also our third wedding anniversary. We'd never celebrated it - I'd completely forgotten.

I sighed, telling my friend, "He doesn't need a divorce. We never legally registered our marriage."

"What? Three years after the wedding and still no legal registration?"

Yes, three years after our wedding ceremony, he'd canceled our registration seventeen times.

At 11 PM, unusually, Thaddeus came home.

Chapter 3

When Thaddeus came home, he noticed the empty space where our photo had hung as he was about to hang his coat. He froze.

"Where's our photo that was hanging here?"

He rushed to the bedroom without even putting down his coat.

"It fell and broke," I replied.

Noticing the broken glass in the trash, his expression relaxed. He set down his coat and pulled out a Louis Vuitton shopping bag.

"I didn't have time to get you the gift I promised yesterday. Since it's our third wedding anniversary today, here's a bag for you. Happy anniversary."

He placed it on the bed, and I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing. Three years of marriage, and he actually remembered our anniversary? But then I saw the receipt from thirty minutes ago. Of course - Scarlett's anniversary post must have reminded him, and he bought it on his way home.

What he didn't know was that I already had two of the same style in my closet.

I just stared at him silently.

"By the way, it's almost year-end. Would you consider withdrawing from the airline's excellence awards? Scarlett's been flying for three years, and her biggest dream is to win Best Flight Attendant like you. You've won it several times already - could you let her have it this year?"

He seemed hesitant as he spoke. I laughed bitterly inside - so this gift came with strings attached.

"Sure," I replied calmly.

Not just this year, but next year and all the years after - I wouldn't be competing with her anymore. After tonight, I'd be gone.

"You... you agree?"

My quick response surprised him. He glanced at me several times before continuing.

"Well, Scarlett is my student, and you're her mentor's wife. It's the right thing to do."

"Oh, and tomorrow I'm not flying. Let's go to the registry in the morning and finally get our marriage registered."

I remained silent.

He seemed to suddenly remember my packing from earlier. "Oh right, aren't you returning to flying tomorrow? What time is your flight?"

"Three PM."

I looked at him, ready to tell him about my departure during this final moment together, but his phone rang.

It was Scarlett. Her sweet voice came through the speaker - she had her period and needed pads, calling Thaddeus for help.

After hanging up, he looked at me guiltily. "Um... Scarlett has an emergency. She's just a young girl and doesn't know how to handle it. I should probably go help."

For once, his tone was almost asking for permission.

I swallowed my words and forced a smile. "It's fine. Go ahead."

He looked relieved.

Standing up, he added, "Since your flight's at three, we have time. Tomorrow at 10 AM, let's get our marriage registered. Don't worry, this time I'll be there no matter what."