Chapter 1

My sister Delphine was dating a pilot. He logged every mile for reimbursement, even their dates.

When she had a stomach ache at midnight, he drove her to the ER. The moment the IV was in, he was already asking her to settle the twenty-mile fuel fee.

I told her to dump him. She just smiled, sweet as honey.

"Don't you get it, sis? He only keeps accounts this clear with the people closest to him."

I thought it was absurd. My boyfriend Garrett never nickel-and-dimed me like that.

I had a fear of heights. He'd skip flight duty to ride the Ferris wheel with me ninety-nine times. Until I could finally open my eyes at the top. Then he kissed me and said, "Don't be scared. No matter how far I fly, I'll always turn back for you."

I thought he was my destination. Until an unknown number sent me a photo of a hangar keycard.

"Come to Sector B. See who he really loves."

When I got there, Garrett was on one knee in front of my sister, sliding a ring onto her finger.

"I went sixty miles out of my way to propose, remember to reimburse me for the fuel."

Delphine smiled and transferred the money. He bent down and kissed her.

Then my phone buzzed with a screenshot of a group chat.

Delphine: I'll split the Ferris wheel cost with you. But you have to give me whatever matters most to her.

Garrett: Then let me give you my heart. Deal?

I stared at the ring on my own finger and suddenly laughed.

So that was it. Delphine paid for gas, and got love.

I was just the entertainment, priced and tagged.

I didn't storm in. I just cancelled the engagement and booked an outbound flight.

Before takeoff, a message from him lit up my screen:

"Baby, wait for me to come back."

I blocked him. Turned off my phone.

This time, I wasn't waiting.

The boarding announcement came. Then my phone rang. Unknown number.

Garrett's voice.

"Elara. Who gave you permission to cancel the engagement?"

My throat tightened.

"Then what was that ring and that kiss in the hangar for?"

A pause.

"You saw that?"

He sighed. Annoyed.

"Delphine stayed with me through the hard years. You showed up after. I'm willing to marry you, you should be thanking her. Besides, she just needed a gesture. As her sister, why are you making this a competition?"

"What were those five years between us, then?"

His voice went cold.

"Don't make this ugly. You're the one I'm going to marry. She's no threat to you."

My heart felt like it was being torn in two.

Those ninety-nine rides on the Ferris wheel came back to me.

Turns out every hug and every promise came with a price tag. I just hadn't realized it at the time. I'd even posted about it on social media.

He paused, then let out a light, dismissive laugh.

"You took that Amsterdam assignment, didn't you? So you already knew which way my flights would go."

"Just wait till my promotion's done. Then I'll deal with your tantrum."

He hung up.

My nails dug into my palm, but I couldn't feel the pain.

His friends started blowing up my phone.

Garrett is in a critical phase right now. You want to get him grounded?

Delphine just wanted to make up for lost time. No need to ruin something everyone was happy about.

I called the loudest one back.

"So you all knew?"

Hesitation. "He's still marrying you in the end. You should be grateful."

I hung up. Pulled up an old account and dug through the flight school group chat.

Scrolling back, I found out that the night I was in a car accident—fighting for my life in the ER—Garrett was throwing Delphine a birthday party.

When I was planning our engagement, they were in the simulators, calling her "Captain's Wife."

In the engagement photos, he had his arm around her. The ring on his finger was the one I'd bought.

Caption: Marrying her because she fits the role. Delphine was always the one in my heart.

I turned off my phone. Confirmed my eighteen-month overseas assignment. Removed him as my emergency contact. Backed up every piece of evidence.

When the plane landed, I headed for the apartment the company had arranged.

A voice message from Delphine:

"Sis, you should just stay in staff housing. You're used to roughing it anyway."

Then a system notification:

[Your apartment occupancy authorization has been updated by authorized contact: Garrett Shaw.]