My Husband Gave Her My Parachute Chapter 11

After Mia was taken away, the room fell quiet again.

A brown document envelope lay on the table. The lawyer had delivered it with Claire’s belongings inside.

Ryan walked over. His fingers shook as he finally managed to pull the envelope open.

There were only two things inside.

A property settlement agreement for their divorce, already signed by Claire.

It was dated a week before the jump.

She’d known all along.

She’d known he’d bought Mia expensive custom equipment. She’d known he’d secretly given Mia her spot in the championships.

She hadn’t demanded answers or asked him to choose between them.

She’d simply had a lawyer prepare the divorce papers and signed them. Her plan had been to

walk out of his life as soon as that jump was over.

But he hadn’t even left her the chance to walk away.

A handwritten letter lay beneath the agreement.

It was Claire’s handwriting, neat and precise.

Ryan, by the time you read this, I should already be on a flight to Switzerland:

You said Mia reminded you of me when I was younger. You said you could see it in her eyes whenever she looked at the sky; nothing could hold her back.

You forgot why I’d dared to fly like that back then. I knew you were waiting for me on the ground. I trusted you, so I wasn’t afraid to jump from any height.

Then that feeling changed.

You were watching her. You stopped packing my parachute and stopped caring about my

safety.

I can accept that you don’t love me anymore. Feelings change.

But you let me believe we still had a marriage while handing her what was mine. That disgusts

I’m leaving you the house and the car. I’ve already transferred my shares in the club to your name. The details are all in the paperwork.

All I want is freedom.

I hope you and your new student both get to fly wherever you want.

Claire.

This is the last letter I’ll ever write to you.

Ryan clutched the letter and collapsed to his knees.

He pressed the pages to his face. It was as if he could still smell a trace of her usual pine

perfume.

“You never made it to Switzerland… You never got to go anywhere.”

His body shook with sobs. Tears fell onto the paper, slowly blurring the words.

All I want is freedom.

She’d wanted to leave and live on her own terms again

But he’d left her in that canyon of loose rock forever.

Ryan suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself a dozen or so times.

Every blow was hard. The corner of his mouth split, and blood ran down his chin.

“What have you done?”

He stared at his bloodstained hands.

“Ryan, you killed her.”

He grabbed the paring knife from the table and stabbed himself in the left thigh.

A sharp pain shot through his thigh, but he didn’t stop..

He pulled the knife out and plunged it into the same wound.

All he could think about was the moment Claire hit the ground.

Every bone in her body had shattered.

How much pain had she been in?

How could he lie here, waiting for someone to treat his wounds and for the pain to pass?

A nurse opened the door to change his dressings. She saw the blood on the floor and the knife in his hand. She immediately screamed for help.

Hurried footsteps sounded in the hallway. Medical staff rushed into the room.