The Captain Who Flew Into Her Storm Chapter 07

The Captain Who Flew Into Her Storm Chapter 07

I looked at the man before me without a trace of emotion.

Devotion that came too late was worthless, and so was Callum’s regret.

I took another copy of the divorce agreement from my bag and held it out to him.

“Don’t bring up the past. It makes me sick.”

“If you still refuse to sign, I’ll file for divorce in court.”

Callum stared at my signature on the agreement and shook his head hard, refusing even to touch it,

His voice was hoarse, edged with suppressed anger and barely concealed panic.

“Come home with me. If I don’t sign it, it’s just a worthless piece of paper.”

I met his gaze calmly and yanked my hand back.

“Callum, you saw the company’s disciplinary report.”

“I handed over all the evidence and went against you openly. Do you really think I did all that because I was throwing a tantrum?”

His chest rose and fell sharply.

Callum had grown so accustomed to my patience and compromise that he believed all he had to do was turn around, and I would still be standing exactly where he had left me.

I stepped back, my voice turning colder.

“You don’t have to sign. I’ll file without your consent.”

His expression tightened, and when he reached for me again, a hand intercepted his before he could

touch me.

Reid, still in uniform, stepped between us.

“Sir, this is a restricted ATC area. Unauthorized personnel can’t remain here.”

Callum narrowed his eyes at Reid, then looked at me.

“Who is he?”

I didn’t answer. I turned to Reid instead. “Let’s go.”

Rather than leave the region, Callum checked into a hotel near the airport and waited outside the

control facility every day.

He tried to talk to my coworkers and had lunches and hot drinks delivered to the tower.

It was exactly how he had pursued me when we first started dating, but I refused every delivery.

One afternoon, he cornered me in the employee cafeteria, his eyes red and his voice openly

pleading.

“Elara, I’ve already paid for what I did. Can’t you give me one chance to make it up to you?”

Once, that look of devotion might have moved me. Now, I only found it ridiculous.

Now, it only seemed pathetic.

“Callum, you still don’t understand why I left.”

“You don’t want to make amends. You just can’t stand that the person you thought you could throw

away whenever you pleased is the one rejecting you now.”

I walked around him with my tray.

“Stop coming after me. I’m sick of it.”

Callum remained rooted to the spot, his face turning deathly pale.

That afternoon, severe weather hit the Mountain West routes.

A dust storm swept across the airport with powerful crosswinds, and visibility deteriorated rapidly.

I immediately took command of the emergency response.

Reid had just been cleared to fly again, and this was his first flight back.

His aircraft was already in the critical stage of its approach.

“Mountain West Tower, Flight 8852. Wind shear alert.”

Reid’s calm voice came through my headset.

I kept my eyes fixed on the radar display as my mind raced through the changing conditions.

“Flight 8852, altimeter two niner eight eight. Runway Zero Two. Wind three four zero at three

five.”

“Maintain altitude. Expect the ILS Runway Zero Two approach.”

Every instruction I issued was clear and decisive, without a trace of hesitation.

Reid responded over the radio. “Roger. Maintaining altitude and setting up for the ILS. We trust

you, Tower.”

We trust you, Tower.

The words struck deep.

When I worked my first solo shift years earlier, Callum had said something similar.

Later, however, he had dismissed my instructions as nothing more than relayed information.

Now, in the most dangerous moment of his flight, Reid was placing his life in my hands.

I took a measured breath and guided his aircraft around the worst of the storm, correcting his

heading and approach one careful step at a time.

Thirty minutes later, Reid’s aircraft touched down safely despite the punishing crosswind.

“Tower, Flight 8852. We’re safely on the ground. Thank you. That was flawless guidance.”

I removed my headset and realized that a thin layer of sweat covered my back.

When I looked up, I saw Callum standing beyond the secured glass doors. I had no idea how long he

had been there.

He stared at me without moving.

Despair filled his eyes.

At last, he understood.

I belonged to the sky and to the tower.

I just didn’t belong to him anymore.