Chapter 2
Chapter 2
14
Erica made a stop at the law firm first.
She had the lawyer draft divorce papers before heading back to the hospital with the soup she’d brought.
As she approached the hospital room door, she saw Nancy frantically trying to take care of Morgan.
Nancy was attempting to serve him a bowl of soup but accidentally spilled it on him. She apologized while trying to clean it up, only to accidentally tear at his bandages. When she tried to tend to his wounds, she grabbed the wrong medication…
Seeing him wince in pain, Nancy’s eyes immediately welled up.
“Morgan, I’m so sorry. I know you got hurt this badly because you ran into that fire for me. I just want to take care of you,but I’m screwing everything up. I’m sorry.”
A flicker of helplessness crossed Morgan’s usually distant eyes. “You’ve been spoiled your whole life–you’ve never had to deal with stuff like this. It’s totally normal that you don’t know how to take care of someone. I’m just a little banged up. I’ll be fine in a few days. Don’t worry about it, and don’t beat yourself up.”
His words only made Nancy cry harder.
“Stop lying to me! What do you mean ‘a little banged up‘? The doctor told me you have severe burns and you’ll never be able to fly again. That’s true, isn’t it?”
Seeing her tears, Morgan’s expression grew complicated.
He wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her, but as he reached out, he realized that wasn’t appropriate anymore.
S
Instead, he grabbed some tissues from the bedside table. “Actually, I already submitted my resignation to Delta. I was planning to quit this month anyway, so whether I can keep flying doesn’t really matter. This whole thing isn’t your fault. Please don’t cry.”
Nancy stared at him in shock, tears still streaming down her face.
“You’re quitting Delta? Why? Didn’t you always say flying was your dream?”
Morgan was quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice carried something she couldn’t quite identify.
“Being a pilot was never my dream. It’s because when you were eight, you said that captain looked so cool and that you wanted to marry a pilot someday so he could take you around the world himself. I thought you’d remember.”
“Morgan!”
Nancy hadn’t expected this at all. She couldn’t hold back anymore and threw herself into his arms.
Morgan froze. The hands that had reached out and pulled back finally wrapped around her.
Watching this scene, Erica felt like someone had just stabbed her in the chest–raw, excruciating pain.
She clenched her fists until her knuckles went white, biting her lip until she tasted blood.
Fighting to swallow all that agony, she quietly set her things by the door and walked away.
Just as she reached the hospital lobby, she ran into several of Morgan’s Delta colleagues.
They were coming to visit. After some small talk, they asked about his condition.
Erica briefly filled them in and gave them his room number.
The crew was about to head upstairs when Captain Martinez got an emergency call and had to gather everyone back.
99.19
Thanks for the Divorce Now Watch Me Slay
0.2%
Chapter 2
“Hey Erica,” First Officer Chen said, handing her some papers and a fruit basket. “We’ve got to get back to JFK for an emergency flight. Could you give our best to Captain West? Oh, and this is his resignation letter–management already signed off on it. Mind passing it along?”
After they left, Erica looked at Morgan’s resignation letter. His reason was simple:
“I’ve been flying the New York–Sydney route for Delta for three years. Every time I land in Australia, I feel this overwhelming sense of loss. When I’m up in the clouds, there’s this feeling of being untethered, like I’ve lost my way completely. Recently, hearing about an old friend made me realize that maybe what I’ve been chasing isn’t the sky at all, but someone. Now that she’s back, I’ve found my direction again, and I just want to come back down
to earth.”
Erica had always thought Morgan’s passion was for the endless sky and the freedom of flight.
She never imagined his true north had always been Nancy Willis.
He became a pilot to impress her, became a captain so he could fly to Australia whenever she needed him, and now he was quitting Delta because she’d come home.
Meanwhile, Erica had just been going through the motions as his wife, never once touching his heart.
She closed her eyes, remembering that day five years ago when Morgan spoke at the Cornell career fair–confident and passionate, talking about aviation with such fire in his eyes.
That was when she fell for him, and apparently when he was working toward getting closer to Nancy.
How pathetic. How completely ridiculous.
Now his person had come back, and it was time for her to get out of the way.
Days passed, and on their wedding anniversary, Morgan came home.
Seeing Erica intently reading a document, he asked in surprise.
“You’ve been home this whole time?”
Erica closed the divorce papers. She nodded calmly.
A flicker of confusion crossed Morgan’s eyes.
Before, when he’d gotten slightly injured from turbulence during a flight, Erica had camped out in his hospital room for three straight days after hearing the news, crying until her eyes were puffy.
This time he was hurt way worse, but she hadn’t even asked about it or seemed to care.
Morgan found it weird, but he’d never been one to interfere with her life, so he didn’t push it.
“Morgan,” Erica slowly pushed the divorce agreement over, “Let’s…”
The words slipped out before she could stop them, but Morgan’s phone buzzed at that exact moment.
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– Ma Slay
