The Parachute He Gave Her

In the fifth year of our marriage, my husband, Adrian Holt, said he wanted to make up for never giving me a proper honeymoon. Then the plane went down, and Adrian demanded that I give the only parachute to Wendy Shaw, his first love. I stared at him in disbelief. "Adrian, don't forget your daughter is on this plane too." He apologized gently and said Annie was his precious little girl and should come first. It turned out to be a false alarm. The plane landed safely, and afterward Adrian protected me the way he always had. But the very next day, he had our daughter stripped naked and tied to an unmanned plane. With Wendy in his arms, he looked at me coldly. "Claire, if you hadn't insisted on giving the parachute to Annie, Wendy wouldn't have been so frightened that she had nightmares all night. "If you care about your daughter so much, then let her suffer a little and learn her lesson." I looked at him without expression. Then I turned away and called Adrian's biggest rival. "You've always wanted to bring Adrian Holt down, haven't you? Marry me. We'll do it together." Chapter 1 All because I refused to give the parachute to Wendy Shaw. The very next day, my husband tied our daughter to an unmanned plane with barely anything on her. I stared at him in disbelief, tears already falling. "Adrian, have you lost your mind? You're willing to risk your own daughter's life over another woman?" His eyes were cold. "Claire, if you hadn't insisted on giving the parachute to Annie, Wendy wouldn't have spent the whole night having nightmares. "I'm putting Annie up there to toughen her up. It's for her own good." I couldn't understand how he could say something like that about our daughter. But the plane had already started rising. There was no time to argue. "Adrian, if she falls, she'll die. I'm begging you. Let her down. "If you're angry, take it out on me. If you want a divorce, I'll agree to that too." He gave me a disgusted glance, then turned to Wendy and asked whether her head still hurt. Something in me went cold. Annie's crying tore through me. In the end, I even begged Wendy. She put on a concerned expression. "Adrian, maybe you should bring Annie down. Claire already doesn't like me. "If this damages your marriage too, I'll feel terrible." Adrian tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Wendy, you're too soft-hearted. I've spoiled Annie. She needs to learn a lesson." He had already decided our daughter would be punished. I looked up at Annie, terrified beyond words. And I laughed once. Five years of backing down. I was done. On the day Adrian and I married, Wendy came back from overseas. That same night, he brought her into our home. At first he told me she'd leave as soon as she found a job. Instead, little by little, he started treating Wendy like his real wife. My daughter and I became the servants in our own house. Wendy didn't like weeds in the yard. Adrian made Annie kneel on the ground and pull them out one at a time. Wendy liked dogs. So Adrian brought one home, and then he made Annie learn the same commands he taught it, on all fours, while Wendy watched and laughed. I kept believing Adrian would change. He never did. He only got worse. When I turned to leave, Adrian grabbed my wrist, his jaw tight. "Where are you going? Back to your lover?" Once, Wendy complained of stomach pain, and Adrian left me standing on the side of the highway so he could rush her to a doctor. That night, strangers got hold of me. He still believed I'd been pining after some other man. I laughed bitterly. "None of your business." Wendy folded her arms and spoke with perfect innocence. "Claire, none of this has to be a big deal. Just kneel down and apologize to me properly. "And hand over that necklace while you're at it. Then I'll forgive Annie." She was humiliating me in the open. Adrian stood beside her and didn't say a word in my defense. In his eyes, I was nothing more than something to keep Wendy happy. Annie was screaming that she hurt, begging me to save her. I clenched my teeth. "Fine. Adrian, you'll keep your word." He sneered. "Claire, I won't go back on it." Adrian had his own code, and the thing he despised most was a broken promise. That was enough for me. I didn't hesitate. I went down on my knees in front of Wendy and put my forehead to the floor, and then I did it again, and again. My forehead swelled and split. I barely felt it. "Is that enough?" Wendy didn't tell me to stop, so I didn't stop. I kept going until the skin gave way and blood ran into my eyes. Something in Adrian's face flinched. He almost reached for me. I pulled away. "I did what you asked. Now let Annie down." Adrian scoffed. He was about to give the order when Wendy gasped. "Adrian, my chest feels tight. It must be from yesterday, on the plane. "I still feel like something could happen to me. Like I could die." He wrapped an arm around her at once. He could never stand to see Wendy cry. And just like that, Adrian broke the promise he claimed mattered so much. For her, he broke his own code with his own hands. His eyes turned cold again. "Wendy, what else do you want? "Claire and Annie owe you. Take it out of them however you like. I'll back you." My husband stood in front of another woman and told her he would punish his wife and child on her behalf. I smiled. There was nothing left in that smile. Then Adrian had me taken up onto the plane too. He left one parachute. And told me to choose. Myself. Or my daughter. Chapter 2 I pulled Annie's shaking body into my arms and kept my voice soft. "Sweetheart, don't be scared. Mommy will protect you." I strapped the only parachute onto her, then put myself between her and the open side of the plane. The wind tore at me. When I swayed, a trace of pity flashed in Adrian's eyes. Then the anger swallowed it. "Claire, you'd throw your life away for her? "Fine. If you want to die that badly, let's see how long you last." I said nothing. Wendy was watching me, pleased with herself. I smiled at her without making a sound. Five years of marriage, and I had still never mattered as much as the woman he couldn't let go of. But I wanted to try one last time, for Annie and for myself. "Adrian, are you really willing to kill us both? "If this plane goes down, neither you nor I have a parachute either. A little cold wind was never going to hurt Wendy. "She's lying to you." He refused to believe it. He had already decided I was jealous, that I'd been scheming all along to get rid of his first love. "Claire, there are emergency crews on the ground. Nothing is going to happen to you or Annie." Annie was burning up. A high fever. I carried her to the opening. The parachute filled. I kept my voice steady. "It's okay, Annie. We're going down slowly." She clung to my hand and wouldn't let go. But the plane was shaking too hard. If I waited, we'd both fall. I lowered her over the side. Before I could breathe, I heard her scream. The parachute was sabotaged. She hit the ground hard. My blood went cold. I reached out from the open side as though I could somehow catch her. There was nothing I could do. "Adrian, I'm begging you. Get Annie to a hospital. "If this goes on any longer, she'll die." His hands clenched. For one second, panic crossed his face. Then Wendy wound herself around his arm. "Adrian, she's fine. The parachute caught her, didn't it? It was only a small accident." A rocky outcrop blocked his view. He couldn't see the blood on Annie's head. I could. Despair spread through me. For the first time in five years, I hated my husband. "Adrian, what do I have to do before you send someone for her?" Chapter 3 Adrian looked at me without warmth. "Claire, Annie is my daughter too. Do you really think I'd let her die? "She just needs a small lesson, something to put a little backbone in her. Once Wendy has gotten it out of her system, I'll take her to the hospital." I looked into his eyes and smiled without a sound. He meant every word of it. He was going to teach us a lesson, my daughter and me, for standing up for Wendy. "Wendy. Name your terms. I only care that my daughter lives." She hid behind Adrian and looked wounded. She was stalling. She wanted my child to die. Annie was barely breathing now. Looking at her cut me open. Adrian's heart had always tilted one way. Last year, Wendy scraped the skin off one finger. Adrian made me give blood, as much as they'd take out of me in a single sitting. Afterward I found out what he'd done with it. He'd fed it to the dog. When I asked him why, he looked at me without blinking. "Claire, Wendy thinks your blood is dirty. She'll only take the best." The year before that, Wendy scraped her cheek. Adrian poured scalding water over my face. Her skin healed without a mark. I have the scar for good. One injury after another, and eventually I understood him. No mercy was ever coming from him. With Adrian still watching coldly, I jumped from the plane. He shouted. I hit the ground hard. Blood spread out under me. I dragged myself to Annie and exposed the bloodied wound on her forehead. "Adrian, send someone. Get her to a hospital. "Look at her. She's going to die." My whole body was shaking. My voice was barely there. Adrian's wife and daughter stood in front of him covered in blood. His breath caught. He reached down and lifted Annie into his arms. Then Wendy cried out, sweet and thin. "Adrian, my ankle's cut open. My chest hurts too. "It's my fault. I'm always causing you trouble." Adrian swept Wendy into his arms. He gave me one strained look. "Claire, don't worry. I'll send people for you and Annie shortly. "It's only a game. Nobody's actually going to die." Annie's breathing was fading out. I broke. I knelt on the ground holding her and begged him. "Please. Take Annie first. "Wendy is lying to you. There's nothing wrong with her." Adrian's face went hard. He snapped at me for going too far. Then he turned and walked away without looking at either of us again. The emergency crews he promised never came. By the time an ambulance reached us, Annie had no vital signs left. I took out my phone and called the man who wanted Adrian ruined. "You've been trying to bring Adrian Holt down, haven't you? "Marry me. I'll help you." Chapter 4 After I collected Annie's ashes, I went home. Adrian was making dinner for Wendy. I remembered how much he hated the smell of cooking oil. Even at eight months pregnant, I had been the one in the kitchen, every time. Now he stood there washing and chopping for her, perfectly willing. Before, I would have confronted him. There was no point anymore. My daughter was dead. Whatever was in me had died with her. I moved past him. He frowned and called after me. "Claire, what's with the face? "Is Annie still sulking and refusing to come home? I was toughening her up. It wasn't going to kill her." I smiled. "She's dead. Adrian, are you happy now?" His brows drew together and his voice dropped. He told me to stop playing the fragile little wife. He didn't care whether our daughter was alive or dead. Wendy stepped in with her practiced concern. "Claire's just exhausted, Adrian. Don't be hard on her." Something in me snapped. I got my hands around Wendy's throat and wouldn't let go. Her face went white with panic as the air left her. "Adrian, help me." He threw me off. He was far stronger than me. I went down onto broken glass, and my palm opened on the shards. It didn't come close to what was already hurting. I looked up at her. "So you do know what pain feels like, Wendy." So she had a heart in there after all. Then why had she helped kill my five-year-old? The hatred settled in and stayed. In that moment I wanted both of them in the ground, and I wanted my daughter to be the reason. I walked into the bedroom. The room where we’d gotten married was unrecognizable. My clothes and Annie's had been dumped in the trash. Wendy's lingerie and nightgowns were spread across our bed. Our wedding portrait lay on the floor, slashed straight down the middle. I pulled off the plastic ring Adrian had bought me and dropped it in the trash with the rest. He wouldn't meet my eyes. "Claire, Wendy isn't well. This room gets the morning sun. She's taking it." I said nothing and turned to go. "Claire. If you hadn't insisted on giving Annie that parachute, Wendy wouldn't be having chest pain. "Since your daughter's stuck in the hospital and can't make it up to her, you'll do it in her place. "Wendy's care is your responsibility now. Keep plenty of fruit in the house. She likes it." He still didn't believe our daughter was dead. And he was assigning me to wait on Wendy. I thought about the date I'd agreed on with Victor Wynn. Then I smiled. "All right, Adrian. I'll do it." Over the next few days, I watched him buy her a whole development at Rosewood Heights. I watched him send her limited-edition jewelry. I watched them kiss where I could see, wound around each other like I wasn't in the room. My stomach turned over. I didn't react. Adrian looked at me, which was rare enough. "Claire, you'd better not try anything against Wendy." I shook my head and smiled, and for once it didn't cost me anything. "Adrian. We're done."