I Met My Pilot Husband’s Other Wife on New Year’s Eve

My husband, a pilot, had to work on New Year's Eve. So I decided to surprise him, secretly booking tickets for me and our daughter on his flight.

In business class, our daughter hugged her doll and asked brightly, Mommy, can I go see Daddy fly the plane?

Before I could answer, the woman in the next seat laughed. "Is the little one's dad a pilot?"

I nodded.

"What a coincidence! My husband's a pilot too," she said, beaming. "But he's an ace captain. Promoted ahead of everyone, even though he's so young!"

Looking at her proud expression, I offered a small smile. "My husband works hard, too. He's finally earned his position."

A few moments later, my husband's deep, steady voice came over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking..."

A warmth spread through my chest, but then the woman leaned closer. "That's my husband," she whispered conspiratorially. "Doesn't he have a wonderful voice?"

My entire body went rigid.

The woman then casually flicked her wrist, showing off a luxury watch. "He felt so bad he couldn't be with me on New Year's, so he spent all of last night making it up to me. He gave me this and insisted I fly with him today to keep him company."

My eyes locked on the watch. I recognized it instantly. It was the promotion gift I'd given my husband just two days ago...

Beside me, Rosie was carefully arranging the drawing shed made for her father. It was a crooked but colorful portrait of our family of three. It was her idea, this New Year's surprise, and I couldn't say no.

"That watch must have been very expensive," I heard myself say, my voice sounding unnaturally calm.

"Oh, it was nothing," Sienna said with a wave of her hand. The curve of her lips was perfectly practicednot quite bragging, but unable to hide her smug satisfaction. "My husband makes six figures a month. A little something like this is nothing to him."

Six figures a month?

I knew Marcuss salary down to the last cent. An ace pilot's pay was good, but it wasn't that good. Especially not for a captain who'd only gotten the position because of his wife's connections.

Three years ago, during his captain qualification exam, his simulator scores were so abysmal he was on the verge of being disqualified. It was my fatherthe chairman of Apex Airwho intervened and saved his career. And for the past three years, though he held the title of captain, he had only been permitted to fly as a first officer.

Clearly, the "ace captain" had conveniently left out these details when talking to Sienna.

"Your husband treats you so well," I said, my gaze still glued to the watch on her wrist. The back of it should be engraved with the words: To Marcus, for safe takeoffs and happy landingsYour Forever Love. It was a limited-edition piece I had tracked down across three cities three years ago.

Sienna, lost in her own bliss, didn't notice my expression stiffen. "Well, he should. After all, he couldn't be with me tonight. He spent half of last night making it up to me."

Last night. Marcus had called, his voice thick with exhaustion. "Vivian," he'd said, "we have extra simulator training tonight. It's going to run late, so I'll just crash at the company dorms."

"But you have to fly on New Year's Eve. Won't you be exhausted?" I had been so worried about him.

"For you and Rosie, it's all worth it," he'd said. His voice was so sincere I hadn't doubted him for a second.

It turned out his "extra training" had taken place in another woman's bed.

"And this isn't all he's given me," Sienna continued, warming to her audience of one. "He spoils me with gifts every single month."

She turned and retrieved a Herms Birkin from the floor. The bright orange leather seared my eyes under the cabin lights. "This one was for my birthday last year." She stroked the bag as if it were a lover's cheek.

My breath caught in my throat.

That bag. One of only fifty in the world. It had vanished from my closet six months ago. Marcus had claimed he'd accidentally scratched it and then thrown it away in embarrassment. He'd then "pulled some strings" to buy me a replacement. At the time, I was touched by his honesty.

"Mommy," Rosie's small voice broke through my daze, "that lady's necklace is the same as yours!"

My eyes moved mechanically to Sienna's neck. A delicate rose gold chain held a tiny airplane charm, its wings crusted with diamonds. It was my fifth-anniversary gift, custom-designed, with our initials engraved on the back.

"You're right," I heard myself say, my throat dry.

Sienna's smile finally faltered, just for a second. "Oh, that's impossible," she recovered quickly. "My husband had this made especially for me. He said the symbolism was perfecthim flying me around the world."

Marcus had said those exact words to me over our fifth-anniversary dinner. Hed promised that once Rosie was a little older, he would take us on a trip around the world. He'd fastened the necklace around my neck that night, telling me it was one-of-a-kind, just like our love.

The day it went missing, Marcus had turned the house upside down looking for it. Finally, he'd held me and said, "Out with the old, in with the new. I'll have an even better one made for you." A month later, a new, gaudier necklace with bigger diamonds appeared in my jewelry box, paid for with the generous allowance I gave him.

He stole my things to give to his mistress, then used my money to buy me replacements.

A wave of nausea churned in my stomach.

"Are you feeling alright?" Sienna finally noticed my pallor.

"Just a bit of airsickness," I managed a weak smile, accepting a glass of water from a flight attendant. The warm liquid did nothing to soothe me. "How long have you and your husband been married?" I asked, forcing my voice to remain steady.

Sienna hesitated, a flicker of unease crossing her face. "We're not married yet."

Seeing the shock on my face, she rushed to explain. "Don't you dare look down on me. He has no feelings for his wife!"

My fingers tightened around the cup, my knuckles turning white.

"He told me his family forced him into it. The woman was a social climber who only wanted him for his status," Sienna said with a dismissive sneer. "He says she's the most boring person alive, that every day with her is torture. He didn't know how he was going to survive until he met me."

As she spoke, her expression softened with a profound pity for Marcus, as if he were the true victim in this sordid affair.

Her words were like a tidal wave crashing over me.

A social climber? Marcus, you dare call me a social climber?

I still remembered the first time I brought him home. He stood awkwardly in our grand living room, his shirt washed so many times it was nearly white. His parents were factory workers. He had fought tooth and nail just to get into flight school, then spent years as ground crew before finally landing a junior co-pilot position.

If he hadn't relentlessly pursued me with that handsome face of his, would he be where he is today?

I couldn't stand to see his talent go to waste. I begged my father to pull strings, to clear a path for him, paving his way to the captain's seat. I showered him with a life of luxury he couldn't have dreamed of. When his father fell gravely ill, I leveraged every medical contact I had, hired the best specialists, and paid every single bill.

My parents had been dead set against our marriage, warning me that our backgrounds were too different. But I was blinded by what I thought was love. I went on a hunger strike until they finally, reluctantly, gave in. And they had supported his career ever since, all for the sake of my happiness.

And I had actually believed he was just a hardworking, ambitious man.

It turned out that in his version of the story, all my love and support was just social climbing and coercion. A suffocating wave of disgust and absurdity washed over me. I had been so stupid. So blind.

Sienna was oblivious to the storm raging inside me. "It's true, you know. The one who isn't loved is the real 'other woman.' So what if his wife has the title? She doesn't understand him. She doesn't deserve him. Marcus said he's just waiting for the right time to tell her he wants a divorce."

My heart felt like it was being squeezed in an invisible fist, the pain so intense I could barely breathe.

I took a deep breath, mustering all my strength to keep my voice even. "How long have you been together?"

A blissful smile spread across Sienna's face. "It'll be exactly four years on the fifth of next month!"

The fifth of next month...

My mind went blank.

Four years ago on that exact day, I gave birth to Rosie.

I had gone into labor prematurely. After eight agonizing hours, I was wheeled out of the delivery room, exhausted, to find only my anxious parents waiting for me. Marcus was nowhere in sight.

He had rushed in much later, covered in sweat, claiming he'd been waiting in line at a famous old bakery to buy me the pastries I'd been craving. I was hurt, but seeing his guilty, worried face as he held me, my heart had melted. I even stopped my parents from scolding him.

So. While I was fighting for my life, he was celebrating the start of a new relationship. What kind of bakery takes that long, anyway?

I looked at Sienna's triumphant face, my voice turning to ice. "Does his wife know about you?"

Sienna raised an eyebrow, her tone dripping with contempt. "That stupid woman? Of course not. Marcus has her completely fooled. She probably still thinks she's in a happy marriage." She let out a short, sharp laugh, as if it were the funniest joke in the world. "But it would be better if she found out. She could just roll over and get out of the way, save Marcus the trouble."

"Stupid woman." "Roll over and get out." The words were poisoned daggers, plunging deep into my heart.

That was it. I had reached my limit.

I shot to my feet and threw the contents of my water glass directly into her face.

"Ah! Are you crazy?!" Sienna's shriek tore through the quiet cabin.

She leaped from her seat, her perfect makeup now a runny, smudged mess. She looked less like a pampered mistress and more like a feral animal. Rosie, startled by the sudden violence, burst into tears and clung to my leg.

I immediately pulled our daughter behind me, my eyes fixed on the hysterical woman.

"What is wrong with you, you lunatic!" Sienna shrieked, wiping at her face, all traces of her earlier elegance gone.

A flight attendant rushed over. "Ma'am, what's going on? Please, you need to calm down."

"Calm down? Didn't you see this psycho just threw water on me?" Sienna jabbed a finger at me, her body trembling with rage.

One attendant tried to soothe Sienna while another turned to me. "Ma'am, could you please explain what happened?"

Before I could speak, Sienna broke free and lunged at me. "I see what this is! You're just like that useless wife of his! Your husband doesn't love you either, and you can't handle the truth!"

SLAP!

Without a second's hesitation, I swung. The sound of my hand connecting with her cheek echoed through the now-silent cabin. Even Rosie's crying stopped for a beat.

Sienna clutched her face, her eyes wide with disbelief, before erupting into an even more piercing scream. "You hit me! Do you have any idea who my husband is? He is the captain of this plane! His father is the chairman of the airline! You are finished!"

She rounded on the flight attendant. "Get the captain! Get him out here right now so he can see how his wife is being treated!"

The attendant looked flustered. "Ma'am, the captain cannot leave the cockpit during the flight. It's against regulations."

"I don't care about your stupid regulations! Go get him now or I'll have your job!"

The attendant hesitated, then reluctantly made her way toward the cockpit. A few minutes later, she returned, her expression troubled. "Captain Vance says he is managing flight operations and cannot leave his post. He asks that all passengers remain calm and that the matter will be resolved upon landing."

Sienna was about to explode when the cabin intercom crackled to life.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my apologies for the interruption. We have received a report of a passenger in business class causing a serious disturbance and physically assaulting another passenger. My wife, who graciously boarded this flight today to accompany me, has been subjected to this unpleasantness, and I cannot ignore the distress she has suffered. I am requesting that security immediately restrain the aggressor to ensure the safety of all other passengers, and especially that of my wife. Please be assured we will handle this situation and maintain the safety of our flight."