That night, after I hung up the phone, I stood in front of the bathroom door for a long time.
The sound of running water continued.
Ethan was inside.
The man who had once crossed half the city in the middle of the night just to bring me medicine.
The man who had promised me:
“Claire, as long as I’m flying, you will always be the person sitting beside me.”
But now…
I was standing outside the bathroom, making a decision that would completely change our lives.
And he didn’t even know.
Maybe that was the saddest part.
I was preparing to leave a relationship that he still believed was waiting for him.
The next morning, Ethan woke up earlier than usual.
He came out wearing his pilot uniform, adjusting his collar in front of the mirror.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
“Are you flying today?”
I asked.
He glanced at me.
“Yes. T028 simulation training in the afternoon.”
I nodded.
“Okay.”
He looked at me for a few seconds.
Maybe he noticed something different.
Maybe he sensed that I was quieter than usual.
But then his phone vibrated.
He looked down.
Sophia’s message appeared on the screen.
Even from where I stood, I saw her name.
Sophia Lin.
His expression softened immediately.
A reaction I hadn’t seen from him in a long time.
He typed a reply.
I didn’t ask.
I didn’t look closer.
I didn’t need to.
Because I had already made my decision.
Three days later, the transfer announcement was released.
The entire flight department exploded.
Everyone knew Ethan Shen and Claire Jian.
The golden pair of Starlight Airlines.
The captain and first officer who had completed thousands of hours together.
The pair that reporters called “the perfect combination in the sky.”
So when the company announced that Claire Jian would become captain of route T028, everyone was shocked.
At the training center, my colleague Linda walked toward me.
“Claire, is this true?”
I looked up from my documents.
“What?”
“You’re really leaving Captain Shen’s team?”
I smiled.
“Yes.”
She lowered her voice.
“But why?”
I closed the folder.
“Because it’s time.”
She stared at me.
“After five years?”
I nodded.
“After five years.”
Ethan found out from the official notice.
Not from me.
That was the first time I saw his expression truly change.
He came to my office.
The door closed behind him.
“You applied for T028?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I looked at him calmly.
“Did I need to?”
His eyebrows tightened.
“Claire.”
I had heard that tone countless times.
The tone he used when he thought I was being unreasonable.
“You know what this means.”
“Yes.”
“You’ll leave C919.”
“Yes.”
“You won’t fly with me anymore.”
“Yes.”
The room became silent.
Then he asked:
“Is this because of Sophia?”
I looked at him.
A strange feeling appeared in my chest.
Not pain.
Not anger.
Just exhaustion.
“Do you really think that’s the only reason?”
Ethan didn’t answer.
I walked toward the window.
“You think I left because I saw one photo.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
I turned around.
“I left because that photo only showed me something I had been ignoring for a long time.”
His expression changed.
“What?”
“That I was already flying alone.”
Ethan looked hurt.
Almost offended.
“Claire, don’t exaggerate.”
That sentence.
Those four words.
They hurt more than the photo.
Because they proved that he still didn’t understand.
I laughed softly.
“You’re right.”
“I am exaggerating.”
I picked up my coffee.
“After all, what happened?”
“You only held your ex-girlfriend’s hand.”
“You only posted that you chose her again.”
“You only let everyone know that the woman you couldn’t forget was still the person in your heart.”
My voice remained calm.
“But I should understand, right?”
Ethan’s face turned pale.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
He opened his mouth.
But no words came out.
Because sometimes the truth is difficult to explain.
Especially when there is no excuse.
That evening, Ethan came home early.
For the first time in many days, he tried to talk.
“Claire.”
I was packing my belongings.
Not everything.
Only the things I needed.
He stood at the door.
“Are you really going to leave?”
I didn’t look back.
“Yes.”
“Because of me?”
I stopped.
Then answered:
“Because of myself.”
He froze.
I continued:
“I spent five years trying to become the best partner for you.”
“I trained harder because I didn’t want to slow you down.”
“I studied every emergency procedure because I wanted you to trust the person sitting beside you.”
“I celebrated every achievement with you.”
I turned around.
“But somewhere along the way, you stopped looking at the person sitting beside you.”
Silence filled the room.
For the first time, Ethan looked afraid.
Not angry.
Not confident.
Afraid.
“I love you.”
I smiled sadly.
“I know.”
Those words surprised him.
“You know?”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“I know you loved me.”
“That’s why I stayed.”
“But Ethan…”
I lowered my eyes.
“Love from the past cannot protect a relationship in the present.”
On the day I left for T028, Ethan came to the airport.
The same airport where everything had changed.
He stood there in his captain uniform.
The same uniform I had admired for years.
“Claire.”
I stopped.
He walked toward me.
“I don’t want you to go.”
I looked at him.
“Do you finally realize that now?”
His eyes reddened.
“I made a mistake.”
“Yes.”
“I was confused.”
“Yes.”
“I thought Sophia was just someone from my past.”
I remained silent.
He stepped closer.
“But you are my future.”
For a moment…
A very small moment…
The old Claire almost believed him.
The woman who waited for his messages.
The woman who cried after their arguments.
The woman who thought their love could survive anything.
But that woman was gone.
I smiled.
“Then why did you keep looking backward?”
Ethan couldn’t answer.
The plane took off at 7:20 a.m.
My first flight as Captain Claire Jian.
When the aircraft broke through the clouds, sunlight filled the cockpit.
I looked at the endless sky ahead.
For years, I thought flying with Ethan was the greatest dream of my life.
I was wrong.
The greatest dream was becoming someone who could fly even without him.
Six months passed.
T028 became one of Starlight Airlines’ most successful routes.
My team trusted me.
My passengers trusted me.
My colleagues stopped calling me “Captain Shen’s first officer.”
They called me:
Captain Jian.
Just Captain Jian.
And I loved it.
Then one day, I received a message.
From Ethan.
I stared at his name.
I hadn’t deleted his number.
But I hadn’t waited for his messages either.
The message was short.
“Sophia and I ended things.”
I didn’t reply.
A second message arrived.
“I finally understand what I lost.”
Still no reply.
Then:
“Can we meet?”
I looked at the screen.
After five years, I finally understood something.
Sometimes people don’t miss you.
They miss the version of you that always waited.
I put down my phone.
And returned to work.
One year later, Starlight Airlines held an annual ceremony.
The youngest captains were invited to speak.
When I walked onto the stage, I saw Ethan in the audience.
He looked different.
Older.
Quieter.
But I felt nothing.
Not because I hated him.
Because I had finally healed.
After the ceremony, he approached me.
“Claire.”
I smiled politely.
“Captain Shen.”
He paused.
You could see the pain in his eyes.
“You really moved on.”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
“Without me?”
I looked at the sky outside the window.
Then answered:
“Especially without you.”
Years ago, Ethan was the person who taught me how to fly beside someone.
But losing him taught me something more important.
How to fly alone.
The day he returned to his ex, I asked for a route that would never cross his path again.
At the time, I thought I was running away.
I was wrong.
I wasn’t escaping from him.
I was finally flying toward myself.
And this time…
I chose my own destination.
