CHAPTER 2 – The Man She Never Knew
CHAPTER 2 – The Man She Never Knew
The restaurant fell into stunned silence.
Every eye turned toward the man standing in the doorway.
He wore a crisp navy pilot's uniform, his cap tucked beneath one arm.
The moment he saw Ethan, he stood perfectly straight and saluted.
"Good evening, Mr. Hayes."
"I apologize for interrupting."
"But your aircraft is ready for departure."
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
One guest whispered,
"He's pretending."
Another shook his head.
"No poor guy owns a plane."
Ethan sighed quietly.
"I told you to wait outside."
"I'm sorry, sir," the pilot replied.
"The board insisted I deliver the documents personally."
He stepped forward and handed Ethan a leather portfolio embossed with a silver crest.
Olivia folded her arms.
"This is ridiculous."
"You expect us to believe this?"
Ethan calmly opened the folder.
Inside were ownership papers, corporate reports, and a letter signed by the chairman of Hayes Global Aviation.
The pilot turned toward Olivia.
"Ma'am..."
"Mr. Hayes owns the company that operates my aircraft."
Her confident smile vanished.
Mark, the man she had started dating only weeks earlier, laughed nervously.
"So what?"
"He owns a small charter company?"
The pilot looked genuinely confused.
"No."
"He owns Hayes Global Aviation."
"The company operates more than one hundred private aircraft across North America and Europe."
The room went completely silent.
Olivia stared at Ethan.
"You..."
"You never told me."
Ethan smiled sadly.
"You never asked."
"You only asked what I drove."
"What neighborhood I lived in."
"And why I didn't wear designer watches."
He looked down at the simple silver watch on his wrist.
"It belonged to my father."
"It's worth more to me than any luxury brand."
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For the first time that evening...
Olivia couldn't meet his eyes.
