I Stopped Loving Him When He Let Me Bleed Out novel Chapter 21

Landon White had scored her an incredible seat.

Front row, dead center.

She walked in, ticket in hand, and found her place.

The theater was massive, featuring a giant crystal chandelier suspended from the domed ceiling. The stage curtains were still drawn, with only a single beam of blue spotlight hitting the center stage.

She opened the playbill and scanned the cast list.

The Pilot — Landon White.

She glanced at his headshot.

He looked young, clean-cut, and possessed a rare, clear-eyed innocence.

"Wow, that actor is gorgeous!" A few girls whispered behind her.

"Is that the pilot? His picture is in the program!"

"Oh my god, yes! I'm totally getting his autograph!"

Sienna Sterling didn't turn around.

But out of the corner of her eye, she caught a figure stepping out from behind the wings.

Landon wore a leather aviator jacket, half-zipped, revealing the collar of a crisp white shirt underneath.

His hair was a natural, unstyled black. The fringe fell over his forehead, catching a soft sheen under the stage lights.

He scanned the audience, spotted her, and jogged over.

"Dr. Sterling!" He leaned over the edge of the stage, grinning down at her. "You made it!"

Sienna looked up at him.

From this angle, the stage lights hit him from behind, framing him in a golden halo.

The aviator jacket, the white shirt, the youthful face, and those bright eyes.

Her heart gave a sudden, painful lurch.

Not because of him.

But because the image was entirely too familiar.

Ten years ago, at the freshman orientation gala.

A sophomore named Finn Fletcher had stood on stage in a flight cadet's uniform, sporting cadet epaulets, bathed in a single spotlight.

She had stood at the very back of the crowd, her heart pounding so hard it threatened to crack her ribs.

That was the first time she had laid eyes on Finn.

She had sprinted downstairs to find him standing there in the pristine uniform, sporting his trainee epaulets, flashing a devastatingly confident smile.

"How do I look?" he asked.

"Incredible."

"I'm officially a pilot now."

"I know."

"When I make captain, I'm taking you on my first flight."

"Okay."

He had pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Sienna," he had murmured. "I'm going to be the best captain in the world. And then I'm going to marry you."

She had leaned against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, feeling like the entire world was at their feet.

She was twenty-one; he was twenty-two.

They thought the future was a blank canvas, ready for whatever they wanted to paint.

It wasn't until much later she realized the ending had already been written in stone.