Chapter 241 Empty Houses, Empty Answers

Ethan’s POV The plane moved through calm air, steady and slow. The engine’s low hum filled the cabin and dulled everything else. Fallon sat one seat over, eyes closed, hands folded over her jacket. A flight attendant passed by with soft steps and didn’t speak. We were both too tired to pretend small talk would help. The stillness pulled me back in time. I saw Katelyn on our first wedding day, standing in a dress that wasn’t expensive but made her look like the center of the room. She smiled at me with hope I didn’t understand then. I told myself work would build a safe life for us. Instead, I buried myself in it and left her to carry us alone. I remembered when she left, her face set like a door I couldn’t open and the silence that followed. Then I saw how we found our way back, step by step, argument by argument, apology by apology. I heard Lucas laugh in the middle of it, the way he does when he thinks we’re not listening. I gripped the armrest and stared at my reflection in the wind