On My Flight, I Found His Other Wife

The first Christmas Eve after my wedding, I was assigned an international flight and couldn't accompany my husband to visit his parents out of town. Erik Yates not only told me not to worry about it, he even volunteered to take my in-laws on vacation himself. Right before boarding, he sent me a message. Erik: Honey, Mom and Dad and I already boarded the flight to Maldura. Don't worry about us. The message left me smiling unconsciously. But the moment I turned around, the smile froze on my face. Because my father-in-law Richard Yates and mother-in-law Selina Harrington were sitting right there in the cabin. For a second, I genuinely thought I was hallucinating. I hurried over in disbelief. "Dad? Mom?" I asked, stunned. "Why are you here? This isn't the flight to Maldura." At the sound of my voice, the two of them looked up simultaneously. The moment they noticed my flight attendant uniform and name tag, confusion immediately filled their faces. "Who are you?" Richard frowned instinctively. "Don't go around calling strangers Mom and Dad. My son's wife is right behind us." His expression turned wary. "You've mistaken us for someone else. We don't know you, and we were never going to Maldura. This trip to Eurona was arranged by our son and his wife." The words hit me like a bolt of lightning. My mind went completely blank. How could I possibly have mistaken them? Over the years, Erik had shown me countless videos of himself with his parents. The bracelet on Selina's wrist was one I personally picked out for her. There was no way I could be wrong. "Dad, Mom, it's me. Lydia. Erik's wife." I forced myself to stay calm and pointed toward the bracelet on Selina's wrist. "We may not have met in person before, but Erik showed me your photos. I bought that bracelet myself. There's an engraved S inside it." At my words, Selina instinctively touched the bracelet. For a brief moment, uncertainty flashed across her face. But it disappeared almost immediately. "That's impossible," she said firmly. "This bracelet was a gift from my daughter-in-law Chloe Carlisle. How could it possibly have anything to do with you?" "Chloe?" My chest tightened violently. I had never once heard Erik mention that name. Just then, a soft female voice drifted over from behind me. "Mom, what happened? Is this flight attendant bothering you?" I turned instinctively. A stylish young woman was walking toward us. She wore an impeccably tailored Chanel suit, flawless makeup, and carried a Hermès handbag worth more than my yearly salary. The moment she arrived, she naturally slipped her arm through Selina's as though she had done it countless times before. Then I saw her face clearly. And my heart stopped. Because this woman was Erik's ex-girlfriend. When Erik pursued me years ago, he specifically showed me photos of his ex and swore they had completely cut ties long ago. He promised there had never been anyone else after me. But the woman standing in front of me now was unmistakably the same person he once claimed was entirely in the past. "Who exactly are you?" I asked through clenched teeth, barely suppressing the rage building inside me. "I'm Erik's legal wife. We have a marriage certificate." Blood roared loudly in my ears. Erik told me they hadn't spoken in years. Erik told me that relationship ended long ago. Erik told me I was the only woman he loved. Chloe smiled sweetly, though the contempt in her eyes was impossible to miss. She gently patted Selina's hand as though comforting an upset elder before finally looking back at me. "Miss, have you been watching too many soap operas?" she asked lightly. "Erik and I have been married for six months already. Mom and Dad are traveling to Eurona with us this time." As she reached up toward the overhead compartment, the massive diamond ring on her finger flashed beneath the cabin lights almost blindingly brightly. "This is our wedding ring," she said casually. "Please stop harassing my family, or I'll have security called." By then, nearby passengers had already started whispering among themselves. "Did the flight attendant mistake the wrong people?" "But she knew about the bracelet…" "The mother-in-law said Chloe's the real daughter-in-law though." "Maybe she's trying to latch onto a rich family or something." The whispers spread rapidly through the cabin. My face burned with humiliation. Just then, my colleague Lauren Lawson hurried over and quietly grabbed my arm. "Lydia," she whispered anxiously, "what's going on? Is there some kind of misunderstanding?" I clenched my fists so tightly my fingertips turned numb with cold. Without hesitation, I pulled out my phone and called Erik. I needed him to explain this himself. The call rang several times before the automated system voice finally answered coldly, informing me that the number was temporarily unavailable and asking me to try again later. I hung up and immediately called again, but there was still no answer. I opened w******p and sent voice messages and texts one after another, but aside from the "Delivered" notification, there was no response at all. "You see?" Chloe crossed her arms smugly. "Erik isn't even answering your calls. Doesn't that already prove you're lying?" The contempt in her tone deepened further. "I know flight attendants work hard. Some people probably dream about marrying rich to change their lives." Her gaze swept dismissively over my uniform. "But that doesn't mean you can just cling to wealthy men randomly." Selina immediately chimed in beside her. "She probably heard somewhere that Erik is the Vice President of Yates Group and came running over trying to attach herself to him." My entire body shook with fury. Just as I was about to speak, a familiar male voice suddenly rang out from the boarding gate behind us. "Chloe," he called casually, "what's taking so long?"