"What do you mean? Are you saying you never arranged a plane? That whole performance just now was just so everyone would think you had it all under control?"
Hubert nodded.
"That's right."
"I've known for a while that your parents were stranded in Ravelia. Honestly, the situation over there isn't nearly as bad as people are making it out to be. It's all just rumors getting blown out of proportion online."
"But Christine guessed correctly. You really were going to charter a flight to rescue them, no matter the cost."
"Good thing she canceled your card in time. Otherwise, the losses would've been enormous."
"When did you become like this? You used to work. You know how hard it is to earn money. Why can't you be more like Christine and think about me for once? Think about saving me some money?"
I stared at the Hubert standing before me, and it felt like I was looking at a complete stranger.
Yes, there had always been something unclear between him and Christine.
But I also knew they didn't have any real relationship.
If I made too big a fuss, I'd only push him closer to her. So I'd always held back. Not because I was stupid, but because I'd always believed that somewhere in his heart, there was still room for me and our child. But now, looking at him, I realized I'd been fooling myself.
I didn't bother clarifying who was actually stranded.
Instead, I turned the question back on Hubert.
"Hubert, just like Mr. James said, the situation in Ravelia is unstable. The news has warned people repeatedly not to travel there. But Christine deliberately changed the tickets to save a few dozen dollars. Do you honestly think that kind of penny-pinching is justified?"
"Do you really believe two human lives are worth less than a few dozen dollars?"
Hubert shot me a look of disdain.
"Nobody's dying. Can you stop being so dramatic? The locals are still going to work like normal."
"Once things settle down in a few days and flights resume, your parents will come back on their own."
I let out a cold laugh.
"Mom and Dad are getting up there in years, and their health isn't great. Don't you think being stranded terrifies them? Can you really live with that?"
Hubert shifted uncomfortably.
After all, I had a point.
Even if there was no immediate danger to their lives, the psychological toll was undeniable.
Before he could respond, Christine cut in, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh, spare us the guilt trip."
"You just stood in front of everyone and lied, telling them it was your in-laws who were stranded in Ravelia, not your own parents. How noble of you, cursing your husband's parents like that."
"That's called being absolutely despicable."
"And besides, if your parents hadn't been trying to mooch off the Delgado family by getting you to book those tickets in the first place, why would I have ever needed to change them to save the company money?"
"Your parents being stranded? They brought it on themselves."
"You want the truth? I overheard your phone call. I knew you were about to book those tickets, so I changed them on purpose. It had nothing to do with saving money."
"I wanted to teach them a lesson about which perks they're entitled to and which ones they're not."
With Christine backing him up, Hubert found his footing again.
"Exactly. My parents have been nothing but good to you. How could you curse them like that?"
Hearing those words from Hubert, something inside me finally snapped into clarity.
Whether or not he and Christine had any real relationship was beside the point. In Hubert's heart, the gap between Christine and me had already become an uncrossable chasm.
But the clarity brought a strange calm with it.
If Hubert didn't care whether my parents lived or died, then I no longer needed to care about his.
I was ready to leave.
But then I thought of Charlie. He might lose his grandparents because of all this. So I swallowed my fury and picked up my phone.
