A Controller's Course to Freedom
Fuzzy Melissa · Completed · 7.2k Words
Introduction
He looked down at me with that condescending stare and said, "Evelyn, you're my wife. Helping me out is just what you do. Don't make such a big deal about whose name is on it."
In that moment, I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I just stared at him—at that smug, self-righteous expression—and felt nothing but disgust.
He thought deleting my name would make my work hers. But he forgot one crucial detail: I built that system from the ground up.
The code doesn't lie.
When I stood on stage at the National Aviation Safety Conference and pulled up the digital trail he couldn't delete—every timestamp, every commit, every single keystroke—the look on his face was priceless.
That's when he finally understood: my parting words—"I will destroy you both"—were never just an empty threat.
Chapter 1
The thunderstorm warning had been flashing across the tower's display screens for three solid hours, and the entire approach control was backed up for miles.
I'm Evelyn, Chief Air Traffic Controller at JFK International.
Right now, I was wearing my headset, eyes locked on the crowded radar screen in front of me, fingers flying across the keyboard.
"Delta 892, turn left heading 240, maintain three thousand feet. Expect vectors for two-two left." My voice was flat, emotionless—mechanical precision.
"Left 240, maintaining three thousand, Delta 892." The pilot's response came through tinged with tension.
Outside, lightning tore through the sky. Rain hammered the tower windows in sheets.
In weather like this, one tiny mistake could turn into a disaster for hundreds of people.
My nerves were stretched thin. Four hours of non-stop traffic control had left my throat raw and my head pounding.
"Backup comm frequency's picking up static interference. Someone needs to switch the auxiliary line in Equipment Room Two." The supervisor's voice cut through the controlled chaos behind me.
I pulled off my headset and handed it to my deputy. "Keep your eyes on United 401's glide slope. I'll handle the switchover."
I moved quickly down the corridor, my heels clicking against the anti-static flooring. Equipment Room Two was at the far end—a place most people rarely visited.
When I reached the door, I noticed the heavy soundproof panel wasn't fully closed.
Just a sliver of space remained.
I reached for the handle, ready to push it open. Then I heard voices inside, and my hand froze.
"Dominic, sneaking away to be with me while Evelyn's up there handling everything... that's not fair to her, is it?"
Lily's voice. The new operations assistant who'd transferred in last month. Young, pretty, with that sweet, fragile quality that made men want to protect her.
"Don't worry about her." Dominic's voice followed—that low, lazy tone I knew too well.
"Tower work is just following procedures anyway. She's cold as ice. All work, no personality. Like living with a robot. Not like you—you make me feel alive."
Then came the sounds that made my stomach turn. Fabric rustling. Lily's breathy little moans.
The air conditioning hit my back and I felt like I'd been dunked in ice water.
Dominic. Airport Operations Director. Also my husband of three years—a marriage we'd kept hidden from everyone at work.
Three hours ago, he'd texted me saying he had an emergency executive meeting tonight, told me to just head home and wait for him.
And now, his "emergency meeting" was happening in this hundred-square-foot equipment room with some twenty-something assistant.
I stood outside that door, peering through the narrow gap, watching Dominic press Lily against the equipment rack.
His hands moved over her waist. The same eyes that used to look at me that way now looked at her with pure lust.
My chest tightened. I couldn't breathe. Seven years together. Three years married.
Countless nights supporting each other through everything. All of it had turned into one massive joke.
I thought I'd burst through that door. Slap him across the face. Scream at him and demand answers.
But strangely, I didn't.
I didn't cry. Didn't shake. Just stood there quietly, watching them.
I'd loved Dominic for seven years. Apparently, falling out of love took just one second.
The wireless monitoring equipment inside suddenly screeched with interference—the storm outside intensifying.
I pulled my gaze away. Didn't hesitate. Turned to the backup cabinet next door, swiped my access card, and calmly killed the compromised line. The backup channel came online.
The whole process took less than thirty seconds. I never looked at that half-open door again.
When I got back to the tower, my deputy's forehead was slick with sweat.
"Evelyn, United 401 just hit severe wind shear on approach. They had to go around. Now they're requesting immediate clearance!"
"I've got it." I pulled on my headset, grabbed the mic, eyes locked on the radar target that was losing altitude fast.
"United 401, New York Tower. We copy your situation. Turn right immediately, heading 030. Climb and maintain four thousand to clear the storm cell ahead."
"Tower, our fuel is already—"
"Execute the instruction, United 401." My voice came out cold as steel, leaving no room for argument. "I will get you on the ground safely. Turn right now, heading 030."
For the next forty-five minutes, I worked like a machine, calculating wind speeds, distances, and approach angles in real time, guiding three aircraft with emergencies through the storm to safe landings.
When the final plane's wheels touched down smooth, the entire tower erupted in cheers.
I leaned back in my chair and exhaled slowly. My fingers tingled—not from fear, but from the adrenaline finally wearing off.
2:00 AM. Shift change complete.
I grabbed my bag and headed to the underground garage, just as Dominic stepped out of the elevator.
He wore his perfectly tailored suit, tie loosened slightly—still every inch the polished executive.
When he saw me, he walked over, casually reaching to drape his arm around my shoulders.
"Rough night, huh? That storm was brutal. Just finished my meeting. Let's head home together?"
I shifted slightly, sidestepping his touch.
His hand hung awkwardly in the air. His brow furrowed. "What's your problem? Why are you being like this?"
"Nothing. Just tired." I looked at him calmly, catching the faintest trace of perfume on his collar—Lily's perfume.
"Then get home and rest. You're always like this—work comes before everything else. No wonder we never have any fun." He shook his head and walked straight to his car.
I watched him leave and felt sick.
I ignored his complaints, opened my car door, and slid inside.
The moment I started the engine, I made my decision.
This joke of a marriage was over.
Last Chapters
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Accardi
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.
Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates
"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."
I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.
Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.
"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."
New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.
Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates
When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.
But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?
The Last of US
I’m not sure that was what I expected him to say, but I had been waiting to hear it. I smiled playfully, looking at him. “Yes, my king,” I said.
Moments, his lips were on mine. The kiss was soft and gentle at first, his hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me close to him; I let my arms find their way around his neck. I felt his tongue gently run along my lower lip and couldn’t help the soft moan that escaped my mouth at its touch. Von only took that as permission and slipped his tongue into my mouth; I let my tongue explore his mouth as he did the same to mine. Eventually, the kiss grew deeper, and before I knew it, I was straddling his lap in one quick motion. His hands found their way to my hair, tangled in it as he tugged it lightly in his grip. I couldn’t help moaning against his lips; a growl of pleasure came from deep in his throat.
My name is Arianna Maree Paxton however I Hate that name my parents gave me that name, after my , great-great grandmother. So I go by Ari. you see my parents are hardly that they hate me in every way possible. I am only here to be their slave and plaything, otherwise they probably would of killed me a long time ago. My family belong to a pride of snow leopards well now were more of a group then a pride most of us have died out. I have a feeling my species will be coming to a end soon and the worst part of it is that we will die with such a shameful legacy left behind one that I want no part of.
Were simply a small part of the shifter community, most every other shifter, magical beings live in harmony with humans and other beings. However, they do have their own rules they each follow but for the most part the respect each other, it doesn’t mean they share anything by any means. Each has their own schools, hospitals, and way of living but terrroity and lives are generally respected. However, I feel that is mostly in part to fear of the Royal family.
However my species is dying out because they have lost their way , when you force your leopard to do horrid things it will eventually leave you , which was what was happing all around me , when that happens you can no longer find a mate , and usually you lose your mind. Without mates we can no longer reproduce hence the feeling of the end coming soon. Or at least I thought that was the reason I have that feeling but I kind of feel like something bigger is on the way.
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother
"What is wrong with me?
Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?
It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.
He’s my boyfirend’s brother.
This is Tyler’s family.
I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.
**
As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.
Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.
When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.
I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.
**
I hate girls like her.
Entitled.
Delicate.
And still—
Still.
The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.
Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.
I shouldn’t care.
I don’t care.
It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.
It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.
I’m not here to rescue anyone.
Especially not her.
Especially not someone like her.
She’s not my problem.
And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.
But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.
Iron And Glamour Just Don't Mix
Well… Sometimes you just might turn out to be right.
It turns out, the fae stole my little brother. In his place? A pixie with boundary issues and a talent for home repairs.
I’ve spent my life taking care of everyone else. So when my baby brother is taken, I don’t hesitate. I walk straight into a faerie mansion and make a bargain with its infuriatingly charming master.
Kie is everything you’d expect from a dangerous fae, beautiful, political, and entirely too amused by me. Power wrapped in a smirk. Sensual, mischievous, and far too aware of the effect he has on people. He agrees to help me find my brother.
For a price.
Now I’m bound by a faerie bargain and navigating a world of glamour, manipulation, and ancient rules I definitely should have learned sooner, enchanted forests, political games, magical contracts, and a fae lord who treats seduction like a perfectly reasonable negotiation tactic.
Iron is how I keep people out.
Glamour is how he draws them in.
And apparently, they just don’t mix.
Taste of Fate: The Vampire King's Human Mate
He reached for the back of my head and pulled me up just enough to reach my neck. When his fangs slid into me, the pain was instant, electric. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. My hands found his shoulders, clawing for something to hold. My legs kicked. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
He moaned against my throat as he drank, and the sound was devastating.
A pack of their own
The mafia princess return
Offside Temptation
Ethan Ryder was a disaster waiting to happen. Hot-headed, reckless, and constantly one bad decision away from ruining his career. I was supposed to hate him. Instead, I memorized him. I learned exactly how to push his buttons on the ice just to see the fire in his eyes.
When he grabbed my jersey in that locker room and kissed me in front of twenty cameras, it wasn't a mistake. It was the moment the line between hatred and obsession finally snapped. The media called it a scandal. They called us a divorced couple. But they didn't see the way Ethan trembled when I cornered him in the hallway afterward.
"You're staring again," he whispered, his back hitting the wall.
"You're still here," I replied calmly, stepping close enough to feel his erratic pulse.
He thought I was cold. He thought I was controlled. He didn't realize that every time he looked at me, I was fighting the urge to completely destroy the distance between us.
Now, the league is forcing us to live together, train together, and smile for the cameras to fix our public image. But the more time we spend alone in my apartment, the harder it is to pretend I just want to play hockey...
Tempted By The Enemy
She escapes to Preston Island to attend the wedding without informing him only to collide with Lucas’s hot, fiery and arrogant brother, the twenty-three-year-old, Nicholas Donnelly. Sparks immediately fly between them but Alyssa refuses to acknowledge them fearing her brother's wrath.
The wedding is over and Alyssa tries hard to forget the mysterious Nicholas Donnelly but can he forget her? Can he ignore the attraction he feels for her, feelings that have resurfaced after ten years?
What will Allyssa do when she is stalked by the man who has been invading her dreams since the day she met him? What will she do when she is whisked away to a deserted island by the unpredictable Nicholas Donnelly? Can she tame her heart or surrender to sinful temptations? Read to find out!
Part of the Temptation Series. Can be read as a standalone.
Mated To The Last Scribe
A missing woman is found exactly where her latest story said she would be.
A warehouse burns down hours after she publishes another.
Then anonymous messages begin appearing.
WE KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW.
The problem is that Iris doesn't know anything.
At least, she doesn't think she does.
When her stories attract the attention of billionaire Alpha Cassian Blackmoor, Iris is pulled into a hidden world of werewolves, secrets, and deadly conspiracies.
Cassian believes she may be connected to a mystery that has claimed the lives of powerful Alphas for years.
His wolf believes something else.
That she is his mate.
As enemies close in and events from her stories begin unfolding in real life, Iris must uncover the truth behind her impossible gift before she becomes the next target.
Because someone is watching.
Someone is waiting.
And someone will kill to keep the truth buried.
