My Husband’s Plane Crashed Abroad. He Texted, “I Just Landed.” There Were No Survivors

The News of the Crash

I couldn’t stop worrying after I saw the news. It said the plane my husband was on heading to a business trip abroad had crashed. I tried calling him, but it wouldn’t connect.

“Please reply.” Then a casual message from my husband arrived. “Just got here.”

I was so relieved, but that relief was short-lived as the news reported right before my eyes. “There are no survivors.” What?

What does this mean? Wasn’t the plane safe? My name is Ella.

I live with my husband, Kaden, who I’ve been married to for five years and our daughter, Mila, who will soon turn three. I quit my job when I got pregnant and now I’m a stay-at-home mom. Mila’s terrible twos have passed, and recently she’s been helping me out more.

It was tough during the terrible twos, but now I’m happily raising her without stress. While my relationship with Mila kept improving, Kaden and I spent our days rather indifferently lately. He seemed busy with work, only coming home to sleep.

Sometimes he’d return with a woman’s perfume scent, maybe from entertaining clients at clubs. There were seven columns and working on weekends, leaving him hardly any time with Mila. “Papa, do you not like Mila anymore?”

I hugged Mila tightly as she muttered those words, gently stroking her head. “Of course not, Papa is just really busy with work.” I replied.

“He’s working hard so we can live like this.” Mila’s birthday is on Sunday this time, and he promised to celebrate with us. “So let’s play a lot then.”

A Broken Promise to a Child

I couldn’t bear to see lonely Mila, so I asked Kaden to at least be with her on her birthday. “I’ll definitely take the day off.” My husband said that.

So I was looking forward to celebrating as a family. Mila’s birthday is next month. We plan to invite my in-laws and celebrate together.

My in-laws live a 15-minute drive away in the city, and since we meet often, Mila is very attached to them. Kaden has a younger sister named Camilla, who has two children. While my sister-in-law also lives in the same city, my in-laws treat both their grandchildren equally and without discrimination.

I hear there are people who favor their daughter’s children over their daughter-in-law’s. If the grandchild is a girl, some even pressure the mother to have a boy to carry on the family name. That’s why I’m nothing but grateful for my in-laws who love Mila without discrimination.

Then one day my husband told me. “I have a business trip abroad for two weeks starting on the 8th next month.” I immediately asked him to clarify.

“Wait, a business trip abroad from the 8th for two weeks?” I asked. “Yes, to America. The flight will take more than half a day.”

As I looked at my husband who seemed bothered, I couldn’t hold back and confronted him. “Hey, you know that Mila’s birthday is on the 10th right? We promised to celebrate together.” I said.

“I’ve already told her today. She even looked sad wondering if you don’t like her anymore.” I continued. Why can’t he keep his promise to our daughter’s birthday?

Thinking about Mila’s feelings is unbearable. I felt my blood boiling. “I have no choice, it’s work. If I could, I would have wanted to celebrate too.”

The Birthday Celebration

Kaden’s words made me realize. Seeing my husband’s pained face, I apologized. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I just got a bit upset. I feel bad for Mila.”

As I said that, Kaden patted my shoulder. “I’ll prepare a present. Let me know what Mila wants.” He said.

“My parents will be there so she won’t be lonely, and I promise we’ll celebrate together next year, okay?” He continued. “You better.”

I emphasized my point to my husband and decided to let it go this time. Although I worry about Mila, I’ll do my best to decorate and cook so she won’t feel lonely without Kaden. I talked to my in-laws about Kaden’s business trip and asked if they could stay over on Mila’s birthday.

“And then working? Having a business trip on Mila’s birthday? Leave it to us, we’ll liven things up for her.” My mother-in-law said. “Your father-in-law has already started preparing to stay over.”

My mother-in-law’s response brightened my spirits. If this could make Mila happy even just a little. The next day, I told my daughter about the overseas trip.

As expected, Mila teared up looking sad. “But you know Grandpa and Grandma will stay over for your birthday.” I tried to sound cheerful, and in that moment, Mila’s face brightened.

It seemed to lift her spirits a bit. The day after Kaden left for his business trip, my mother-in-law called. “Ella, do you need anything for tomorrow?”

“We prepared a present and reserved a cake, but is there anything else you want?” She asked. “It must be hard preparing everything by yourself. If you need anything just let us know, we’ll come over early tomorrow.”

I was grateful for my mother-in-law’s thoughtfulness and immediately thanked her. “Thank you, mother-in-law. We just went shopping and picked out what Mila wants.” I said.

“We have decorations ready too, so it’s fine. Thank you for the present and cake.” I added. “It’s no problem, we enjoyed choosing them too.”

My mother-in-law replied. “Your father-in-law has been excited for a week already. I told him he’s getting ahead of himself.” Hearing my mother-in-law’s words, I couldn’t help but smile.

I’m glad my in-laws are good people. Even without my husband, tomorrow should be a fun day. After chatting for a while, my mother-in-law changed the subject.

The Emergency Broadcast

“By the way, has Kaden arrived yet?” She asked. “He said he’d be moving somewhere else after landing, right?”

“He mentioned taking a smaller plane after arrival.” She continued. “He should be there by now, but I haven’t heard from him yet. So maybe his flight is delayed.”

I’ll check the flight number my husband had given me. I’ll look it up once I finish talking to my mother-in-law. Just as I thought that.

“Ella, was Kaden’s business trip to America?” I sensed something unusual in my mother-in-law’s suddenly trembling voice. “Yes, it was. What’s wrong?”

“Turn on the TV right now! They’re reporting on a plane crash in America!” She cried. What?

I hastily turned on the TV, and the emergency news report was covering the plane crash. In shock, I dropped the phone from my hand. Hearing my mother-in-law scream, I hastily picked up the phone.

“Ella, calm down! It’s not certain that that’s Kaden’s plane!” She said. “Yeah, you’re right.”

But even as I said that, I was overwhelmed with anxiety. What should I do if something happened to him? The news anchor mercilessly presented me with an unwanted fact.