Chapter 13 - THE MAN WHO STOPPED ASKING ME TO RETURN
People expected Ethan to win me back with money.
He didn’t.
No diamonds arrived.
No new car.
No private jet waiting outside.
Instead, every Tuesday evening, he attended a prenatal class with me and sat three chairs away unless I invited him closer.
Every Thursday, he texted one question:
How are you and Lily?
Never:
When are you coming home?
Never:
Do you still love me?
Never:
Haven’t I suffered enough?
It took me weeks to realize how much that mattered.
One cold Saturday, Ethan came to assemble Lily’s crib in my new house.
He spent four hours doing it wrong.
I watched from the doorway.
“You own a construction company.”
“Construction companies employ people who understand instructions.”
“You built skyscrapers.”
“I approve skyscrapers.”
I laughed.
It escaped before I could stop it.
Ethan looked up.
For one second, he looked like the man I had married.
Not the billionaire.
Not the controlling CEO.
Just Ethan.
“I missed that sound,” he said.
The room became quiet.
I folded my arms.
“Don’t.”
“I know.”
He returned to the crib.
That was the difference.
The old Ethan would have pushed.
This one stopped.
Later, while we ate takeout on my kitchen floor, he said, “I’m selling my controlling interest.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want power to be the only thing I know how to protect.”
“You love that company.”
“I do.”
“Then don’t punish yourself.”
He looked surprised.
I continued.
“Accountability isn’t destroying your life. It’s changing how you live it.”
Something softened in his face.
“Therapy is turning you into Daniel.”
“God help me.”
I laughed again.
Then he grew serious.
“Claire, I need you to know something.”
My body tensed.
“I’m not asking for you back.”
“Okay.”
“I want you back.”
I swallowed.
“But wanting something doesn’t entitle me to it.”
My eyes burned.
He continued.
“If our marriage ends, I will still spend the rest of my life trying to be a father Lily never has to recover from.”
That was the moment my anger finally cracked.
Not disappeared.
Cracked.
I touched his hand.
Only for a second.
But Ethan stopped breathing.
Then my stomach tightened.
Hard.
I looked down.
“Claire?”
Another contraction hit.
I gripped his fingers.
“My water just broke.”
His face turned white.
“But you’re only thirty-six weeks.”
“I am very aware of that.”
He jumped up.
Then froze.
“What do I do?”
Despite the pain, I laughed.
“Apparently, Mr. Impossible-to-Intimidate has finally met his match.”
We reached the hospital seventeen minutes later.
Lily was coming.
But during the examination, the doctor’s expression suddenly changed.
May you like
The fetal monitor began alarming.
And a nurse rushed toward the emergency button.
