We’d been fighting ever since. Usually, I caved within three days. This time, he was waiting for me to apologize. After his chuckle, he asked, “Realized you were wrong?”
He expected me to apologize, to sweet–talk him until he felt better, then he would “forgive” me and magnanimously announce his return. Ten years. He never got tired of this game.
<
But I was.
I was silent for so long that he sounded
panicked. “Honey?”
I mimicked his earlier chuckle, my voice flat.
“Ethan, come home soon. Let’s get a divorce.”
That night, Ashley and I lay in bed together,
catching up. Alex had tried to squeeze between
us, but Ashley had relocated him to the wall.
He’d protested briefly, then passed out like a
little cherub. Kids.
I stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Ashley
rolled over, draped an arm over me, and patted
my back gently. I started to cry. “Mom… she…”
Ashley had seen the urn. She knew. She held
me tighter, no empty platitudes, just the words
that had defined our twenty–year friendship:
“Babe, I’m here.”
That night, adrift in a sea of grief, I had lost my
mother’s anchor. But in the small boat of
friendship, I found a moment to breathe. I didn’t
need romantic love anymore. I didn’t want it.
With Ashley and Alex’s support, I began to pull
myself together and arrange Mom’s funeral.
<
A day later, Ethan and Evan showed up at my
door. He looked impeccable in a silver–gray
suit, hair styled, his handsome features even
more striking than usual. He held a bouquet of
pale pink orchids, softening his usual cold
demeanor.
He acted as if nothing was wrong. “Ally,” he
said, a faint smile on his lips. “I’m here to take
you home.”
He knew I was a sucker for a pretty face. That
was part of why I’d put up with him for so long.
Every time I got mad enough to hit him, one
look at his face, and my anger would dissipate.
Not this time.
“I’ve drawn up the divorce papers,” I said
calmly. “They’re in our bedroom drawer. Take a
look. If everything’s okay, we can finalize it
whenever.”
His smile vanished. He stared at me, searching
my face. Finding no trace of jest or indecision,
he hesitated, then pushed Evan forward. “Evan,
apologize to your mother.”
Evan, dressed in designer sportswear, hands
<
shoved in his pockets, scowled at the floor.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
Ethan looked up, a smile that didn’t reach his
eyes. “Okay now?”
Had I been that easy to fool? They treated me
like an idiot.
I slammed the door in their faces.
Ethan seemed stunned. Then my phone rang. I
answered to his controlled fury. “Ally, do you
have to be so dramatic?”
Dramatic? This was dramatic? What about his
endless need for reassurance, his constant
tests?
“You didn’t have to come,” I said coldly. “The
sight of you two makes me…sick.”
His breath hitched. I had never spoken to him
like this, not even when I was young and he’d
pushed me to tears. In his mind, I was supposed
to be the person who loved him most, who
cared for him most. How could I say such a
thing?
His ragged breathing betrayed his panic, as if
he was afraid to hear more. He hung up.
<
85
I leaned back against the sofa, letting out a shaky breath. The truth was, Ethan and I were from different worlds. We should never have
met. He came from immense wealth, raised in luxury, the adored only child. His only hardship was his parents‘ constant absence. His
grandmother had raised him, spoiling him
rotten, turning him into a self–centered, entitled brat.
Then he was kidnapped. The kidnappers were brutal, not just demanding ransom, but….. indulging other sick desires. He was rescued, but he was broken. His personality changed completely. His parents remained distant, leaving his guilt–ridden grandmother to care for
him, year after year.
Then I had my accident. My family couldn’t
afford the medical bills. The driver who hit me
was even poorer. I was dying in the hospital
when Ethan’s grandmother stepped in. She was
ancient, frail, but still sharp as a tack. She
investigated my family, spoke with me for a few
days, then offered me a deal. She would save
<
my life, and in return, I would save her
grandson.
Ethan was young, handsome, intelligent, but
consumed by darkness, unable to function in
the real world. She didn’t want him to waste his
life, or worse, destroy himself. But she was
running out of time.
I didn’t know how to repay a life–saving debt.
No one gave me a choice. I agreed.
It was three days before I was due to start
college. I’d dreamed of working my way through
school, getting a good job, helping Mom leave
her awful husband. My future was bright, within
reach.
Instead, Mom got her divorce, and I lost my
chance at college. Ethan’s grandmother
installed me in their home. My job was to
befriend Ethan, to heal him, to let him claw his
way out of the abyss, using me as his ladder.
By the time he was ready to face the world, my
fate was inextricably linked to his. His
grandmother died peacefully, her wish fulfilled.
But she hadn’t told me… how much I had to
- )
85
<
give, how much I had to sacrifice, before my debt was considered paid.
Ethan didn’t know any of this. He’d become completely dependent on me. Despite three years of constant companionship, he remained terrified that I would leave. He wanted to chain me to him. The moment I was old enough, he married me. But even the marriage certificate wasn’t enough. He constantly needed reassurance, constantly tested my love.
I’d tell him I loved him, or maybe I did. I was seventeen when I met him, fresh out of high school, with no dating experience. And he was handsome. Sometimes, when he looked at me with those intense eyes, my heart would race. His condition improved considerably after Evan was born. Around the same time, he discovered that his parents had secretly had another son, almost ten years old. Furious, Ethan dove into the family business, determined to claim his share. He was intelligent, well–read, and undeniably charismatic. He thrived. He wasn’t afraid of the world anymore. In fact, he seemed
<
increasingly drawn to its distractions.
