Chapter 22: Clustered Emotions

Susan's POV

It was shocking to Ethan to defend his parents as though his life depended on it. I thought he never liked his parents.

Paul giggled.

He finds Ethan kind of hilarious.

He wasn't intimidated by Ethan's rage. He was confident that Ethan was never going to hit him.

“So you're going to hit me in the face because I said the truth? I bet it's a hard pill for you to swallow.

Did you finally decide to defend the same parent you never liked?

Where's this fake emotion coming from? You are just a bloody coward.

Hit me if you got the balls,” Rather than bowing out of the drama, Paul continued to provoke Ethan.

Ethan's punch was left hanging up In the air. What Paul said hit him so hard that he lost consciousness.

The Ethan I know would land a blow on Ethan a long time ago.

Despite Ethan's refusal to fight Paul, I still didn't get closer to him.

From what I know, it might be a trick to lure me to his side and become the scapegoat

“So I thought.

Fix your home before you go crazy. You're losing it.

I know you still have your mind on Maria.

But know this: that lady is a scene; she's definitely out of your league.

You're never going to get her back,”

Paul disseminated the last advice before his exit.

I couldn't even see him off at the gate. Until he left, I couldn't stop thinking about what he said.

No matter how hard I try to overlook it, the voice keeps echoing in my head.

“Could it be true?” I asked myself rhetorically as my voice echoed back to me.

“No, that's not possible. Ethan can't do that to me.

We've come a long way for him to ditch me for Maria,” I quickly debunked the possibility.

After the self-assurance, I still wasn't satisfied.

I needed to hear from the horse's mouth to be certain that my home was secured.

“I'm hiring a private investigator for the kids.

I needed to be certain before backing off,” Ethan disclosed just as I was about to ask him about his feelings towards Maria.

I withheld my question immediately. What else do I have to ask when the response is boldly written on the wall?

I fell on the couch as tiny tears dropped down my eyes.

I was heartbroken before my heart got broken.

I felt like a fool for trusting Ethan all these years.

I thought not having kids for him won't change anything but I was wrong.

All the promises he made to me suddenly became a fallacy after the emergence of his supposed sons.

What was I thinking, though? That he was going to stay true to me until the last days?

I don't see that happening.

This is the same man I snatched from my best friend.

The last time I checked, good men can't be snatched.

Now history is about to repeat itself again. The only difference is that I'm the victim this time and not Maria.

“You're still in love with her, aren't you? You want to get back with her?” I asked Ethan. I just couldn't keep the question to myself.

I was afraid that I might lose it if my curiosity wasn't satisfied.

Hearing directly from Ethan helps to reduce the burden off me.

“Still in love with whom?

I'm after the kids.

I can never ditch Maria for you, and you know that,” Ethan confessed.

He got closer and tried to caress me, but I warded him off.

It didn't cost me anything to walk away from the marriage.

However, the energy and sacrifice I put into the marriage are one of the reasons I am still waxing strong.

“I don't want you close to me. I just need you to tell me the truth.

Do you still love her?” I asked Ethan for the second time.

His response for the first time didn't quite sound convincing to me.

From his eyes, I could tell that he wasn't being honest with me.

Being lied to in marriage isn't something I wish for myself.

I can't imagine myself going through what Maria felt when she was married to Ethan.

“How else do you require me to explain this to you?

The only person that matters to me is you.” Ethan assured me again.

I was slightly convinced about his sincerity this time.

I could see it in his eyes.

I was this close to embracing Ethan and letting go of what happened until he made a blunder that took us back to the war.

“The truth is, I need an heir. I'm hoping you could support my decision.

If the DNA result turns out positive, you're also entitled to have access to the kids.

You'd make a good step-mom,” Ethan looked me in the eyes and said that to me.

He looked me in the eyes and mocked my inability to have my kids.

Some few years ago when I complained about our childlessness, the son of a bitch assured me that we had nothing to be worried about.

Now he's rubbing my barrenness on my face.

It took the return of Maria for him to forget the promises he made to me.

“What's wrong?

Did I say something wrong?”

Ethan asked me.

He still had the guts to ask the question.

It's so shocking that he didn't see anything wrong In his utterances.

I had nothing else to say to him anymore.

Slowly, I pulled myself away from him and stood up.

I was heading to the exit door when he rushed to stop me.

“Where are you heading to? Should I be worried? It's almost getting dark,”

“Nah, you should be worried about Maria and the kids instead,” I responded harshly

“Get your hands off me this minute.

I don't want either of us to be a victim of domestic violence,” I warned Ethan.

Immediately I said that he left me alone. He's scared that I might do something stupid.