Chapter 5 Your Mother Wanted Me Gone

Ethan stared at the phone in his hand.

"Say that again."

Daniel hesitated.

"The payment to the security company was authorized through an account belonging to your mother, Mrs. Carter."

Ethan's jaw tightened.

"My mother?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are you certain?"

"We traced the account personally. There's no doubt."

Ethan ended the call.

For several seconds, he remained completely still.

His mother had never hidden her dislike for Mia.

But hiring someone to follow his wife?

That was different.

He grabbed his jacket and walked out of the bedroom.

He needed answers.

Immediately.

---

Mia sat at the dining table the following morning, staring at the divorce papers.

Ryan had arranged for a lawyer to look over them.

Everything was ready.

All she needed was Ethan's signature.

She picked up the pen.

Her hand stopped.

For two years, she had imagined what leaving Ethan would feel like.

She had thought she would feel free.

Instead, she felt like someone had taken a piece of her heart and left it behind.

Ryan noticed her expression.

"You don't have to sign them this second."

Mia looked at him.

"I want to."

"Then why are you hesitating?"

She lowered her eyes.

"Because I still love him."

The words were painful to admit.

Ryan's expression tightened, but he didn't look away.

"I know."

"I hate that I do."

"You can't force yourself to stop loving someone."

Mia wiped away a tear.

"He didn't love me."

Ryan was quiet.

"Maybe he did."

Mia looked at him sharply.

"Don't defend him."

"I'm not."

Ryan leaned forward.

"I'm telling you that whether Ethan loved you or not, he hurt you. And you don't have to return to someone simply because you still have feelings for him."

Mia stared at him.

"Then what should I do?"

"Give yourself time."

He reached across the table but stopped before touching her hand.

"You don't owe Ethan a decision today."

Mia nodded slowly.

For some reason, his words made breathing easier.

---

Ethan arrived at his parents' mansion just before noon.

His mother was sitting in the living room when he entered.

She looked up in surprise.

"Ethan?"

"Did you hire a security company to follow Mia?"

The smile disappeared from her face.

"What are you talking about?"

"Answer me."

"Ethan, lower your voice."

"Did you?"

His mother sighed.

"I was protecting you."

"From my wife?"

"From a woman who was destroying your life."

Ethan laughed bitterly.

"She was my wife."

"Exactly."

His mother stood.

"You were miserable."

"No."

Ethan's voice was cold.

"I was making her miserable."

His mother stared at him.

"You've finally realized?"

The words stopped him.

"What?"

"You've finally realized that you were the problem."

Ethan didn't respond.

His mother looked away.

"I told you from the beginning that Mia wasn't suitable for this family."

"You told me to divorce her."

"Because I thought you deserved better."

"Better than Mia?"

"Someone stronger. Someone from our world."

Ethan's expression hardened.

"Vanessa?"

His mother remained silent.

He suddenly understood.

"You wanted Vanessa to become my wife."

"I thought she would be a better match."

Ethan shook his head.

"And the photographs?"

His mother's eyes changed.

"I never told anyone to create fake photographs."

"But you hired the company."

"To investigate Mia."

"Why?"

His mother hesitated.

"Because I suspected she was hiding something."

Ethan stared at her.

"What exactly?"

"I don't know."

"Then you destroyed my marriage based on a suspicion?"

His voice shook with anger.

His mother looked at him.

"You were already unhappy."

Ethan laughed without humor.

"Was I?"

He thought of Mia waiting for him at dinner.

Mia falling asleep on the sofa.

Mia standing at the door whenever he returned home.

Mia smiling whenever he remembered the smallest thing about her.

He had called all of that unhappiness.

He had been blind.

His mother reached for his arm.

"Ethan, don't let one woman control your life."

He pulled away.

"Mia never controlled me."

He looked at her.

"I was the one who failed her."

Then he walked out.

---

Ethan drove straight to Mia's apartment.

He didn't call.

He didn't send a message.

He simply needed to see her.

When he arrived, he saw Ryan's car parked outside.

His chest tightened.

He knocked.

Mia opened the door.

The moment their eyes met, everything Ethan had planned to say disappeared.

She looked exhausted.

But she was beautiful.

She always had been.

"Mia."

She stepped backward.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

"You shouldn't have."

"I know."

His voice was quieter than usual.

"I just needed to see you."

Mia folded her arms.

"Why?"

Ethan stared at her.

Because he had finally realized how much he missed her.

Because his house felt empty without her.

Because he couldn't sleep.

Because every room reminded him of the woman he had taken for granted.

Because seeing her with Ryan had made him realize someone else could give her everything he had failed to give.

But he couldn't say all of that.

Not yet.

"I'm sorry."

Mia's eyes became glossy.

"You're sorry?"

"Yes."

"For what?"

Ethan swallowed.

"For not trusting you."

"That's not enough."

"I know."

"For humiliating me?"

"I know."

"For choosing Vanessa?"

His expression changed.

"I never chose her."

Mia laughed bitterly.

"I heard you."

"I was wrong."

"You promised to marry her."

"I know."

"Then why are you here?"

Ethan looked directly into her eyes.

"Because I don't want to lose you."

Mia's heart clenched.

She hated that those words still affected her.

"You already lost me."

"I know."

He took a step toward her.

She stepped back.

He stopped immediately.

"I won't force you."

Mia stared at him.

That was new.

The Ethan she knew had always expected things to happen because he wanted them.

But this Ethan looked almost desperate.

"I'll sign the divorce papers," he said.

Mia's eyes widened.

"What?"

"If that's what you want, I'll sign them."

She didn't know what to say.

Ethan reached into his jacket and pulled out the papers.

He placed them in her hand.

"I won't keep you trapped in a marriage you don't want."

Mia looked down at the documents.

Then back at him.

"Why?"

His eyes were filled with regret.

"Because loving you should never have felt like a prison."

For the first time, Mia saw something she had never seen in Ethan's eyes before.

Fear.

Not fear of losing money.

Not fear of losing power.

Fear of losing her.

He turned to leave.

"Ethan."

He stopped.

Mia didn't know why she had called him.

She only knew that seeing him walk away hurt.

He looked back.

"What?"

Her lips parted.

But no words came.

Ethan nodded slowly.

"I understand."

He walked away.

Mia closed the door.

Her back rested against it.

The divorce papers trembled in her hands.

Behind her, Ryan had heard everything.

He walked into the room quietly.

"You still love him."

Mia looked at him through tear-filled eyes.

"I don't know."

Ryan nodded.

Then his phone rang.

He answered.

His expression changed.

"Mia..."

"What?"

"The lawyer just found something."

He looked at the divorce papers in her hand.

"Those photographs weren't the only thing Vanessa arranged."

Mia's heart sank.

"What do you mean?"

Ryan's voice became serious.

"Someone altered the financial records to make it look like you were stealing from Ethan's company."

Mia froze.

"And the person who submitted the altered records..."

He looked at her.

"Was Vanessa."

Mia's fingers tightened around the divorce papers.

Across the city, Ethan received the same information.

His face went cold.

This time, there was no doubt.

Vanessa had deliberately destroyed his marriage.

And Ethan was beginning to realize that getting Mia back would be much harder than discovering the truth.

Because the person he needed to convince wasn't Vanessa.

It was the woman he had already broken.