Chapter 15 - The Door Claire Chose
Their son was born shortly after dawn the following morning.
Claire allowed Ethan into the delivery room.
Not because she had forgiven him.
Because when the moment arrived, she wanted the baby's father there.
Ethan stayed where the nurse told him.
Held Claire's hand only after she reached for his.
And cried quietly when the baby was placed on her chest.
They named him Owen.
Nothing magically repaired itself afterward.
Monica’s criminal case remained unresolved, though she was prohibited from contacting Claire while proceedings continued.
Ethan remained in a rented townhouse fifteen minutes away.
His company survived its restructuring with fewer projects and far less debt.
Claire never guaranteed a dollar.
Their marriage remained legally intact while Claire considered what she wanted.
She stopped allowing family members to ask when she was “taking Ethan back.”
That question assumed returning was the goal.
Six weeks after Owen’s birth, Ethan came to the villa for his scheduled afternoon with the baby.
Claire handed him a diaper bag.
“His bottle is in the side pocket.”
“I've got it.”
Ethan looked toward the staircase.
Then back at Claire.
“I still think about that day.”
“So do I.”
“I don't know how you ever trust me again.”
Claire adjusted Owen's blanket.
“That makes two of us.”
Ethan accepted the answer.
He carried their son toward the door.
Claire watched him secure Owen carefully into the car seat before driving away.
For years, Claire had believed love meant knowing where a relationship was going.
Now she understood that sometimes the healthier thing was refusing to force an answer before it was true.
On the foyer table sat Ethan’s old house key.
He had returned it months earlier.
Claire picked it up.
For a moment, she considered putting it back on his ring the next time he came.
Instead, she placed it in the drawer and closed it.
May you like
Not forever.
Not today.
