When Ethan's car parked in his mother's yard the next morning, he unfastened his seatbelt then paused for a moment as he hoped that his mother had calmed down from when he last saw her at dinner the previous evening.
Once he was ready, he made his way inside the mansion and was informed that she was in her bedroom but would come down soon to head to the dining table to have her breakfast.
Just as he climbed the stairs, he saw her coming from the other side but as soon as she noticed him, she turned around and back where she came from.
Unable to handle that type of treatment, he followed after her while calling out to her but not once did she look back at him or stop moving further. Running out of options, he rushed in front of her and gently held onto her shoulders, begging her to listen but she took a few steps back without looking at his face and moved in the opposite direction.
Just like before, he rushed after her and this time, he held onto her hands when he was right in front of her. He spoke with so much despair in his voice as he begged her to say something that she sighed and finally looked up at him as she asked if there was anything she could possibly say after what happened at dinner.
Finally hearing her voice, he admitted that he hated the thought of his dear mother staying mad at him. He had plans of following her right after dinner but was aware it wasn't the best time so he hoped that she would have calmed down in the morning and that was why he showed up there. He finished off by mentioning how eager he was to speak to her that he couldn't even have breakfast back at his house with Natalie.
When she heard that, her eyes widened with curiosity and she asked if she had heard him correctly about Natalie, to which he nodded and told her that after dinner, they left together to go to his house and she spent the night there, only he couldn't stay and have breakfast with her that morning because he needed to speak to his mother, the one person who truly cared about him.
When Ms Hudson heard about Natalie, she placed her hand on Ethan's cheek and smiled at him as she expressed how thrilled she was that things had worked out that way the previous night.
Realizing he finally got through to her, thanks to spending the night with Natalie, he assured her that whatever he had done for Olivia, was only so she would be comfortable and deliver his healthy baby.
"Your baby?" Ms Hudson scoffed.
"Yes, why would you ask me that?" asked Ethan, his mother's reaction peaking his curiosity.
She had plans of exposing Olivia in the grandest way but since she didn't have the pictures yet, she thought she would hold on to the information she had, just in case it was all for nothing so instead, she brushed it off and mentioned that as long as he made his relationship with Natalie work and only see Olivia when necessary, she wouldn't have much to say about that good for nothing who was once her daughter-in-law.
Having handled the situation, they walked together and headed to the dining table to have breakfast. At one moment, she mentioned that she had a three-day event outside the country but wished not to attend so she would send him in her place and Natalie would go with him. The private jet would be ready in a few hours and they only needed to prepare so he needed to inform Natalie.
The unexpected instruction made him furrow his eyebrows because of how short notice it was but he had just made up with his mother again and to not upset her, he agreed to attend with no objections.
~
That same day at night, Pete returned to see Olivia and just like the previous night, she didn't let him in or even open the door. Nothing that came from his mouth was convincing enough to open the door until he asked if she was aware about Ethan's trip. She instantly opened the door to find out more and he let himself in before she could even stop him.
"I didn't say you could come in." She placed a hand on her hip.
"Come on, it's cold out there."
"What did you say about Ethan?"
"That definitely had your attention, huh?" he asked, with a hint of disappointment in his tone.
"Just tell me what happened."
"He's out of the country for a few days and Natalie's with him."
"Natalie?"
"Yes, the woman he's marrying soon."
She pursed her lips for a second, then composed herself with a sigh. "I needed him to check something for me in the bathroom."
"I can do it f-"
"No."
"Will you seriously wait until he returns?"
"Yes, now go."
"Olivia," he paused as he moved closer to her then held onto her shoulders. "Why won't you just let me in?"
Irritated by his action, she pushed him with a grunt and he almost fell but she had no remorse. "Stop thinking you can touch me like that! I'm getting sick and tired of this and so much that you're making me uncomfortable."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to d-"
"Get out!"
With a grin, he shook his head as he approached the door. "Despite all this, I find you amusing."
Once he stepped outside, he left the door open and looked inside at her, telling her to close the door or she would bring in lots of cold air. His intention of saying that was so he could see her closer one last time and once she was close enough to the door, he waved at her and wished her a goodnight.
When she closed the door, she slid down the door with a sigh and had enough of Pete but more than anything he had said that night, it never left her mind that Ethan and Natalie were together on a trip. It had finally started to sink in that they were really a couple and part of her was bothered by it. She had no right to question Ethan so she could only watch as he carried on with his life.
~
A few more days went by and Olivia and Ethan didn't communicate because she always told herself that if she didn't need anything or if he didn't call her first, there would be no need to speak to him.
She found not hearing from him during his trip to be harder than she thought and it was because of Natalie. She never forgot the level of sexual desire Ethan had back when they were married and it was as if he desired sex whenever he was around her.
She went from being bothered about them being together to being disgusted when she came to the conclusion that he was on Natalie whenever he wanted to. The more she thought about it, the more she remembered his harsh words about how whenever he would touch her, he only aimed to satisfy himself and didn't care about how she felt.
During those few days, Pete still showed up at the apartment and got away with it because he stayed in touch with Ethan so he knew that he had not yet returned. He had even gone there twice in a day, the afternoon and evening and it was the same thing of being rejected but it was now just something he got used to and didn't mind because at least he got to see the woman he desired
Olivia felt it was enough of Pete frequently showing up at the apartment that she couldn't take it any longer. Her words seemed not to get through to him and there was only one option left and it was to tell Ethan about it. It had gone on for far too long and she believed he would handle the situation once he returned.
~
On the day that Ethan and Natalie returned to the country, they had been picked up from the airport in one of Ethan's cars and they were all dressed up for the cold weather. It was afternoon but no sign of the sun and the temperatures dropped lower compared to a few days earlier.
Natalie sat close to Ethan as she looked through the bags she had with her which were full of jewelry and shoes. She even spoke to him about some of the jewelry sets she liked but was only ignored each time.
He kept his gaze outside the window the whole time and had a blank expression but the moment he saw Martha on the street, he furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed she was curled up right in front of a trash can. She had nothing to keep her warm as she lacked the suited clothing for the weather so she was freezing and the temperatures would drop even lower.
Once the car drove by and moved away from where he saw Martha, he looked back just to watch her and felt an unexplainable concern for her. He then scoffed and looked ahead when he reminded himself that she was just a beggar and there was no need to pay attention to her.
"Babe, what's wrong?" asked Natalie as she rummaged through her purse.
"Nothing." He crossed his arms and kept his gaze on the window.
"Then why did you scoff?"
"Nothing."
"You can't just scoff and say it's nothing."
"Forget it."
"So you just randomly sc-"
"I said it's nothing!"
Natalie clutched her purse and slightly moved back the moment he yelled at her, then straightened up and sighed. "Why are you mostly yelling in my face? I'm just trying to have a conversation. Is this what I'll have to deal with for the rest of my life with you?"
"Then just don't deal with it"
"You know what? I'm getting out of the car."
"Finally," he said, crossing his legs with a smirk.
"This is exactly what you want, right?"
"Just get out already."
"Just wait until your mother finds out abo-"
"What? You'll tell her? Ooh... I'm so scared. Run to my mother like you always do!"
"You really want me to go? Won't you stop me?"
"No."
"You really care about no one but yourself."
"I'm glad you know that. The trip is over and I have no use for you so go home, or wherever it is you want to go."
For a few seconds, Natalie stared at Ethan's side profile as she breathed hard, trying so hard not to slap him. Since he said nothing more, she instructed the driver to stop the car and once he did, she stepped out and that was when Ethan looked outside the windows as she crossed the street.
"Hey," he said, making her stop in her tracks as he rolled down the window. "Thanks to you, I had more than just meetings. I don't know when I'll need you again but for now, I don't." He then rolled up the window and leaned back in his seat as he instructed the driver to carry on with the ride.
Since he wasn't far from the apartment, he thought he would go to check up on Olivia right away. He then looked over at the other side and saw Natalie's bags which she left behind in a fit of rage. Thinking it wasn't a big deal if he would go to see Olivia with the bags still in his car, he shrugged and looked ahead, unaware of the type of fuel it would add to the fire.