For someone who usually didn't care what Ethan thought about her, Olivia got closer to look down at the pictures with a rapid movement of her head from left to right. She then looked at the picture Ethan had been staring at for the past few minutes in silence then got closer and held onto his arm. It was at that moment that he should have paid attention but his eyes were glued to the same picture, leaving her with no other choice than to speak and hope he would listen.
With distress in her tone, she made an effort to convince him that it wasn't what it looked like but before she could get to the end of it, Ms Hudson shut her up as she pushed her hand away from Ethan and questioned the audacity to deny the affair with Pete when the evidence was right in front of them.
Olivia sighed deeply before she could defend herself and just as she was about to explain what actually happened, Ms Hudson shut her up once again and warned her to stop thinking she would be given a chance to lie to them or flip the situation, not after what she had been doing behind her son's back.
As the confrontation left Olivia cornered, Angela only stood a few feet away with her hands together and maintained a poker face but wished she could get closer and stand by Olivia's side.
Ms Hudson was yet to give Olivia the chance to speak as she wondered why someone who had nothing after her father's scandal, cheated on Ethan.
Olivia narrowed her eyes at the mention of her late father and couldn't let it go. "How low of you to bring my father into this just to insult me further."
"Right! He's not the one who cheated on my son!" said Ms Hudson with mockery, then got closer to Ethan, picked up a picture and brought it near his face. "Look at this. Olivia's been sleeping with Pete. Just look at how many times he's been here!"
Not able to stand Ms Hudson's poisonous words, Olivia once again attempted to clarify that it wasn't the truth, only for Ms Hudson to deny her the chance to explain herself. She then revealed that she first heard of the affair between Pete and Olivia from a reliable source and that source had mentioned that the affair had been going on for a while.
"That baby isn't Ethan's and you know it!" Yelled Ms Hudson. "Wasn't it enough that you were good for nothing? Now you're also a slut? You don't deserve anything my son's been doing for you because this pregnancy isn't our concern."
"You've gone too far by calling me a slut," Olivia retorted.
"But that's what you are," shrugged Ms Hudson.
It seemed that Olivia finally had an opening to speak but such wasn't the case. Ms Hudson continued with her rant about Olivia's affair and even chuckled a few times but only out of scorn.
"Now that we know the truth, Ethan doesn't have to take care of you," said Ms Hudson. "Right this minute, pack your bags and leave this apartment. Pete will take full responsibility, as he should!"
"I'm not going anywhere," said Olivia with a scoff.
"How dare you? How shameless can you be? My son, are you seeing this?"
Ethan had been silent from the moment he saw the pictures and his mother began to rant and even heard her order Olivia to leave the apartment and further insult her when she stood her ground. He heard his mother's tone of voice turn more aggressive as she mentioned how shameless Olivia was, then mentioned the affair with Pete once again.
"You probably even cheated on my son with more than just Pete a-"
"Olivia would never do that," said Ethan, finally breaking his silence and shocking Olivia and his mother with his statement.
"What did you just say?" asked Ms Hudson.
"Olivia would never cheat on me," he said, looking up at his mother.
"Are you blind?" asked Ms Hudson with disbelief. "Don't you see the pictures?"
It was such an unexpected reaction from Ethan that Olivia froze in place, especially when Ethan spoke his mind further.
"I see the pictures but so what?" he asked. "They prove nothing. I admit that it's strange they did this behind my back but she wouldn't cheat on me."
"Apart from being a slut, she now makes you speak against me?"
He clarified that his mother had it all wrong and he wasn't speaking against her. Whatever the situation was with Pete, Olivia didn't feel the need to ever mention it to him and he knew her as someone who preferred getting things done on her own. He repeated she didn't cheat on him and he was the only man she had ever been with.
"I know more than anyone how Olivia made me wait until our wedding night," said Ethan, keeping his gaze on his mother. "She made we wait until that night because she placed such a high value on the meaning o-"
Before he could speak further, his mother slapped him across the face, then it went silent for a few seconds until she took a few steps back as she spoke in a low but aggressive tone. "There have been other times when you've disappointed me, but this is it!"
During the confrontation, Angela had kept her hands together and a poker face but just for a second, her lips formed a round shape with wide eyes at how Ethan had defended Olivia and the sudden slap.
It took a moment for Ethan to pull himself together after the slap, which had never happened before. Without addressing it, he looked at Olivia, who was still frozen in place. "I stand by what I said. Olivia didn't cheat on me," he repeated.
When he looked back at his mother, he noticed her unsteady breathing as her eyes grew wide and she gritted her teeth before she spoke to him with a tone of disappointment. "Had someone told me that one day, my own son wouldn't take my side, I wouldn't have believed them. How dare you do this to me? How could you call me a liar?"
"You have it all wrong," he said. "I'm just saying Olivia would never cheat on me. I didn't call you a liar."
"You're taking her side over mine," Ms Hudson scoffed with defeat, the glare in her eyes threatening.
Not wanting to see his mother so defeated, which had never happened before, he got closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulders to assure her that it wasn't the case but he also knew that Olivia had always been faithful.
Right when he uttered his last word, Ms Hudson pushed him away and yelled. "So this is what it has come to, my own son standing against me instead of standing by me? What wrong did I ever do to you? I've been nothing but supportive your whole life. I've always looked out for you and only wanted what's best for you and this is what I get? I'm trying to save you from this good for nothing who still tries to latch onto you!"
"Mom-"
"This pregnant slut has you under her spell!" Yelled Ms Hudson, then picked up a picture to squash it and stormed out without saying anything more.
As soon as she stormed out, he rushed after her but first told Olivia, with clenched fists, that he would speak to her soon.
Once Ethan and Ms Hudson were out of the apartment, Olivia replayed what had just happened in her mind while still in the same spot and barely blinked. When the realization finally hit her about what he had done, her knees weakened and she almost fell to the floor but took a few steps back to maintain her balance and Angela held onto her.
"Are you alright? That slap was so loud that I felt it!" said Angela but soon shook her head in disapproval of saying such a thing at the wrong time. "My apologies, Ma'am. I'll just clean up these pieces of glass."
Olivia barely heard anything Angela had said to her and was too occupied with what she witnessed. She tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows as she looked around at the pictures and processed which side Ethan was on.
~
Meanwhile, Ms Hudson hurried to the car and exhaled deeply a few times without looking back despite Ethan being right behind her and calling out to her. She had already expressed her disappointment and saw which side Ethan chose and for that, there was no need to stop and listen to what he had to say.
Once she got to the car and was about to get in after the driver opened the door for her, he held onto her hand and sighed.
"Please don't leave like this."
"What did I do to deserve being humiliated by my own son in the presence of that good for nothing slut? Now you have the nerve to ask me not to leave? I showed you the truth and you ignored it!"
"The truth is far from what I heard or saw. I trust Olivia enough to know that she would never cheat on me."
"Which means my words meant nothing to you! I'm nothing to you!"
"Please don't ever say that again," he said, his voice trailing off seeing his mother in distress.
"My own son stood against me and...." She trailed off, then lowered her head as she broke down. "I did all that for nothing. Since when did you take Olivia's side, a woman pregnant for your best friend?"
He confidently shook his head, then spoke firmly. "Olivia's carrying my baby and I don't have even the slightest do-"
"I don't care about anything else apart from the fact that you took Olivia's side! How insulting and humiliating!" She sniffled as tears rushed down her cheeks and when he took a step closer to comfort her and calm her down, she pushed him away, wiped her tears then glared at him. "I'll never forgive you for this!"
His mother had never uttered such words before and as he processed the fact that she just did, with wide eyes and a frozen expression of distress, he watched her get inside the car and leave.
As the car moved further away from him, he scratched the top of his head with panic. The last thing he had ever wanted to do in his life was get on his mother's bad side. He needed to make things right with her but she was in no mood to listen to him. He then thought he would go after her in thirty minutes.
In the meantime, he needed to get to the bottom of what had been going on between Olivia and Pete so he headed back inside the apartment.
When he entered the living room, Olivia was alone and the pictures were still scattered on the table except the one she had and constantly stared at it.
"These pictures," he said.
Hearing his voice made her flinch as she paid attention to him. "You're still here."
"Of course," he said, clenching his jaw and maintaining a poker face. "We're not done yet."
He then told her he would speak to his mother later once she had calmed down. She was so upset that it would have been difficult to reason with her. He described all that had happened outside and as he did, his eyes grew wide a few times with worry.
He then pointed down at the pictures as he kept his gaze on her. "Explain this to me," he demanded.
"Why did you take my side?" she asked, her voice shaky.
"You were supposed to answer my question, not ask me another one."
"You can't expect me to pretend like that didn't happen. From the moment your mother had started to make my life miserable, you never stood by me, defended me or protected me. Why did you take my side this time?"
He rubbed his temples as he said the exact words from before when he described to his mother what type of person Olivia was.
"Do you know what it meant to do that in the presence of your mother, the one person you always put before anyone else?"
"I know, but this time, I wasn't going to believe a lie."
"What if it was the truth?"
"It could never be the truth. You're not that kind of person so explain this to me."
Just before she could explain, he expressed his shock as he looked at all the pictures since he had not even the slightest clue that Pete had been coming to see her.
She then explained to him how it had been going on for such a long time and she thought she could handle it so she said nothing about it. She described Pete's obsessive behavior and all his actions which made her uncomfortable.
Once he heard everything she had to say, he clenched his fists with a chuckle, but not one that was of delight but of fury.
"I see," he said, then got closer to her to stare directly in her eyes. "Whichever day Pete was here, let it be the last time you give him even a second of your attention. The next time he shows up...." He trailed off, glanced at the floor and then back at her. "There won't be a next time. I'll make sure of that, Alright?"
His question didn't get an immediate response as she looked down at the pictures again and chuckled with disappointment. "You've never taken my side before or opposed your mother and I just figured out why. It's because I'm pregnant and you don't want me stressed out as we sort this out. Am I wrong?"