Olivia was in the kitchen when Angela came rushing to her with wide eyes as she whispered to her that Ethan had arrived, her reaction being a result of how he had suddenly stood up for Olivia against his mother.
Olivia raised her eyebrows as she didn't expect him. It was also because it would be the first time they would see each other or even speak after he left to go to Pete's house.
To not seem so affected by his presence, she leaned against the counter and crossed her arms as he walked in, with Angela rushing out to give them some privacy.
"Hey," he said, shoving his phone in his pocket after declining Natalie's call, just as he had been doing from the time he left her at the car dealership.
"Hey, the last time I saw you was w-"
"My mother had a heart attack right after what happened here."
Olivia gasped as she covered her mouth, genuinely shocked and saddened by the news. "Oh no," she said softly.
"It was all my fault."
"No, don't say that," she said, getting closer to him.
"It's the truth. I caused that heart attack with my actions. I didn't know it would lead to that."
"How is she now?" She placed a hand on her chest in anticipation.
"She'll be fine. I'll be staying with her for now."
Olivia sighed with relief as she dropped her hand. "I'm glad. Was that all you came to tell me?"
"What?"
"You could've said all this over the phone. I don't think your mother should be left alone. You should be with her right now."
"Why do you seem so concerned when she accused you of cheating on me and carrying Pete's child?"
"That's a different case. I really do hope she'll be fine."
It took Ethan a while to respond as he scanned Olivia's face, surprised by how she was concerned about his mother.
Olivia felt his gaze for so long that she looked away and tucked her hair behind her ear. It was only when she asked if he had come for anything else that he looked away.
With a nod, he told her to follow him outside and she asked for what purpose but got no answer for it. Instead, he only repeated that she should follow him.
When they both stepped outside, Olivia noticed a beautiful car and Ethan pointed at it. "I came driving that car."
"That's pretty obvious."
"But I'm not leaving in it. It's here for you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Here," he said, placing the car keys in her hand. "I bought this for you. By the way, it's a limited edition and the only one of its kind in the country at the moment. It wasn't cheap."
She looked at the keys then at his face with a sigh. "Ethan...."
"No, I'm not done yet. With this car, you can go wherever you want. I'll assign one of my drivers to you. One more thing." He reached for his wallet for something. "With this card, buy yourself whatever you want and I mean whatever you want. Forget the price tag. I've made sure you'll get everything you want with that card. Once you run out, just give me a call."
She looked down at her hand again which was now enveloped in his as she chuckled forcefully. "Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye to me or something?"
"It's because I am." He sighed.
"But why are you...." She trailed off.
"As of this moment, I'll only come here when it's necessary. I do have my reasons and one of them is that for now, I'll be busy with the wedding. I'm getting married in a few days."
Her heart instantly started racing and she pulled her hand away from his and also took a step back. She looked at the ground, gathering the strength to speak and he waited in anticipation with a clenched fist, wondering how she would react.
She then sighed and looked up with a blank expression. "I see. There was no need for you to tell me you're getting married. It's none of my business."
He scoffed, wondering why he had hoped for a very specific reaction, which turned out to not even be close. "You know what? Maybe you're right. I shouldn't have mentioned it to you."
"Exactly! It's not like I care."
"Of course you don't."
Olivia could hear her heart pounding in her ears and her body temperature began to rise. She wiped her forehead when she felt the dampness and sighed to keep her composure but it wasn't as easy as she thought to stand before him and act like it was all alright.
"If that's all you came for, thanks for everything. Goodbye." Her voice trembled and she turned around to rush back inside the house.
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks when he mentioned that Pete had been admitted to the same hospital as his mother.
She looked over her shoulder as she asked what happened to Pete and after Ethan explained how he made him bleed out of anger, she turned around with a gasp as she placed her hand over her mouth.
Unhappy with her reaction, he took a step forward with his head tilted as he questioned her concern for Pete.
"I didn't like how uncomfortable he made me feel but I never thought it would come to this," she said.
"I couldn't hold back so I beat him up, more than I wanted to and more than I should have. He'll never bother you again because I told him to stay away from you. You're off limits."
"Really?" she asked, her eyes widening as she tucked her hair behind her ear with a smile.
"Yes." He smiled back at her before he repeated himself. "You'll always be off limits."
She looked away as her heart raced, then let out a forced chuckle. "You know what? You really confuse me."
"Meaning?" He shrugged.
She parted her lips to explain, but pressed them together for a few seconds as she shook her head. "Forget it. So how's Pete now?"
"Do you want to see him?" he asked, clenching his fists.
"No, I'm just curious."
"He's not in any type of danger but if he ever comes near you, I'll m-"
"I love the car," she said, cutting his words to not get her hopes up by what he would say to her.
"Uh...."
"Was that all you came for?"
He scoffed. "It almost sounds like you don't want me here."
"I don't."
"I'll leave soon but I'm not done yet. Martha came to my house in the middle of the night."
"Why?"
"What else? She was looking for her son."
"Don't you find it strange that she came to the same house twice?"
"So what? She's blind and out of her mind. No one would believe anything she says. I sent her away immediately. I only wish to go back to my mother."
"You shouldn't have done that."
"She's no one to me so why not? It turns out she enjoys my company even when I yell at her. "
"Did she say that?"
"Yeah, she asked why I stopped going to see her."
As Olivia heard what Ethan had to say, she giggled with her eyes shut.
"Do you find this funny?" he asked with a blank expression.
"I've witnessed how you treat her yet she still wants you around? That's just crazy. You must be special, very special."
When she repeated herself about him being special, he scanned her from head to toe as he nodded and said, "I agree...very special."
With both of them meaning something different, it led to an awkward silence and Olivia was aware that Ethan stared at her in that moment as she glanced at him a few times, unaware of what to say or how to handle the situation.
It was only when Ethan's phone rang once again that he looked away.
"Won't you pick up?"
"It's Natalie."
"Wedding plans? Actually, don't tell me." She turned around and crossed her arms. "If that was all you came for then leave."
"I will." He scoffed. "I just need to speak to Angela in private."
"About what?" She turned around to face him again.
He walked past her to get inside the apartment. "It's only between Angela and me."
When Olivia tried to follow Ethan, he repeated himself and asked her to stay, which made her sigh with frustration as she wondered what it could be all about. She decided to wait in the living room and planned to ask Angela to reveal to her what she would talk about with Ethan in private.
~
When Ethan was alone with Angela in her bedroom, she fiddled with her fingers as she nervously pressed her lips together as she asked if she was in trouble.
He assured her that it wasn't the reason he called her to speak in private and instead, needed her help and Olivia must never find out about it.
When he told her that he wouldn't come to the apartment anymore, she gasped with a hand on her chest and gasped even louder when she heard that he would be getting married soon.
She clenched her fist as she internally disapproved of what she had just heard but still listened to him and all he had to say.
He took a piece of paper from his wallet which was neatly folded and gave it to her.
When she unfolded it, her forehead creased. "Why is there a phone number on this piece of paper?"
"It's my phone number."
"But I already have your phone number and it's not this one."
"This is my other phone number which I'm only giving to you."
He took out a small red phone and told her that he bought that phone specifically to speak to her using the phone number he had just given to her.
She placed her hands on her cheeks and giggled as she expressed how special she felt, making him chuckle even with all that was going on in his life.
Once he got serious again, he instructed her that she should only ever call that number in case of an emergency with Olivia. He wouldn't always have his regular phone on or with him but he would make sure he had the small red one. Since she would only ever call on that phone should an emergency situation arise with Olivia, he would know right away.
When they returned to Olivia, she paced with crossed arms. "So....Angela," she said, ignoring Ethan.
"Yes, Ma'am?" asked Angela.
"Will you tell me what you two just spoke about?"
Ethan stared at Angela intensely, wondering whether or not she would break easily and tell Olivia the truth but instead, she kept her composure and respectfully refused to tell her.
Olivia scoffed, disappointed that Angela couldn't tell her what it was she talked about with Ethan so she decided to let it go for that moment and only ask about it later.
With a forced smile she asked him to leave since he had already spoken to Angela so he could plan for his wedding.
Before he could even respond, she headed upstairs and locked herself in her bedroom. She wished not to hear what his response would be about leaving to work on the wedding. It already hurt enough that he would soon marry Natalie.
~
At dinner time, Ethan sat with his mother and they enjoyed their meal together as she asked about how he spent time with Natalie and if they had picked up her wedding dress.
He was surprised that Natalie still hadn't complained to his mother about the brand new car he had bought for Olivia. He told her they would pick up Natalie's dress the following day, then mentioned the car he bought for Olivia and the credit card he gave her which she could use to buy anything she wanted.
He instantly noticed his mother's clenched fist on the table but he gently placed his hand on top of her fist.
"Please calm down," he said. "I did all that just so she could have everything she would need. I'll keep my promise to stay away from her as much as possible but she's still carrying my baby and I'll be there for her even from a distance."
She scoffed, dropping the fork in her other hand. "I just lost my appetite."
"I know you're thinking I'm still caring for someone who's carrying Pete's baby. You need to know that Olivia d-"
"I don't want to hear it."
"Please, I just need to clear the air. She never cheated on me. You can ask Pete to yourself. He was going after her and she thought she could handle it but it just got out of control. Pete confessed to it himself. That means she was innocent the whole time. Whichever source you got the information from, they lied to you."
Right when Ethan was done with clearing things up about Olivia, his phone rang and he excused himself as it was an important call from the office.
As Ms Hudson looked down at her food, she breathed hard with frustration as she thought about how she went through all that trouble for nothing. She then remembered Beth and sighed deeply, regretting how she made a fool of herself by believing Beth.
Despite all Ethan had said to clear Olivia's name, it still didn't take away her hatred for Olivia.
Wanting not to eat anymore, she leaned back in her seat with a frustrated groan, wondering why Ethan still seemed to stand up for Olivia. She hadn't even asked about the fight with Pete and for as long as she could, she thought she wouldn't ask, for she believed she wouldn't like what she would hear.
Before she could leave the table, she was informed that there was a woman outside who urgently needed to speak to her. Since she expected no visitors that evening, she decided not to let whoever it was step foot inside her house, until she was informed that the woman outside needed to speak to her about Martha.