As Ethan continued to look at the picture of the beautiful woman and processed the information that she was Martha, his biological mother, he forced out a chuckle as his heart raced faster.
"No," he said with a shaky voice. "It can't be."
"I know it sounds so sudden but I had no other way of saying it -"
"Now's not the time for such jokes!" he yelled as he got out of bed, a grunt escaping his lips as he pushed the covers aside but continued to hold her phone.
Determined to convince him, she blocked his way and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Hey," she said softly.
"No."
"Look at her carefully. You see the resemblance, don't you? That's your mother, Martha."
He scoffed, the beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead. "Martha? The same Martha? Do you even understand what you're saying to me?"
"Yes, b-"
"No," he said, running his hands through his scalp like he had an itch. He then began to pace with loud breathing.
"You need to relax and process t-"
"Are you serious?" He cut her off once again. "How am I supposed to accept something like that? And how could you just suddenly tell me about it?"
"I found out last night and wanted to find the best possible way to say it to you. There was no easy way to say it and this was the best I could do."
"No, I refuse to accept it." He crouched down with both hands on his forehead, smearing the palms of his hands with sweat as he heard his heart pounding in his ears.
"I know it's hard to process, but why are you so quick to dismiss it all? Is it because Martha's lived in the streets and not completely in her right now? Would you have considered it to be true if she lived a different kind of l-"
"It's because of the way I treated her!" He yelled with gritted teeth, rising to his feet. "How do you expect someone like that to be my mother?" he asked, his body trembling as a tear rushed down his cheek.
As soon as she noticed his tear, she got closer and placed her hand on his sweaty chest and offered him words of comfort but he stepped back, barely keeping his head high.
"How am I supposed to face this woman? What proof do you have that she's my biological mother?"
"You still don't believe me?"
"My mind is better off that way."
When Olivia showed him the DNA test results, which were conducted without his knowledge, more tears rushed down his cheeks as he had just confirmed it. He then crouched down and finally broke down completely.
Seeing him completely overwhelmed, she gave him a moment as she rubbed his shoulder and he had his eyes shut the entire time.
"That's not all," she said, enough for him to rise to his feet and wipe his tears.
As he heard her explain how it all started with Helena, he remembered her from the store. He then furrowed his eyebrows when he heard how Helena had first approached Ms Hudson and how things unfolded between the two of them.
When Olivia got to the part of how Ms Hudson showed Helena fake results, it was at that moment that he had heard enough. He frantically began to look for some clothes and she panicked.
"What are you doing?" she asked, but he only focused on getting dressed. "Babe?" He barely pulled down his shirt and rushed out of the room with car keys.
As Olivia followed right behind him, she attempted to stop him from leaving several times as she hadn't even delivered the worst news yet.
As he hurried to the car, Olivia sprinted to the car door to block him from getting inside, but he only opened the door to the backseat and got in to get to the driver's seat.
Having never seen him so disturbed that he couldn't even look at her or speak, she got in from the other side and was aware of where he planned to go.
As he drove along the road, he was almost speeding, terrifying her and her screams made him slow down, only to accelerate again as his anger built up more.
She then held onto his hand, asking him to take it easy for the sake of their little one. It was then that he didn't dare to drive any faster, but it changed nothing about his blood boiling.
From the side, she saw his clenched jaws, veins popping out on his sweaty forehead just as they had outlined more along his forearms as he held on so tightly to the steering wheel.
She could also see the redness in his eyes only become more prominent. It was then that she thought she needed to wait to tell him the rest as it would only worsen his state.
~
When they arrived at Ms Hudson's residence, Olivia could barely keep up as Ethan made his way inside with long strides.
When he was inside, he was told that his mother was upstairs in the study.
In the study, Ms Hudson was sitting at her table, thinking about the previous evening as she ran her fingertips along the edge of a book she was holding when she suddenly flinched and dropped it the moment Ethan barged in loudly.
Despite how startled she was, she got up from her seat and smiled at him. "You finally came home, my son."
"Don't ever call me that again," he said, his hands shaking with anger. "How could you?"
"What are you talking about?" she asked with a shrug, then noticed Olivia behind him. "What is she doing here?"
Without answering her question, he stepped forward, clenching his fists with Olivia still behind him. "I know the truth."
"Be more specific." Ms Hudson rolled her eyes as she sat back down. "There are so many truths in this world, so which truth are you talking about?"
"The truth about Martha."
Ms Hudson instantly rose to her feet with wide eyes, then composed herself.
"I don't know what this is about a-"
"Stop lying to me!" He slammed the table. "I know everything and how you gave Helena the wrong DNA test results!"
"How dare you accuse me of such a thing?"
He clenched his fists and pressed them against the table, frustrated by her unwillingness to admit.
"They conducted another DNA test and the results were different. That woman, Martha," he trailed off and almost broke down, "she's really my biological mother. How could you stoop so low as to manipulate the results?"
Caught by surprise, she held onto the table as her hands began to tremble.
With Ms Hudson taking a while to respond, his loud and heavy breathing only got louder the longer the silence carried on. "You've done and said so many horrible things but th-"
"So what if I manipulated the results?"
"What?" he asked in a low tone, taking a step back from the table.
"Yes! So what if I manipulated them? I did what was right as your mother!"
"My mother?" he scoffed, his anger only building up more.
"I wasn't about to lose you to some homeless woman who was never there for you. I raised you and wasn't about to give that up. If I could go back in time, I would've still manipulated those results! I can't believe Helena went behind my back when I warned her about it."
"Are you listening to yourself?"
"Yes, I'm speaking like a mother who doesn't want to lose her son and is ready to do anything it takes to keep things that way. Wow, those tears. Have you ever cried for me like that? All this for a woman who's about to die?"
"What? Die?" Ethan shut his eyes for a moment, his heavy breathing now unsteady.
Olivia placed her hand on his shoulder and sighed, regretting that he had to find out that way. "I wanted to tell you but you just couldn't wait to get here." She then looked at Ms Hudson and shook her head. "You're really unbelievable."
"Did I say anything wrong?" Ms Hudson shrugged. "Isn't Martha about to die? My son, can't you see that when that happens, there'll be nothing for you to look forward to?"
As he stood still with his head low, his mind processing the unfortunate news, Olivia stood next to him and held onto his hand as she spoke to Ms Hudson.
"On top of everything else, you knew Martha was dying and offered Helena money just so you could both forget about Martha until she would leave this world."
As soon as he heard that, his head shot up and he glared at Ms Hudson, the pain in his eyes accompanied by that in his voice. "You did that?"
"My son, you don't need her." Ms Hudson stepped away from the table and approached him with quivering lips. "You have me. Can't you see that?"
"You're evil," he said.
Ms Hudson scoffed with shaky hands. "It won't change the fact that Martha doesn't have very long to live."
"You know what?" He took a step back again, "I'm ashamed to be your son."
"Ethan...?" Ms Hudson lowered her head, his words being the last thing she ever thought she would hear from him.
With nothing more to say, he turned around to leave but before he could take a single step, Ms Hudson spoke with tears running down her face.
"Fine! Go and be with your mother! You have like what...two weeks before she dies?"
"Please don't say that," said Olivia as she looked back at Ms Hudson.
"Shut up because no one asked you to say anything and mind your own business!" Ms Hudson yelled as she wiped her tears, then rushed to Ethan and held onto his arm.
Not wanting her anywhere near him, he pushed her hand away, then looked at Olivia and spoke in a low and sorrowful tone. "Take me to my mother."
"Don't you dare take him there!" Ms Hudson yelled.
"I'll do as he says," said Olivia. "And this is important."
With a sudden rush of anger directed towards Olivia, Ms Hudson pushed her with the palms of her hands landing on her stomach, a move that not only hurt Olivia, but also infuriated Ethan.
"What's wrong with you? Did you forget she's pregnant?" he asked.
"I didn't," Ms Hudson admitted. "It's because of her that you've turned out this way. I just want my son back!"
"What son?"
Knowing the full depth of what he had just said, Ms Hudson was at a loss for words, Olivia groaning with discomfort as she touched her stomach.
Worried, he attempted to lift her bridal style so he could rush her to the hospital but she assured him she would be alright and only wished to take him to his mother.
Despite the desire to see Martha, his guilt was greater and he wondered just how he would face her.