"Misdiagnosed?" Ethan asked loudly with wide eyes, rising from his seat with hope.
"Yes, such was the case," the doctor said. "Had she continued with the wrong treatment, she would've only gotten worse until..."
"Until I would've lost her." Ethan sat back down, placing his hand over his eyes to hold back his tears
The doctor assured him that with the right treatment, his mother would be in a better state of health.
As Ethan listened to all the doctor had to say, the smile on his face never faded even when he heard that his mother still needed a lot of treatment to get better.
When he returned to everyone else, who had been waiting, he gave them the good news with his arms spread out so he could wrap them around Olivia and lift her.
The news brought tears to Helena, who was glad he had more time with his mother.
After Martha was discharged from the hospital and returned home, she was only in the company of Helena and Angela.
Ethan was in the kitchen with Olivia, who guided him on how to prepare a specific meal. He had taken it upon himself to cook for his mother.
As she gave him instructions, his methods were filled with several mistakes, bringing laughter to both of them.
When the food was almost ready, he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her cheek a few times.
"It was in this house that we first found out I was pregnant," she said. "And it got in the way of my plans to leave this town and start a new chapter."
"You know what?" He moved his lips closer to her ear to whisper. "I'm glad I got you pregnant."
She chuckled. "You make it sound like you were on a mission."
"Maybe I was. You know, it's crazy how this house has come to mean so much to me."
"I've actually been thinking about that. I clearly remember a time when you looked down on me for living in such a house and now you don't even want to leave."
"It was before I learned the value of the people in the house, not the house itself."
Just then, he made her turn around so they could directly face each other and he gently kissed her, then pulled away with a sigh.
"I know it never leaves your mind," she said. "You'll find someone else."
"I know, but just the fact that it was all because of my mother. I shouldn't even call her that. She doesn't deserve it. What mother would-"
"Hey," Olivia said, "calm down. She's not worth it. Just focus on your mother and our baby."
"You left out one person." He rubbed his nose against hers.
She giggled. "Who's that?"
"You."
Right in the kitchen, their lips met in a passionate kiss but just a few seconds in, his phone rang and as much as he thought of ignoring it, he couldn't. He had already blocked Ms Hudson and was certain it was possibly anyone else but her.
When he looked at the caller ID, it was Mr Jones and his eyes grew wide. When he picked up, Mr Jones apologized to him for what Mr Edwards had done. He had confessed to acting alone under Ms Hudson's instruction and everyone else was unaware of his private visit to the office.
As Mr Jones assured him they still wished to partner with him, he held onto Olivia's hand tightly to contain his excitement.
In a few days, Mr Jones said, they would officially become partners after signing some documents.
As soon as the call ended, Ethan told Olivia about it and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her as she screamed with excitement.
Just then, Helena came running, frantically looking around, wondering what had happened, only to discover that they were celebrating and she sighed with relief.
When the food was ready, Ethan had the bowl, taking on the duty of feeding his mother and not once did he let anyone else take over.
~
Three months later, even with the right treatment, Martha's health improved slowly, but all those who were there for her were aware it would only get better.
Thanks to a successful partnership, Ethan attracted even more business partners, enabling him to grow.
From the time he had blocked Ms Hudson, he had never heard from her, not even through Pete and he preferred it that way. He had asked all those around him to never bring her up as he wished not to talk or even think about her.
Olivia's growing baby bump had brought about so much joy and whenever they were alone, Ethan would kiss and run his hands all over her belly, speaking to the little one inside.
"I'm waiting for you, my princess," he said while crouching down on the living room floor.
"Who said it's a girl?" Olivia chuckled.
"I did."
"It's a boy." Olivia sighed.
"Had we decided to find out once and for all, we wouldn't be talking about this, but it's okay." He wrapped his arms around her while standing behind and kissed her on the cheek. "I can't wait to rub it in your face that I was right."
"I'll be the one to do that." She pouted. "Just you wait."
As they playfully went back and forth, just as they usually did, the doorbell rang and their attention shifted.
With Angela at the supermarket, Olivia took a step towards the door so she could open it but he placed his hands on her shoulders to make her sit down and said he would do it instead.
As he approached the door, he looked back at Olivia a few times, smirking at her with a wink and she tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked away, making him chuckle.
As soon as he opened the door and faced that direction, he frowned, narrowing his eyes at Ms Hudson, who stood before him with dark circles around her eyes.
"My...my son."
The words that had just come out of her mouth made him scoff as he looked to the side.
"The nerve of you to call me that after all you did to me," he said, still not looking at her.
"We'll talk after I come in."
"No, what are you doing here?"
"I said we'll talk after I come in." She raised her voice.
"And I said no."
"Is that the way to treat me?"
"For someone like you, yes."
"Babe? what's going on?" Olivia asked as she approached the door and stood behind Ethan. "Oh, Ms Hudson."
Ms Hudson only rolled her eyes at Olivia, then continued to look at Ethan. "It's been three months now and I've heard nothing from you."
"What could we possibly talk about when I have nothing to say to you?"
"How could you say that? I'm your mother."
He scoffed.
"Am I not your mother?"
"Do you think you deserve it?"
"You went as far as to block me."
"That should tell you just how much I wanted to stay away from you. You were ready to ruin everything I was trying to build and now you show up here expecting me to act like nothing happened? No."
With his words followed by silence, Olivia wrapped her arm around his as she looked at Ms Hudson to speak. "Maybe you should b-"
"Shut up!" Ms Hudson said to Olivia. "This has nothing to do with you!"
"On top of everything else, you continue to disrespect Olivia," he said.
"It's because I came here to talk to you, not her. She should just stay out of our business. In fact, go to your room or something."
With a scoff, Olivia stepped back and turned around to leave but he held onto her wrist.
"Olivia's not going anywhere," he said, keeping his eyes on Ms Hudson.
"Babe, it's okay," Olivia sighed. "I'll be upstairs-"
"No, there's only one person leaving and it's definitely not you."
"Ugh!" Ms Hudson rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "I can't even speak to you in private now."
"You don't seem to realize the depth of all your actions. Let me spell it out for you." He stepped forward but could only say his next words while facing the floor. "You're dead to me."
"Like Martha?"
He shook his head with disbelief. "There you go again. My mother's still alive."
"What?" Ms Hudson uncrossed her arms, her eyes narrowing as she tilted her head.
"She was misdiagnosed and that means I won't lose her. I still have her by my side."
"Now you speak so fondly of her."
"She's my mother."
"And me?"
"What do you think?"
With Ms Hudson taking a while to respond, since she understood the meaning behind his words, Olivia tried to leave once again but he held onto her tightly and she grunted.
"You really don't want me in your life?" Ms Hudson asked, shaking her head.
"I don't."
"Then why do you still carry my last name?"
He looked away, pressing his lips together a few times then sighed.
"I asked you a question. Why do you still carry my last name if I mean nothing to you?"
"Fine, I won't use it anymore."
Ms Hudson's eyes turned teary as she shook her head while pointing at him. "You've become so cold towards me."
"Maybe you didn't take me seriously the first time so I'll say it again. After everything you've done," he paused, his voice trembling as tears finally ran down his face, "you're dead to me."
When he turned around to walk away, he set Olivia free and she was the first to take a few steps away from the door, but before he could, Ms Hudson held onto his wrist with both hands.
"My son!" she said with a shaky voice.
Without looking back, he tilted his head to the side as he pressed his lips together and shut his eyes, more tears running down his cheeks. "Let go of me."
"No!" Ms Hudson said, holding onto him tighter as tears trickled down her cheeks. "Don't leave me like this!"
"What gives you the right to put me through so much pain, then come back here and act like it never happened?" he asked, still not facing her. "I never want to see you again."
"You can't possibly mean that." She frantically shook her head, her breathing loud and heavy as she desperately held onto him.
With his hand shaky, he balled it into a fist as he delivered his last words to her. "Why even bother to come here when you lost me a long time ago?"
"You...you mean it?" Her lips quivered.
With a force, he pulled his hand away and slipped away from her grip, the motion causing her to slam her arm against her body.
As she desperately called out to him, he walked up the stairs as fast as he could and rubbed his eyes.
"My son..." She trailed off, dropping to the floor and placing her hand on her chest as she burst into tears loudly with her head low.
Olivia, who had been watching it all from a corner, approached Ms Hudson with a concerned look. "Are you alri-"
"Shut up and mind your own business!" Ms Hudson yelled as she got up from the floor.
"I'm just trying to help."
"I didn't ask for your help! You're the reason I lost my son in the first place!"
Olivia scoffed, crossing her arms as she replied with her head high. "No, you lost him because of your own actions so don't blame me. How could you hurt him so much and expect him to j-"
"Oh shut up!" She got in Olivia's face. "Why am I even listening to you? I wish you had never come into our lives! Your father should've died before you got married to my son!"