Chapter 27 Ethan's Questions.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Ethan's Questions
Lara's pov
"Mama, why are those people taking pictures?"
I looked up from buckling Ethan into his car seat.
There were three photographers across the street. Cameras pointed at us.
"They're just... they work for newspapers, baby."
"But why are they taking pictures of us?"
"Because Mama's company is in the news."
"Oh." He thought about this. "Can I be in the newspaper?"
"No, baby. You can't."
I shut his door and got in the driver's seat.
My hands were shaking.
This had been going on for a week now.
Paparazzi everywhere. Following us and taking pictures.
And Ethan was starting to notice it.
That night, I was making dinner when Ethan came into the kitchen.
"Mama?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"Why were you on TV?"
I froze.
"What?"
"Tommy's mommy showed us. You were on TV. Talking to lots of people."
Oh God.
The press conference.Someone at his preschool showed their kid.
"I... I had to talk to some reporters about work stuff."
"Why?"
"Because I had to explain something.”
"Oh." He climbed a chair and sat at it. "Tommy's mommy said you're famous."
"I'm not famous, baby."
"She said you're on TV so you must be famous."
I didn't know what to say to that.
How do you explain to a three-year-old that you're on TV because your ex-husband is suing you?
"I'm just a regular mama," I finally said.
"Okay." He seemed satisfied with that.
But I knew it wouldn't last. It wouldn't ask until he's going to ask me again.
The next day, I got a call from Ethan's teacher.
"Ms. Montgomery? Can you come in? We need to talk."
My stomach dropped.
"Is Ethan okay?"
"He's fine. But... there's been an incident."
Oh, I was so disturbed and I left work immediately to get to his school.
When I got to the preschool, Ethan's teacher, Miss Bammy, was waiting.
"What happened?"
"Some of the other children have been... saying things. About you. About Ethan.
Their parents are talking at home and the kids are repeating it."
"What kind of things?"
She looked uncomfortable.
"One child said her mother called you a thief. Another said his father said Ethan's daddy is mean. The kids don't understand what they're saying, but–"
"Where's Ethan?"
"He's in the reading corner. He's okay, but he was upset earlier."
I found him sitting alone. Reading a book upside down.
"Hey, baby."
He looked up. His eyes were red.
Hi, Mama.
"Are you ready to go home?"
"Yeah."
In the car, he was quiet, he didn't say anything to me and I know Ethan, he would have say a lot of things, but he was
too quiet.
"Ethan? You okay?"
"Mama?"
Yeah?
"Am I bad?"
My heart broke into a million pieces.
"What? No! Why would you think that?"
"Emma said I'm bad. She said her mommy said so."
I had to pull over. Couldn't drive through the tears.
"Listen to me." I turned around to look at him. "You are not bad. You are perfect. Do you hear me?"
"But Emma said—"
"Emma's wrong. And her mommy is wrong. Some grown-ups are being silly right now. They don't know the truth. But you are good and kind and perfect."
"Promise?"
"I promise, baby. I promise."
He seemed to accept this.But I sat there in the car, gripping the steering wheel, wanting to scream.
Lucas was hurting my son, lemme say our son.
And he didn't even know Ethan existed.
That evening, we were having dinner.
Just the three of us. Trying to be normal.
Ethan was pushing his peas around his plate.
"Dada?"
"Yeah, buddy?"
"Do I have another daddy?"
Damien's fork stopped halfway to his mouth.
I froze.
"What?" I managed.
"Tommy said I have another daddy. A bad daddy. Is that true?"
I looked at Damien.
We'd known this conversation would come eventually.Just not now. Not like this. Not when Ethan was three and a half and barely understood.
Damien set down his fork.
"Come here, buddy."
Ethan climbed out of his chair and into Damien's lap.
"You do have a biological father," Damien said carefully. "That means someone who helped make you. But he's not part of our family."
"Why not?"
"Because he... he wasn't nice to Mama. So Mama left him. And then I met you and Mama. And I became your real daddy."
"But Tommy said—"
"Tommy doesn't know what he's talking about," I interrupted gently. "Your biological father isn't bad. He's just... not part of our life. Dada is your real daddy. The one who loves you and takes care of you."
"Why doesn't my biological daddy love me?"
The question killed me.
How do you explain to a three-year-old that his biological father doesn't even know he exists? That he threw his mother out before he was born?
"Some people just aren't good at loving," I said softly. "But that's okay. Because Dada and I love you so much. More than anything in the whole world."
Ethan thought about this.
"Okay," he said finally. "I like Dada better anyway."
Damien pulled him into a hug.
"I like you too, buddy."
Ethan squirmed away and went back to his dinner.
Like nothing happened.
But Damien and I just looked at each other.
Both of us were gutted.
That night, after Ethan was asleep, I fell apart.
Damien found me in our bathroom. Sitting on the floor and crying.
"Hey, hey." He sat beside me. "What's wrong?"
"Everything. Lucas is ruining everything. He's not just coming after me anymore. He's affecting Ethan. Our son is coming home crying because kids are calling him bad. Because their parents are talking about this lawsuit."
"I know."
"He asked about his biological father. He's three and a half, Damien. He shouldn't have to know about any of this yet."
"I know."
"I hate him. I hate Lucas so much. For everything he did to me. For everything he's doing now. For hurting our son."
Damien pulled me close to him.
"We're going to end this," he said. "Soon. I promise."
"How?"
"I have a plan. But I need you to trust me."
"What kind of plan?"
"The kind that destroys Lucas Ward completely."
I pulled back to look at him.
"What are you going to do?"
"What I should have done a long time ago.
I'm going to make sure he never hurts you or Ethan again."
"Damien—"
"Do you trust me?"
I looked at him. This man who'd saved me. Who'd raised my son as his own. Who'd stood by me through everything.
"Yes. I trust you."
"Then let me handle this."
”
Later, I went to check on Ethan.
He was asleep. Curled up with his stuffed dinosaur. His face was peaceful.
He had no idea what was happening.What his existence had triggered.
I sat on the edge of his bed.
I brushed his hair back from his forehead.
"I'm so sorry, baby," I whispered. "I'm sorry you're caught in the middle of this. I'm sorry your biological father is such a terrible person. But I promise, we're going to protect you. Always."
Damien appeared in the doorway.
"Come to bed," he said softly.
"In a minute."
He came over. And stood beside me. Both of us watched Ethan sleep.
"He's going to be okay," Damien said.
"How do you know?"
"Because he has us. And we're never going to let Lucas hurt him."
"What if Lucas finds out about him?"
"He won't."
"But what if he does? What if he tries to—"
"I won't let him. I promise you, Lara. Lucas Ward will never get near our son."
I wanted to believe him.
But lying in bed that night, unable to sleep, I couldn't stop thinking.
What if Lucas found out about Ethan?
What if he tried to claim him?
What if this lawsuit was just the beginning?
I rolled over. Found Damien awake too.
"Can't sleep?" he asked.
"No."
"Even me, I'm unable to sleep."
"What are you thinking about?"
"How to destroy Lucas Ward," he said simply.
"Damien—"
"I'm serious. He's gone too far. Coming after you is one thing. But affecting Ethan? Making our son cry? That's unforgivable."
"So what do we do?"
"We fight back. Hard. And we make sure he regrets ever filing that lawsuit."
I snuggled closer to him.
"Okay."
"Okay?”.
"Yeah. Let's fight back."
Because Damien was right.
Lucas had gone too far.
And it was time to end this.
Once and for all.