Chapter 173: God, Ethan!
"Ethan, you need to relax," Steph said quietly, stepping closer, his words heavy in the frozen air. "That was bad timing. You saw everything Mara’s been through, the least you could’ve done was wait before bringing up splitting the twins."
"I was just... thinking," Ethan muttered, running a hand through his hair, frustration carved into every line of his face.
"Yeah? And what exactly were you thinking?" Steph asked, raising a brow. "That she’d say, ’Okay, Ethan, you take Andrew, I’ll bring Audrey, and we’ll play happy family again because I can’t live without my baby boy.’ Is that it?"
Ethan’s head snapped up, his eyes narrowing, anger flashing. That was exactly what he’d been hoping, that Andrew would be the string to pull Mara back into the home they once shared. But hearing it out loud like that, from Steph, made his stomach twist.
"Well, newsflash," Steph sighed, folding his arms. "That’s not how this works. And if you can’t see that, you’re just proving what Mara’s been saying this whole time: you only ever think about yourself."
"Will you stop?" Ethan snapped, his voice fraying. "Sometimes I wonder whose side you’re even on."
"I’m on Andrew’s side," Steph shot back. "And Mara’s. And Audrey’s. And maybe even yours, when you’re not being a selfish bastard."
Ethan opened his mouth, but no words came out. The night felt heavier now, pressing down on him like a weight he couldn’t shake.
"I love my son," he said quietly, the fight draining from him. "I don’t want to be apart from him... do you hear me?"
Steph just shook his head, his expression sad. "She’s not a damsel in distress anymore, Ethan. You and the others came here to rescue the princess. But turns out, the princess is a queen now."
And queens don’t need rescuing.