Chapter 4 - The Unforgivable Distance
Upstairs, the master bedroom door was locked.
Ethan stood in the dimly lit hallway, his hand resting flat against the painted white wood. Inside, he could hear the faint sound of drawers opening and shutting, the rustle of clothing being placed into luggage.
""Hannah,"" he called softly, his forehead resting against the frame. ""Please unlock the door. Just let me talk to you.""
The lock clicked. The door swung open.
Hannah stood there, wearing a thick wool cardigan over her maternity dress. A large duffle bag sat packed on the edge of their king-sized bed. Beside her, Noah was zipping up his school backpack, his little face set with a grim maturity that broke Ethan’s heart into pieces.
""Where are you going?"" Ethan asked, his voice cracking. ""Hannah, it's midnight. It's twenty degrees outside.""
""We're going to Sarah's house,"" Hannah said calmly. She walked past him to grab her coat from the closet.
""No, please. Vanessa is gone. I threw her out. Mother is leaving right now. The house is yours, Hannah. It’s always been yours.""
""This isn't a house, Ethan. It's an arena,"" Hannah said, turning to look at him under the soft bedroom lamps. ""And you left me in it without a weapon for three weeks while you chased contracts. Do you have any idea what it felt like to sit in that dining room every night, listening to your mother tell me I was ungrateful, while Vanessa paced behind my chair like a vulture waiting for something to die?""
""I didn't know,"" Ethan choked out, tears finally spilling over his lashes. ""I swear to God, Hannah, I had no idea they were capable of that.""
""You didn't know because you didn't want to hear it,"" she answered ruthlessly. ""Every time I tried to tell you, you told me I was emotional. You treated my pain like an inconvenience on your calendar. When a woman tells her husband she feels unsafe in her own home, the correct answer isn't 'take a warm bath and stop stressing.' The correct answer is coming home to protect her.""
Noah stepped between them, his small hand holding his mother’s coat. ""Mom called you five times on the night she had cramping, Dad. Vanessa answered your hotel room phone once and said you were in an executive meeting and couldn't be disturbed.""
Ethan’s stomach dropped into an abyss. ""Vanessa answered my phone?""
""You left your phone on the suite table during the London closing dinner, remember?"" Hannah asked, a bitter smile touching her lips. ""She answered it. She told me that if I went to the hospital, the press would find out and the stock price would drop. She told me to drink some water and lie down.""
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Ethan fell to his knees on the bedroom rug. The weight of his blind negligence crushed him entirely. ""Hannah... oh God, Hannah. Did you lose the baby? Is she okay?""
""She is fine,"" Hannah said, zipping her winter coat over her belly. ""Because Noah rode his bicycle three miles through the rain to the gatehouse to get Sarah’s husband to come pick me up. My ten-year-old son was more of a husband to me that night than you have been all year.""
