Chapter 5 - What Ethan Had Refused to See
After the police left, Ethan helped Margaret sit in the living room.
He knelt in front of her.
“I am sorry.”
Margaret looked at him.
“You came home and stopped her.”
“Yes.”
“You also ignored me before you came home.”
His face tightened.
“I thought you disliked her.”
“I disliked being controlled.”
“She told me you were becoming difficult.”
“And you believed that because it was convenient.”
Ethan covered his face.
Vanessa had spent years separating them.
Whenever Margaret asked about Ethan’s finances, Vanessa called her intrusive.
Whenever she wanted to visit, Vanessa claimed Ethan was busy.
When Margaret expressed concern about the marriage, Ethan accused her of refusing to accept his wife.
Vanessa did not create every distance.
She simply used the distance Ethan had allowed.
“I should have called you directly,” he said.
“Yes.”
“I should have come home when you mentioned the medication.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know how to fix this.”
“Do not begin by asking me to make you feel better.”
He nodded.
Margaret asked him to leave the house for several weeks.
Ethan looked surprised.
“Mom—”
“I need to recover without caring for your guilt.”
He accepted the decision.
He rented an apartment nearby and visited only when invited.
He arranged medical care, restored the household staff and replaced every lock.
May you like
But he did not move back in.
Saving Margaret from one moment of cruelty did not erase the months when he had preferred Vanessa’s explanations over his mother’s warnings.
