Chapter 75: Loveless Family
Moana
The next morning, I decided to take Edrick’s offer for a day off and went to the orphanage to get out of the penthouse for a while. I was still incredibly hurt and angry by Edrick’s refusal to admit that the baby was his to his own mother, but at the very least, I knew that a day out might lift my spirits just a little.
As I arrived at the orphanage, I already began to feel just a little bit better.
“Hello?” I called as I walked in. I didn’t get a response, but I heard the children’s voices coming from the recreation room as they laughed and played, and it made me smile a bit. I walked over to the recreation room and stopped in my tracks when I saw Ethan playing with the children.
They didn’t see me at first. Ethan was giving them an art lesson and was walking around the room, looking at all of the children’s artwork and giving them compliments. Seeing how sweet he was being with the children made me smile, but at the same time, it made me feel sad knowing that his brother was seemingly incapable of having such truly genuine kindness and love for anything except his pristine image.
Suddenly, as I stood in the doorway, one of the children jerked her head up from her intense scribbling and gasped, pointing at me with her chubby little finger. “Moana’s here!” she shouted.
All at once, the children erupted into cheers and swarmed me like little bumble bees. I couldn’t help but laugh as they bombarded me, and I caught Ethan’s eye from behind. He was smiling at me, but as his eyes traveled down to my belly and his smile faded, I knew that my dress didn’t hide my pregnancy well enough today.
Regardless, Ethan seemed to keep his thoughts to himself, which was a welcome relief. I spent the afternoon helping him with the children, and we all had a wonderful time making artwork and playing with clay. When it was finally over, Sophia thanked us and whisked the children away for dinner, leaving us alone for the first time that day.
“Long time no see,” Ethan said as we cleaned up the mess left behind in the recreation room.
“Yeah,” I said, clearing my throat nervously. The last time we saw each other was at our dinner date. At the time, he had asked if I was pregnant jokingly. Now, I was clearly pregnant. “I know what you’re gonna ask,” I said, turning to face him with confidence. “It’s okay. Ask.”
Ethan’s face went red. He glanced briefly at the floor, then ran a hand through his hair. “Uh… Are you…?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“So does that mean that… When we went out…”
I nodded. “You were right that night. I just wasn’t ready to admit it. I’m sorry for lying to you.”
Ethan shook his head vehemently. “No, it’s perfectly fine,” he said gently. “It’s your right to choose who to tell and when to tell them. But if you don’t mind me asking… Is it Edrick’s?”
I felt my heart leap into my throat as I wondered if it would be appropriate to tell Ethan. If Edrick wasn’t even willing to tell his own mother that he was the father of my baby, then was it really my place to tell his brother?
Finally, I decided against it, and I shook my head.
“No. It’s my ex-boyfriend’s.”
“Oh.” Ethan looked a little disbelieving, but he didn’t say anything else about it. But suddenly, at the mention of Edrick and the thought of how he couldn’t tell his mother about our baby, I felt a tear come to my eye. I quickly wiped it away and sniffled, turning away, but Ethan saw it already and rushed over to me.
“Are you alright?” he asked. “I’m sorry if my questions bothered you. I didn’t mean to—”
I shook my head. “No, not at all,” I replied. “It’s nothing like that. I don’t mind the questions. It’s just…”
Ethan c****d his head and touched my shoulder. “What is it?” he said quietly. “You know you can talk to me. We’re friends.”
I smiled a bit at his kind words. It was a comfort to have a good friend to talk to, although I wished I could only be completely honest with him. Still, I needed someone to vent to who wasn’t Selina or the maids, and it was hard to resist Ethan’s kind and sweet face.
“I just worry that I’m bringing this baby into a bad situation,” I admitted, taking care not to share too much and spill the big secret. “I might need to raise this baby without other family members, and I don’t know if I can do that while still giving him or her a safe and happy life.”
Ethan was silent for a moment. He sucked on his lower lip and nodded slowly as he digested my words, then finally spoke. “I know I don’t have much experience of the outside world since I grew up in the lap of luxury with the Morgan family,” he said quietly, “so maybe I shouldn’t say this, but… I think my life would have been better if I was just raised by my mom. Even if it was just the two of us, and even if we didn’t have a lot of money. I don’t think I would’ve needed anyone else, really. So… I think if you wanted to raise the baby by yourself, it would be okay with your love.”
Ethan’s kind words brought another tear to my eye. For the first time in a while, I felt comforted. Maybe I could do this on my own if I needed to.
“Of course…” he continued, breaking my train of thought, “you know I would always love to help you support this child if you ever needed it.” His voice was soft and sweet, and when he finished speaking, he looked down at the floor. I was so moved by his kindness that, without thinking or even hesitating, I pulled him into a tight hug. He stiffened for a moment out of surprise, but then wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly.
When we pulled away, I felt as though a massive weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.
“Thank you, Ethan,” I said gently. “You’re a really good friend.”
Ethan smiled and squeezed my shoulder. “Of course,” he replied. “It’s what friends are for.”
We fell silent for a moment. Just then, however, I glanced up at the clock and realized that it was already late. I quickly got my things together; Ethan offered me another ride home, but Edrick had insisted that I bring the driver with me, so it wasn’t necessary — not to mention the fact that it wouldn’t bode well if I pulled up to the penthouse with Ethan again after another argument with Edrick. So, I hugged my friend goodbye and climbed into the back of the waiting car.
As I was driven home, I looked out the window at the city lights. They were so colorful at night, and after the entire day, I felt immensely better. A slight smile twitched at the corners of my lips as I looked at them. Maybe, if I had to, I really could take care of this baby on my own.
As the city lights passed by, I had another thought: I thought to myself that I should start saving more money so I could take my baby away from this loveless family.
