“No,” he said quietly. “This is my house. I bought it. I pay every bill here. And tonight, the free ride ends.”
The room went still.
Vanessa frowned.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means every card connected to my accounts is canceled.”
Courtney laughed nervously.
“You’re bluffing.”
Ethan pulled out his phone.
“I already shut them off.”
Madison immediately grabbed her wallet and checked her banking app.
A second later her face turned white.
“My card’s declined.”
Diane stepped closer, horrified.
“You would do this to your own mother?”
Ethan looked her directly in the eyes.
“My wife is upstairs trying not to collapse from exhaustion.”
Then Vanessa muttered something under her breath.
Something that made the room colder.
“Well maybe if Olivia stopped acting like some delicate pregnant princess, none of this would be happening.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
“What does that mean?”
Vanessa froze.
Courtney looked terrified.
Madison suddenly wouldn’t look at him.
A horrible feeling twisted inside Ethan’s stomach.
“What did you do?”
Vanessa crossed her arms defensively.
“It was just a test.”
“A test?”
“She kept talking about swelling and dizziness,” Vanessa muttered. “Mom said pregnant women exaggerate sometimes for attention.”
Ethan felt his pulse pounding in his ears.
Then Vanessa delivered the sentence that changed everything.
“So I threw away her vitamins and prescription supplements.”
The world stopped.
Ethan stared at her.
“You what?”
“She could’ve bought more,” Diane interrupted quickly. “It’s not like they disappeared forever.”
Ethan exploded.
“They were prescribed by her doctor!”
His voice thundered through the house hard enough to make everyone flinch.
“She’s anemic! Her blood pressure is already elevated! Those supplements protect her and the baby!”
Vanessa finally looked scared.
“It was just iron—”
“It was medication for my pregnant wife!”
Ethan dragged both hands over his face, trying desperately not to lose control completely.
“You threw away medication because you thought she wasn’t suffering enough?”
Nobody answered.
Because there was no excuse.
Only cruelty.
Ethan turned and sprinted upstairs.
Olivia was curled on the bed holding her stomach weakly when he entered.
She immediately looked nervous.
“What happened?”
He dropped beside the bed.
“They threw away your medication.”
Her face instantly crumpled.
“I was going to replace it tomorrow,” she whispered shakily. “But your mom said I’d already spent too much money this month…”
Ethan felt physically sick.
“You were scared to tell me?”
“I didn’t want to sound ungrateful.”
That answer shattered him completely.
Ashamed.
His wife had felt ashamed to ask for pregnancy medication inside the home he paid for.
Ethan pressed his forehead gently against hers.
