The Vows of Vengeance

Chapter 11 

Lara pushed open Ethan's office door without knocking like she always did when she was in a rush. The moment she stepped in she froze. There was Maya sitting close to Ethan. They were deep in conversation. Not the kind you overhear from a distance, but the kind where the air between them thickens and words barely need to be said.

Maya looked up, spotted Lara, and smirked.

"Well, if it isn't Ms. Alden," she said with a slow sarcastic clap. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Lara raised an eyebrow and stepped fully into the room, the door clicking shut behind her.

"I'm not here for you moron, Ethan i need you to sign some documents ," Lara said eyeing Maya with a cool edge. "But it seems you're already very busy."

Maya's smile widened and she leaned back. "Busy? My darling husband andi were just having some important conversations.....Speaking of which…" she turned her gaze sharply to Ethan. "Ethan and I are expecting a baby."

Lara's eyes flickered. Her heart did a weird stutter, but she buried it deep, hiding it behind a perfectly crafted smile.

"Oh, congratulations," she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "I'm not surprised. You always did have a talent for opening your legs at just the right moments."

Maya's smile faltered for a second, then she shrugged like it didn't bother her.

"Thank you. And I'm happy for Ethan too." Lara took a step closer, her voice low but loud enough to fill the room. "Is the baby his? Or is that still up for discussion?"

Maya's eyes narrowed, her lips pressed tight. She was clearly displeased but held her ground.

Ethan didn't say a word, He just stared at Lara. That look in his eyes was heavy and silent but screaming.

He knew. Knew she wouldn't trust him again, Not ever, not after everything she knew now. Last night when he kissed her, he thought it was the start of something. But now… now it felt like the wall was closing back in.

Lara dropped the stack of papers on his desk with a sharp slap.

"Please sign these," she said. "Return them to my secretary immediately."

She didn't wait for an answer. Didn't care if Ethan wanted to speak.

She turned and walked out, the echo of her heels loud in the tense silence she left behind. The door clicked shut behind her.

The door had barely shut when Maya turned sharply toward Ethan. The fake smile she wore before was long gone.

"You just sat there," she hissed. "You let her talk to me like that. You let her humiliate me."

Ethan didn't move. He was still staring at the door like Lara might turn back any second.

"I said something," Maya snapped louder this time. "Say something, Ethan."

He finally looked at her, but his eyes were tired. Not from lack of sleep but from carrying too much.

"What do you want me to say?" he said quietly.

Maya laughed, but it was the bitter kind. She stood up from the chair and crossed her arms like she was trying to hold herself together.

"I don't know," she said, "maybe defend me. Maybe remind her that she's not the only one who's been hurt, That she doesn't own you. That I'm here too, and I'm not just some disposable trash you forgot to take out."

Ethan rubbed his face, leaned back in his chair, and sighed. "She didn't say anything put of the ordinary."

"Oh my God," Maya muttered, shaking her head. "So that's it now? She insults me, questions your paternity, and you just... take it?"

He didn't answer.

Maya leaned forward. "Is it because you're still in love with her?"

Ethan looked down at the papers Lara dropped.

She noticed that.

Maya's throat tightened. "Ethan."

He blinked. But still no answer.

"That's a yes," she said, she stepping back like she'd been physically shoved. "Wow."

Ethan looked up slowly. His voice wasn't cruel, but it wasn't soft either. "Don't twist it. It's not that simple."

"No, it never is with her," Maya said bitterly. "You burn everything down and still somehow she's the one with the lighter and you're just... what? The victim of her flame?"

"You don't know anything about it."

"I know she hates you. I know she doesn't trust you. I know she walked away without looking back because you chose me over her on our wedding"

Maya swallowed hard. "You're not gonna fight for me?"

"I never promised you a fight," he said, quietly

She stared at him like she didn't recognize him anymore, she was halfway to the door when Ethan finally spoke.

"Maya… how did we even end up in bed?"

She stopped and slowly turned back around.

"What?"

He stood still, run a hand through his hair. His jaw was tight like he was trying to put pieces together that didn't quite fit.

"That night," he said, voice low, "I was drunk. You know I was drunk. I don't even remember half of what I said to you. I don't even remember you being in my bedroom, One minute I was drinking alone and the next morning you were next to me."

Maya stared at him. Her lips twitched, like she was trying to hold back either laughter or rage.

"Oh wow," she said. "That's what we're doing now? Pretend it didn't happen? That it was some kind of blurry accident?"

"I'm not pretending," he said, walking toward her, "I'm trying to understand it. Because it never should've happened, Maya. You know it. I didn't mean for any of this."

She folded her arms, the sarcasm already in her throat.

"Yeah well, accidents happen, right?" she said. "Like unplanned babies and impulsive marriages. One moment you're drunk and the next you're signing vows with someone you don't even like anymore."

He flinched at that.

"I was trying to move on," he said. "I thought maybe I could... forget her. Or just stop hurting. You were there. You were available. I got confused."

Maya clapped her hands slowly. "Oh, thank you for that. It feels great to know I was your emotional crash pad. The soft pillow you landed on while your heart was still chasing your ex fiancée."

He didn't argue.

She took a step forward, her voice rising now. "You say you didn't mean for this to happen but guess what Ethan? It did. And now there's a baby involved. And whether you're ready or not, that baby didn't ask for a confused father."

He dropped his gaze. "I know."

"No you don't," she snapped. "Because if you did, you wouldn't be looking at me like I trapped you. You wouldn't be standing here wondering how we ended up in bed. You'd be trying to make this work."

He looked up again, eyes tired. "I'm not ready to be a father, Maya." He said dropping the bombshell. 

"No shit," she said. "You think I didn't see that? You think I don't know you? You've been running since the moment we said I do. Always staring at your phone like maybe she'll text. Always halfway out the door."

He shook his head slowly. "This isn't fair."

"Oh really?" she said, stepping even closer. "You want fair? Fair would've been not marrying me in the first place. Fair would've been not making me think for one second I mattered. But instead you walk around here with that dead look in your eyes like love just happens to you and you're a victim of your own decisions."

"Maya..."

"No," she said, holding up a hand. "I'm not done. You can keep pining after Lara, keep remembering what her lips tasted like. Keep dreaming about the woman whom you slammed the door in her face and never looked back."

Ethan swallowed hard but didn't respond.

"And while you're busy chasing ghosts," she said, walking toward the door again, "just remember you've got a heartbeat growing because of a choice you made. One you don't even remember."

She pulled the door open and looked at him one last time.

"You don't deserve either of us."

And then she was out.

Ethan stood there, in the middle of his office, surrounded by silence.He didn't sit, he didn't move.

He just stood there… still hearing Lara's voice, still seeing the hurt in Maya's eyes, and feeling like no matter what he chose he already lost everything.