Chapter 6

Ethan's POV

The next day, I went to the hospital.

Emily was already in the room.

Tristan was leaning against the headboard, his right hand immobilized.

Seeing me, he spoke first.

"Ethan, I'm sorry. Whether it's the access or the trust, I've made things difficult for Emily."

I didn't respond.

Emily looked at me, waiting for the apology I'd agreed to last night.

Seeing my silence, Tristan said quietly, "I won't enter the house anymore, and I won't get involved with the child. After the baby is born, I'll just look from a distance."

When he mentioned the child, his gaze fell on Emily's belly.

That look was too familiar. Like he was looking at something already his.

Emily saw it but didn't stop him.

I asked, "Whose child are you really looking at?"

The room went silent instantly.

Tristan lowered his head.

"I know I'm not qualified to mention the child. It's only natural for Ethan to mind."

Emily immediately frowned.

"Ethan Hayes, this is a hospital. Tristan just had an accident. Don't provoke him again."

I looked at her.

"Asking whose child it is counts as provoking him?"

Emily's face went white.

"Don't say things like that here. Family and doctors are outside. If someone overhears, it's bad for the child."

What she protected first was still appearances.

Tristan spoke at the right moment.

"Emily, maybe I should leave. I'll leave San Diego. After the child is born, I won't disturb you anymore."

Emily immediately turned to him.

"Don't say that again."

I stood where I was, watching her rush to keep Tristan.

That apology no longer needed to be said.

Soon, the Hayes family entered the room.

Hearing that Tristan wanted to leave, Linda was the first to object.

"Your right hand is like this, and you still want to live alone somewhere?"

Another person pushed the conversation straight to Emily.

"Doesn't the house have a guest room? Let Tristan stay for a few days. Once his injury stabilizes, we'll talk."

I looked at Emily.

Emily didn't immediately refuse.

She only said, "Ethan hasn't been in a good mood lately. If Tristan moves in, there might be conflict."

Linda sneered.

"As long as he doesn't make a fuss, what conflict could there be?"

Tristan shook his head.

"Stop it. I don't want to disturb Emily anymore."

But the more he said he didn't want to, the more others wanted it for him.

Emily finally looked at me.

"It's just the guest room. Tristan can stay a few days while he recovers, and I can make sure his hand is okay."

Just the guest room.

Those words were like old nails being driven into my heart again.

I remembered when I was young, every time relatives came to stay, my parents said the same thing.

Just let them have one room.

Just a few days.

Just be understanding.

I asked Emily, "Do you still remember why we originally didn't let anyone stay at our house?"

Emily froze.

Back then, when someone from the Hayes family wanted to stay over, she had personally stopped it.

She said our house wasn't a place for people to crash temporarily.

Now, she had trampled those words herself.

Emily was silent for a long time, then her voice lowered.

"The situation is different. Tristan isn't like other people. He's suffered because of me."

I asked, "So?""A guest room, an access card, a spot on the child's trust. After this, will there be even more 'just this'?"

Emily's eyes reddened.

"Why do you insist on seeing everything as someone taking from you? I'm pregnant, I have to deal with Tristan's old injury, I'm already exhausted. Can't you just trust me once?"

I didn't look at Tristan anymore.

I only looked at Emily.

"Do you really want me to give in?"

Emily avoided my gaze.

"Consider it me begging you."

The hospital room went quiet.

I looked down at her belly, then at Tristan's immobilized right hand.

Finally, I said, "I understand."

After leaving the hospital, I went straight back to the house.

I didn't enter the master bedroom. I went to the study.

The lawyer sent a confirmation message. The house disposal had begun, and the withdrawal from the child's trust signature was also in process.

I placed the anniversary ring on top of the divorce papers.

Next to them was the access permission cancellation confirmation.

Emily's and Tristan's permissions would both be deactivated tonight.

I organized all the evidence and sent it to the lawyer for safekeeping.

That evening, Emily sent me a message.

"Tristan is coming back to stay in the guest room tonight. Try not to be cold to him."

I didn't reply.

I dragged my suitcase out of the house.

The housekeeper came after me.

"Mr. Hayes, do you need a car prepared?"

I only said, "Don't touch anything in the study. When Emily returns, let her see for herself."

A few hours later, I sat in the law office.

The lawyer placed the materials in front of me.

"The surveillance footage, access logs, videos before and after Tristan's fall, recordings of the family pressuring you, and the unilateral commitment Miss Hayes just signed. Everything's here."

I paused briefly when I heard "unilateral commitment."

The lawyer said, "Once this document takes effect, the child's trust and everything involving Tristan will be separated from your name."

I nodded. "Keep going."

The lawyer asked, "Do you still want to leave any instructions here in the old city?"

I turned off my phone, stood up, and walked out.

"Everything worth seeing is in the study. There's nothing to explain."