Ethan stood frozen, the betrayal cutting like a knife. The woman he had built his life with was now a stranger—one who had crossed a line that could never be undone.

His gaze shifted to his mother. Margaret’s eyes, once so warm, were clouded with fear. Seeing her shaken awoke a fierce protectiveness in him; she had always been his rock, and he would never allow her to be treated this way.

Gently, he helped her back into her wheelchair. “I’ve got you, Mom,” he whispered, his tenderness edged with fury. She nodded, gratitude and pain mingling in her expression.

Turning back to Olivia, his voice was cold, resolute. “This is unforgivable. I want you out of this house.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief. “Ethan, please—we can work through this. It was a mistake!”

He shook his head. “A mistake is forgetting an anniversary. This was an assault. On my mother. There’s no coming back from that.”

Silence hung heavy until Olivia’s posture collapsed under the weight of his words. Tearfully, she nodded, gathering her things in silence. The sound of her footsteps as she left echoed like the closing of a chapter he once cherished.

Ethan turned back to Margaret, his heart aching. “I’m so sorry, Mom.”

She managed a faint smile. “You did the right thing. Sometimes people aren’t who we think they are.”

He nodded, her words sinking in. Though he’d lost the life he thought he knew, he had protected what mattered most—the dignity and safety of the woman who had always stood by him. And that gave him strength to face whatever came next.