Ethan stood frozen, rooted to the marble floor of the courthouse walkway long after the car door shut behind Mara.
His hands trembled slightly at his sides not from rage, not even from helplessness, but from the devastating weight of regret. He had thought he was prepared for this moment. He had braced himself for the coldness in Mara's eyes, for the silence he had earned.
But nothing could have prepared him for the quiet grace with which she nodded and said, "Thank you," as though her heart wasn't breaking beneath every word.
It was the kindness in her voice that shattered him.
He brought his hand to his chest, right where it hurt the most. The name Andrew now carried two lives, two babies, one in his arms, and one still out there in the shadows. And he knew, deep down, he had failed both of them.
He had failed Mara.
