Vanessa immediately stepped closer to him.
“She’s not what you think.”
My heart tightened.
Because I had heard that sentence before.
People always said it when they knew exactly what they had done.
“She trespassed,” Vanessa continued quickly. “She walked into a private event pretending she belonged here. I was just trying to remove her.”
Ethan stared at her.
“She’s my mother.”
Silence.
A painful, absolute silence.
Vanessa blinked.
For the first time, she looked uncertain.
“Your… mother?”
Ethan walked toward me.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
He didn’t care about his expensive shoes getting wet from the grass.
He didn’t care about the guests watching.
He dropped to his knees beside me.
