Chapter 941:

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She lifted her glass, took a measured drink, and spoke with an unsettling calmness. “All right. You can continue whatever relationship you have with Melisa. I won’t interfere anymore. But I have one requirement. You come here three nights every week, eat dinner with the children, and sleep here afterward. As far as everyone else is concerned, we’ll continue pretending we’re a happy family.”

A wave of alarm swept through me.

I stared at her in disbelief, struggling to understand the woman sitting across from me. “Lianne, what are you saying? You weren’t like this before. You can’t stand betrayal. You always said you could never forgive it. How can you suddenly be willing to live this way?”

Ethan’s POV:

Lianne lowered her eyes and answered in a quiet voice, “I’m only doing this for the kids.”

“That can’t be the reason.” I held her gaze. “You’re not telling me the truth. This isn’t about the kids. You’re…”

“Then why do you think I’m doing it?” She raised her eyes to mine, her expression unnervingly calm.

The rest of my words died before I could get them out.

𝘋𝗈𝗐𝘯𝗅𝗈а𝘥𝘢𝗯𝘭𝖾 р𝖣F𝘴 𝗼n g𝗮𝘭𝘯оve𝗹𝘀.c𝘰𝘮

Suddenly, I understood what she was really doing. She wasn’t giving in. She was giving up.

Once the love was really gone, there was no more jealousy or resentment. The way she looked at me now was the way she might look at any stranger. It was as though she would willingly fall into the arms of some random man, simply to sever every remaining tie between us.

Pain stabbed through my chest, and for the first time, I couldn’t think clearly. I couldn’t even bear to imagine what my life would look like if Lianne were completely gone from it.

“Lianne, I’ll agree to your terms.”

I wrestled with the decision for a long time before finally conceding and agreeing to stay the night.

Even after settling onto the living room sofa, I remained dazed.

Her change in attitude had happened too quickly.

Only moments earlier, she’d been facing me across an invisible negotiating table, her expression cold and her stance impossible to shake. Then, almost without warning, she’d softened and calmly asked me to go check on our children, as though the confrontation between us had never happened. “Silas wasn’t in a good mood tonight. Go see how he’s doing.” She set a glass of water down in front of me. “He’s been asking me lately why you don’t live here with us.”

I took the glass and looked at her. “Lianne, other than the children, is there another reason you’re willing to get back together with me?”

She met my eyes but didn’t answer immediately.

After several seconds, she finally said, “Yes.”

“What is it?”

“I love you.” The calmness in her voice was almost unnerving. “Ethan, even if your love has faded and Melisa is your choice, I am willing to keep loving you from the shadows. Losing you is not an option for me.”

I stared at her, completely speechless.

Once the children were asleep, I sat outside their bedroom in the hallway, still struggling to process everything that had happened. A little while later, Lianne came out of her room. She had changed into a pair of pale-colored pajamas.

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