The Delivery I Scheduled, The Love I Ended Chapter 07

The Delivery I Scheduled, The Love I Ended Chapter 07

I recovered at my parents’ home for two weeks.

During that time, Ethan searched everywhere.

He visited my former workplace, my friends’ homes, and even my university.

He asked people who had not heard from me in years, as if one of them might restore the control he

had lost.

Eventually, he came to my parents’ building.

That afternoon, I was sitting on the balcony in the sun.

Shouting rose from downstairs.

I looked over the railing and saw my father holding Ethan outside the entrance.

Ethan had lost weight.

Dark stubble covered his jaw, and his eyes were red.

“Dad, please let me see Mallory.”

His voice was hoarse.

Mr. Bennett shook with anger.

“I’m not your father.”

“You drove my daughter to end a six-month pregnancy, and now you want to pretend you love

her?”

“Get out.”

Ethan held the gate.

“I know I was wrong.”

“Let me see her once so I can apologize.”

Neighbors leaned from windows to watch.

I sighed, put on a coat, and went downstairs.

I did not go down because his pleading moved me. I wanted the disturbance outside my parents’ home to end.

Ethan’s eyes brightened when he saw me.

“Mallory.”

He broke past my father and rushed forward.

His gaze dropped to my stomach.

It was flat.

The change was undeniable. There was no remaining pregnancy for him to use as proof that I belonged to him.

His eyes reddened, and tears fell without warning.

“The baby is truly gone?”

His hand shook as he tried to touch me.

I stepped back.

“Stop performing. There’s no audience here.”

His hand froze.

“I’m not acting.”

Ethan’s face was white.

“I regret everything.”

He dropped onto the pavement in front of me.

The neighbors gasped.

The powerful CEO was begging in public.

“I was selfish and arrogant.”

“I thought presenting Serena as my partner would protect you.”

“I thought you were understanding and wouldn’t care.”

“I was wrong.”

Even his apology treated my silence as permission and his deception as a form of protection.

He cried like a child who had lost something precious.

“Give me one more chance. We can begin again.”

“We can have another baby.”

He spoke of replacing the child as if another pregnancy could erase the choices that led me to the hospital.

I almost laughed.

“Protect me?”

I looked down at him.

“Was giving my place beside you to another woman protection?”

“Was buying her gifts instead of buying my wedding ring protection?”

“Was replacing my name in your company records protection?”

Ethan opened his mouth but had no answer.

“You weren’t protecting me.”

“You were calculating what benefited you.”

“Serena was useful, so you favored her.”

“You believed pregnancy trapped me, so you humiliated me without fear.”

“I’m finished participating.”

He had not suddenly discovered my value. He had only discovered that I was capable of leaving.

His regret began only after the consequences reached him.

“The settlement agreement is already on its way to you. Sign it.”

I turned and led my father upstairs.

I did not look back.