My Pilot Husband Chose Her Mother So I Ruined Him Chapter 02
She’s Alive, Isn’t She?
Ethan calls less than five minutes later.
I step away from Dad and Emma before answering.
There’s a faint sound of waves behind him.
“How’s your mom?”
“Now you want to ask?”
“Claire, I’ve been working. I can’t monitor everything happening with your family.”
“Working?”
I look through the ICU doors.
“You’re at the resort.”
Then, “The flight ended. What exactly do you want me to do from here?”
I close my eyes.
“Why did you keep the emergency equipment with Sophie and her mother?”
“Diane has a cardiac history.”
“So does my mother.”
“I know.”
“My mother was unconscious.”
“And I had an entire aircraft to manage.”
His tone is so calm that for one second I wonder if I’m the unreasonable one.
“You told the crew to make us wait.”
“Because I had to make a judgment call.”
“You also refused to divert.”
“Claire, you are not a pilot.”
“And you’re not the doctor who just told me another thirty minutes could have killed her.”
“She’s alive, isn’t she?”
“What did you just say?”
“Your mom made it to the hospital. She’s alive. I understand you’re upset, but you’re acting like I deliberately tried to hurt her.”
“If that had been Sophie’s mother, would you have told Sophie to wait?”
“Can you stop making everything about Sophie?”
“My mother almost died.”
“And I’m tired of you using Sophie to turn every disagreement into some jealousy issue.”
“You think I’m jealous?”
“You’ve been doing this for years. Sophie and I grew up together. There has never been anything inappropriate between us.”
“This isn’t about whether you sleep with her.”
I lower my voice.
“It’s about who you choose when it matters.”
“Enough.”
His patience snaps.
“I’ve been on duty all day. I’m not staying up all night while you accuse me of things you don’t understand.”
The call ends.
I stand in the hospital corridor with the phone still pressed to my ear.
For the first time in seven years, I don’t call him back.
Near dawn, I finally sit down to deal with Mom’s insurance information and hospital expenses.
I reach for the card connected to the emergency account Ethan and I share.
I open the banking app.
The balance is almost gone.
A message arrives before I can even process it.
From Ethan.
I moved the money for now.
You’re too emotional to make financial decisions. We’ll talk when you calm down.
I read it twice.
My mother is in intensive care.
And my husband has decided this is the right moment to control whether I can pay for her treatment.
I call Rachel Hayes, my attorney.
“Claire?” she answers, voice thick with sleep. “What’s wrong?”
“I want to move forward with the divorce.”
A pause.
“Are you sure?”
I look toward the ICU.
“Completely.”
Ethan doesn’t come to the hospital until the next afternoon.
He walks in looking rested.
He glances toward Mom’s room.
“She’s stable?”
“You tell me. Apparently you’re the one who decides how sick she has to be before she deserves help.”
“I didn’t come here to fight.”
A doctor approaches before he can say more.
“Mrs. Morgan’s condition is still unstable. We recommend surgery as soon as possible.”
I answer immediately.
“Do it.”
Ethan speaks at the same time.
“How much?”
I turn slowly.
The doctor gives us an estimate.
Ethan frowns.
“Is surgery absolutely necessary? Can you try conservative treatment first?”
I stare at him.
“My mother nearly died yesterday.”
“I’m asking a reasonable question.”
“The medical team is recommending surgery.”
“And I’m telling you not to make a huge financial decision while you’re panicking.”
The doctor looks between us.
“The decision belongs to the patient and her authorized family. From a medical standpoint, our recommendation is to proceed.”
“Then proceed,” I say.
Ethan waits until the doctor leaves.
“This is exactly what I mean. You’re not thinking.”
“No. I’m finally thinking clearly.”
“Claire—”
“Don’t.”
Dad comes up beside me.
“Stay away from my daughter.”
Ethan blinks.
“Robert, I was trying to—”
“I know what you were trying to do.”
Dad’s voice shakes.
“I spent years telling Claire to be patient with you. To understand your schedule. Your job. Your responsibilities.”
He points toward Mom’s room.
“I didn’t raise my daughter so her husband could decide my wife’s life matters less than someone else’s comfort.”
For once, Ethan has nothing to say.
That evening, while Mom is being prepared for surgery, Ethan checks his phone again and again.
Every time the screen lights up, his expression softens.
Finally, he stands.
“I need to go.”
I look at him.
“Where?”
He hesitates.
Then says, “Diane had palpitations after everything yesterday. Sophie is worried. I’m going to check on them.”
For a moment, I can only stare.
“My mother is about to have heart surgery.”
“Don’t start.”
“And you’re leaving to comfort Sophie?”
“Her family had a frightening experience too.”
I nod slowly.
“Go.”
He frowns.
“What?”
“Go to her.”
I step aside.
“And don’t come back.”
His face darkens.
“You’re going to regret talking to me like this once you calm down.”
Dad puts a hand on my shoulder.
“No, she won’t.”
Ethan looks at him.
Dad doesn’t look away.
“If she wants out of this marriage, she has a home with us.”
Then he turns to me.
“Divorce him, Claire.”