I Taught My Son to Call His Father “Uncle Ethan” Chapter 09
Chapter 9 The Truth Serena Spat Out
Once Serena realized the tears were useless, she stopped pretending.
She wiped her face and laughed coldly.
“Yes. I did it on purpose. What else was I supposed to do? I’m divorced, and I have a kid. If I didn’t hold on to you, was I supposed to just wait around and starve?”
Ethan stared at her as if a stranger had stepped into Serena’s skin.
“So every word was a lie?”
Serena laughed again, sharp and ugly.
“A lie? Ethan Cross, you were the one who made it easy. I said a few sad things, and you came running to pity me. I said Teddy was poor because he didn’t have a father, and you rushed to become one. Who exactly do you want to blame?”
Ethan’s face went pale.
“You told me your ex-husband tricked you. You said your family forced you to leave.”
Serena sneered.
“And you believed that? I left because my ex told me his family owned a mine. Turns out he was all talk. He went bankrupt soon after. When the money was gone, I divorced him. And when I came back, I thought of you first. You had money, a company, and a wife who could be pushed around.”
Ethan’s fists clenched until his knuckles made a sound.
Serena went on, almost enjoying it.
“Zoey really was easy to push around. I posted things just to needle her, and she still stayed quiet. One call from me, and you would walk away from her and your son. If I’m being honest, I admire her a little. She endured you for so long.”
Ethan’s eyes trembled.
Serena saw it and laughed harder.
“What? Now you feel bad? Too late. She took your son and left this afternoon.”
Ethan’s head snapped up.
“What did you say?”
Serena opened her phone and pulled up my social feed:
It was the only post I made after the plane landed.
In the photo, Leo held my hand outside Southport Airport.
The caption was simple
From today on. Leo and I are starting a new life”
A mutual friend had commented, “Weren’t you and Mr. Cross taking the kid to Dreamland Stahes
My reply was shorter
“We’re divorced.”
Several words.
They cut straight through Ethan.
He stared at the screen and did not move.
Serena’s laughter continued.
“You didn’t even know? Ethan Cross, that’s pathetic. Your wife and son don’t want you anymore, and here you are, raising someone else’s child like a fool.”
Ethan suddenly turned for the door.
Serena shouted after him, “Where are you going?”
He did not answer.
Her voice turned shrill.
“You think she’ll forgive you if you chase her now? She already threw you away!”
Ethan paused for only one second.
Then he walked faster.
Serena grabbed the cup by the bed and hurled it after him.
It shattered near the doorway.
At that exact moment, Teddy’s body began to convulse on the hospital bed
His face shifted from white to blue.
harsh, strained wheeze tore out of his throat.
The nurse rushed over.
“His throat is swelling! Get the doctor! Prepare emergency treatment!”
Serena’s legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor.
That same night, Ethan rushed to the airport.
The earliest flight to Southport was sold out.
He sat in the terminal until dawn.
During those hours, he called me over and over.
He sent message after message.
“Zoey, I was wrong.”
“Where are you?”
“Let me see you once.”
“Is Leo okay?”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“Please answer me.”
I did not read any of them.
When our plane landed in Southport, Leo was asleep against my shoulder.
There were dried tear marks on his lashes.
I carried him off the plane and took a cab to the hotel I had reserved.
The night air in Southport was damp.
Outside the window, bright overpasses slid past one after another.
Leo woke once, still half inside a dream.
“Mom, are we going to live here?”
I touched his hair.
“For now. Later, I’ll give you a new home.”
He nodded and pressed himself closer to me.
“There won’t be an Uncle in the new home, right?”
My throat tightened.
“No. Just us.”
At the hotel, I turned my phone on.
The screen filled instantly with missed calls and unread messages
All from Ethan.
I deleted them after one glance and blocked his number.
Leo came out after his shower and saw me clearing the messages.
He stood quietly for a while.
“Mom, did he look for us?”
“Yes,” I said.
Leo lowered his head and worried the edge of his pajamas between his fingers.
“Are you going back?”
I crouched in front of him.
“No. I promise. I’m not going back.”
Only then did he breathe out.
That night, Leo slept in my arms.
He woke twice.
Each time, he reached for my hand first.
Only after touching me and knowing I was still there did he fall asleep again.
A little after two in the morning, someone began pounding on the door.
“Zoey! Zoey, open the door!”
Ethan’s voice was rough, almost broken.
Leo shot upright.
His face went pale, and he clung to my arm.
I put on my coat and went to the door.
Through the peephole, I saw Ethan.
His hair was messy.
His shirt looked slept in.
His eyes were bloodshot and frightening.
I left the chain on and opened the door only a crack.
