Chapter 14 - Claire had to decide whether Ethan belonged in her future, not just the baby’s
Their son was born in early spring.
Claire named him Henry James Miller-Bennett.
The hyphen was deliberate.
So was Miller first.
Ethan did not argue.
He was in the delivery room because Claire invited him.
He cut the cord.
Cried again.
Held Henry with the terrified concentration of a man who understood exactly how much life had happened outside his control.
But Claire did not immediately move in with him.
She found her own apartment.
Returned gradually to architectural consulting.
Her mother recovered enough to live independently with part-time assistance.
Ethan paid appropriate prenatal and child-related expenses after paternity was established, not as a favor and not as leverage.
They built a parenting schedule before rebuilding romance.
That was important.
Serena had spent months turning love into control.
Claire refused to answer by making romantic reunion a prerequisite for family.
Ethan came over to feed Henry.
Changed diapers.
Took night shifts when Claire allowed.
Learned pediatric appointments.
Sometimes they talked about the past.
Sometimes they deliberately did not.
One evening, when Henry was nearly four months old, Ethan asked:
“Do you think Serena destroyed our second chance?”
Claire looked at him.
“No.”
He seemed surprised.
“She stole time,” Claire said. “That’s different.”
“What’s the difference?”
“If she destroyed it, then whatever happens to us next is still about her.”
Ethan understood.
“So what happens next?”
Claire smiled faintly.
“We decide.”
That was the thing Serena had taken from them once.
Choice.
May you like
They would not let her keep it by building their future entirely as a reaction to her.
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