Mom, Don't Cry! Here comes a new Daddy! novel Chapter 139

Chapter 123

Chapter 123

(Kate’s POV)

But how can I admit that?

“I’m protecting everyone. Ethan from making a mistake he’ll regret. Sabrina from a marriage that will

destroy her. Jake from growing up in a household where his mother is slowly broken down by the weight of a name she was never meant to carry.”

“But you don’t know that will happen.”

“Don’t I? I’ve seen it happen before. Watched it happen to the woman I cared about as inore than a daughter-in-law. Evelyn was strong. Confident. Brilliant. And Stephen’s abandonment killed her as surely as the tumor did.”

I move to the refrigerator. Jake’s drawings are back. All thirteen of them. Held up by magnets in a chaotic display that would make any proper household cringe.

I reach out and touch one. A dinosaur family. Three of them holding hands.

Mom. Jake. New Dad.

The labels are in a child’s handwriting. Careful. Deliberate. Full of hope.

“He’s talented,” I say quietly.

“Jake?”

“Yes. These are quite good for a six-year-old. He has real skill. Real potential.”

“Then why did you take them down?”

“Because I needed to see if Sabrina would stand up for him. If she’d defend her son or if she’d shrink back and accept whatever I said was appropriate.” I trace the drawing with one finger. “She stood up for him. Told off Ethan when he failed to stand up for them. That’s more than I expected.”

“So she passed your test.”

“She passed that test. But there will be others. So many others. From me. From society. From people who will question whether she deserves to be a Hale.” I turn to face Rosalie. “And each time, it will chip away at her. Make her doubt herself. Make her wonder if Ethan’s love is worth the constant battle.”

“What if she’s stronger than you think?”

“What if she’s not? What if six months from now, a year from now, she’s exactly where Evelyn was? Loving a man who can’t quite stand against the pressure? Who starts to resent the complications she brings? Who wishes-even if he’d never admit it-that he’d chosen someone easier?”

Rosalie has no answer for that.

Because she knows I’m right.

Love isn’t enough. It never has been.

< Chapter 123

And I won’t let my grandson learn that the hard way.

My phone rings. Stephen.

I almost don’t answer. But habit wins out.

“Yes?”

“Mother. Ethan just called me. He sounded very angry. Something about you testing his fiancée?”

Of course Ethan called his father. Informing everyone of his decision, probably. Not realizing that Stephen is the last person who should weigh in on matters of love and commitment.

“I met Sabrina and her son tonight. Conducted a standard evaluation of their suitability.”

“And?”

“And Ethan didn’t appreciate my methods.”

Stephen laughs. The sound grates. “I could have told you that would happen. The boy’s stubborn. Gets that from you.”

“He gets a lot of things from you too. Things he’d rather not admit.”

The line goes quiet. Stephen knows what I’m implying.

“Is that why you’re pushing her away? Because you think Ethan will end up like me?”

“I think Ethan will end up exactly like you if he’s not careful. I think he’ll love someone with his whole heart and then crack under the pressure of maintaining that love when it becomes inconvenient. When society judges. When complications arise.”

“That’s not fair-”

“Isn’t it? Tell me, Stephen. Where were you when Evelyn was dying? When she needed you most? When your son needed a father who could show him what strength looks like?”

“I was dealing with it the only way I knew how-”

“You were running. Like a coward. And you broke her heart more thoroughly than any tumor ever could.”

Stephen’s breath catches. “I loved her.”

“Not enough. Not when it mattered.” I close my eyes. “And I won’t watch Ethan do the same thing to Sabrina. Won’t watch that woman and her child suffer because my grandson inherited his father’s inability to stand against pressure.”

“So what are you going to do? Drive her away before Ethan can hurt her? That’s not protection, Mother. That’s cruelty. And you Ethan won’t just stand by and let you do as you please.”

“Don’t worry about Ethan. I know how to handle him.”

“Mother, don’t do this. It’s cruel…”

“It’s prevention. There’s a difference.”

Chapter 123

“Is there?” Stephen’s voice gets harder. “Or are you so traumatized by what you watched happen to Evelyn That you can’t see your grandson is not me? That he’s better than I was? That he might actually be strong

enough to fight for what he loves?”

“And if he’s not?”

“Then he’ll learn. Fail. Grow. Like everyone else. But you don’t get to make that choice for him.”

I want to argue. Want to tell Stephen he has no right to lecture me about choices after the ones he made.

But I’m tired.

So tired.

“I need to go,” I say.

“Mother-”

I hang up before he can finish.

Rosalie is still sitting there. Watching me with those careful eyes.

“You’re really going to go against Ethan over this?”

“I’m not going against him. He gave me an ultimatum. So I’m going to give him mine.”

I look at Jake’s drawings again. At that dinosaur family with their carefully labeled roles.

Rosalie stands. Walks over to me. Puts a hand on my shoulder.

“You don’t need to do this,” she says softly. “Maybe Ethan will crack under pressure. Maybe Sabrina will break. Maybe this whole thing will end in disaster.”

“But?”

“But maybe it won’t. Maybe you’re projecting your pain over Evelyn onto a situation that’s completely different. Maybe Ethan is stronger than Stephen ever was. Maybe Sabrina is stronger than you think.”

“And maybe I’m right. Maybe I’m saving them all from years of pain by ending this now before it goes any further.”

“Or maybe you’re just scared.”

The words hit harder than they should.

“Scared of what?”

“Of being wrong. Of learning that love can survive. That it can be enough.” Rosalie’s voice is gentle but firm. “Because if they make it-if Ethan and Sabrina build something that lasts despite everything-then you’ll have to accept that Evelyn’s death wasn’t inevitable. That Stephen could have chosen differently. That love didn’t fail. He did.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify