The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 296

Chapter 296

Cynthia's POV

Nathaniel's face hardened, his jaw setting in that stubborn way that meant he'd already made up his mind and nothing I said would change it.

"I'm going to tell Mom," he said firmly. "She needs to know what Julian is doing. What he's become."

"What he's become?" I repeated, my voice rising. "Nathaniel, he hasn't become anything. He's always been gay. This isn't something that happened to him. This is who he is."

"It's wrong," Nathaniel said, his voice tight with conviction. "It's ungodly. It goes against everything we were raised to believe, everything our family stands for."

"Everything you believe," I shot back. "Not everyone in this family shares your rigid, judgmental view of the world."

Nathaniel stepped closer, his expression a mixture of anger and something that looked almost like desperation.

"Julian needs to come back to his senses," he said. "He needs to understand that this... this lifestyle he's chosen is unacceptable. That he's putting the family's reputation at risk. That he's…"

"That he's what?" I interrupted, fury rising in my chest. "That he's daring to be happy? That he's finally living authentically instead of hiding and suffering to please you and Mom?"

"Cynthia…"

"No," I said sharply. "I'm done listening to this. You want to talk about what's acceptable?" I said, my voice shaking with anger. "Fine. Let's talk about it."

Nathaniel opened his mouth to interrupt, but I didn't let him.

"Whatever you do with your life is up to you," I continued. "You married Helen. You had kids. You built this perfect picture of what a Laurent should be. And nobody questioned it. Nobody told you that you were doing it wrong or that your choices were unacceptable."

I took a breath, but I wasn't done.

"Kevin sleeps with a different woman every month," I continued. "He's been doing it for years. Casual relationships, one-night stands, whatever he wants. And you know what? Nobody says a word about it. Nobody tells him he's ungodly or that he needs to come to his senses. Because apparently, Kevin's allowed to do whatever makes him happy."

Nathaniel's expression shifted slightly—clearly uncomfortable with having his double standards pointed out so bluntly.

"That's different…" he started.

"It's not different," I interrupted. "You just think it is because Kevin's choices fit into your narrow definition of acceptable behavior."

I stepped closer to him, my hands clenched into fists.

"And me?" I said, my voice breaking slightly. "I've been waiting for six months for Ethan to come home. Six months of hoping and praying and refusing to give up even though everyone thinks I'm stupid for it."

Nathaniel flinched at the word stupid.

"People whisper about me," I continued. "They say I'm delusional. That I'm wasting my life waiting for a dead man. That I should move on, find someone new, stop embarrassing myself with false hope."

Tears were burning at the corners of my eyes now, but I refused to let them fall.

"But I keep waiting," I said. "Because I love Ethan. Because I believe he's still alive. Because giving up on him would feel like giving up on myself."

I took a shaky breath.

"And you know what?" I said. "That's my choice. My life. My decision. And nobody gets to tell me it's wrong."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify