The look in Sean’s eyes should have scared him, but Ethan felt numb. Ethan could not believe what he was hearing. That was not the Sean that Ethan knew. The man sitting in front of him appeared calculating, cool, and calm.
“What did you do?” Ethan asked.
Sean’s smile was cold; there were no feelings behind it. “I freed us both.” He answered. “When I first started aligning myself with Simone, I loved the thrill I got from fucking her, right under your daddy dearest’s nose. Then it was for her money; I’m a greedy bastard, Ethan. Don’t worry, I had planned on keeping you around for a while after we got married. Simone on the other hand, I planned on killing her all along.”
Sean chuckled again and that time a small spark resonated in his eyes. “You should have seen her face after your father died and she found out that she didn’t get any of his money. I was going to leave, but she convinced me to stay. She dangled you, the naive, daddy’s pet in front of my face.” He shrugged.
Ethan sat still, absorbing all the information. How could I have been so stupid?
“What did you do to my mother, Sean?” Ethan demanded, finally regaining his senses.
Sean leaned forward, close enough to whisper his answer to Ethan, but not loud enough for those listening to hear.
“I killed her.”
Rage erupted in Ethan and he couldn’t control himself. He was out of his chair in a matter of seconds, leaping across the table to try to strangle the life out of Sean. Ethan did not hold back his anger as he tried to reach the other man. Everything he had been through for the past few months was because of Sean.
Simone and Sean, took away two important people from me. My father and my child.
Ethan still could not understand why Simone hated him so much that she would purposely hurt him by killing his child. He was hurting for himself and Simone as well. Sean might be right and he was naive. She might not have been a great mother, but she was still his flesh and blood. And he loved her, even though it seemed from her actions she did not love him.
Arms grabbed him around the waist and pulled him out of the room. Ethan was fighting against the person holding him back, trying to get to Sean, who was being pulled up by the officers.
“This is the fucking thanks I get for killing a woman that wasn’t even your mother,” Sean yelled angrily at Ethan from across the room.
Ethan didn’t get a chance to ask what Sean meant because he was being forcefully pulled from the interrogation room. Once outside the room, he was encased in a bone crushing hug. Tyler’s strong scent hit him and Ethan broke down. Everything he believed was all a lie.
“It’s going to be ok,” the soft female voice whispered in his ear and Ethan lifted his head and turned to see Marilyn Hamilton standing there. He pulled himself out of Tyler’s arms and was instantly in Marilyn’s, needing her motherly comfort. Ethan had no idea when she showed up, but he was happy that she was there, and glad that he was able to let go of his pent up anger and sorrow in her comforting arms.
** ** ** ** **
Later that night when Ethan and Tyler returned home, they were welcomed with a mixture of the Hamilton and Colvin family and one Kaisson. Ethan had no idea how everyone was gathered so quickly.
The minute he walked completely through the door, Richard pulled him into his arms. “Are you ok?” Richard asked. Ethan nodded his head and held onto his big brother. But truthfully, Ethan had not had the chance to sit and absorb everything that had happened in the past few hours. “I almost lost my shit when I heard what happened. I know it’s selfish, but I can’t lose you, Ethan, now that I have you in my life.” Ethan did not respond, he simply held onto Richard, his only blood lifeline.
They pulled apart and Richard guided him over to the nearest sofa, sitting beside him. Richard put an arm around Ethan’s shoulders. Wordlessly stating he was not leaving Ethan’s side. No one argued with it. Tyler was not far from him, his gentle touches, letting Ethan know he was there if he needed him.
Ethan was still shaken up from his encounter with Sean. He had no idea Simone really hated him because he was not her son. After he had calmed down, Ethan and Tyler were able to stick around and listen to the police questioning Sean, who gloated and told them where to find Simone’s body. But in the end, there was no body left to be found. It was gruesome what he had done to her. After hearing what Sean did, Ethan promised never to eat pork products as long as he lived.
Sean had chopped Simone’s body up into pieces and fed her to pigs. Ethan did not even know there were pig farms anywhere in New York. There were a few other things that were said, but Ethan couldn’t stand to hear any more. In addition to the current charges against Sean, there were also a list of other crimes connected to him. Sean, who refused his right to have an attorney present, pled guilty to the charges of double homicide, accessory to murder, and attempted murder.
The only good news was that there would not be a trial and Ethan would never have to see or deal with Sean again. Ethan hated that he was correct in that Simone had everything to do with his father’s death.
Ethan finally understood why his and Simone’s relationship was never the way it was supposed to be. James had so many secrets. Arms around him tightened and Ethan looked up to see Tyler staring at him. He wondered how and when his husband and Richard changed places without him realizing it.
He looked around the room to everyone assembled in his home and saw everyone talking and laughing. Oddly, he was not afraid to enter the place he was attacked. He felt proud that he was able to defend it and himself. This was his home, his and Tyler’s home.
I’m not alone, not anymore.
He had a family, unconventional as they were, but he had a support system, something that had been there from the beginning but he never noticed until then.
There were still things Ethan wanted to know. If Simone was not his mother, then who was? And where was she? Was she still alive? Why did she allow his father to take him away? Although Ethan wanted to know, he was going to enjoy being with family. Yes, he was angry, but he had no idea how to feel about finally knowing what happened to his father, and specifically about Simone’s death. One thing he was sure about, he was done living in and dwelling on the past.
** ** ** ** **
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Two Years Later
Ethan chuckled as he watched his husband try to convince their niece Madeline, to share her snacks with him. The pouty look on Madeline’s face reminded Ethan so much of how Christen looked whenever he didn’t get his way. Ethan shook his head at Tyler’s antics and giggled when Madeline did not pay him any attention and continued to enjoy her snacks.
Ethan laughed even louder when Madeline got up, grabbing her snacks and walked to her papa, Jaxson, who instantly picked her up without question.
Tyler looked at him and winked, getting up from his spot on the floor. He quickly kissed Ethan on his lips before leaving to go and bother some other poor unsuspecting family member. Ethan looked around the room and smiled wider when he saw his brother Richard, who was holding Cayden rocking him to sleep, while deep in some unknown conversation with Mark and Lucas. He was happy to see his brother as a full-fledged part of the Hamilton family.
Richard now attended Sunday dinners, and hung out with Lucas and Tyler whenever the need struck. Marilyn now referred to Richard as one of her boys. And each time Richard’s face turned red with embarrassment, but he still soaked up the motherly attention. Marilyn had no problems vetting the men that he dated or harassing Richard on when he would provide her with more grandchildren.
In the months that followed the fiasco with Sean, things turned a complete one hundred and eighty degrees and slowly started to get better. For the first few nights, he had nightmares and almost sank into depression. Tyler and the rest of the family stuck by him, and then one day things changed. It all started when Ethan received a phone call from the prison Sean was sent to. They wanted to let Ethan know that Sean was stabbed to death and asked him
what he wanted to do with the body.
Ethan was not sure why they were asking him those questions. After things had settled, he finally opened, the contents in the envelope, that Tyler gave him months before and found out everything he should have known about Sean. For instance, the fact that Sean’s mother was dead; it made Ethan wonder what Sean did with the money he loaned him all those times to send to his mom. The only truthful thing Sean told him was that he had a sister, who apparently wanted nothing to do with Sean, dead or alive. In the end, Tyler and Ethan left it up to the prison to do whatever they wanted with Sean’s remains.
Ethan also confirmed that Simone Beaumont was indeed his mother. Ethan was not sure what made him do it, but he had the urge to visit his ancestral home in New Orleans. While he was there, he found documentations of what his father did without Simone’s knowledge. Ethan was shocked to discover that Simone had aborted a child, then had her remaining eggs frozen, for what purpose he couldn’t comprehend. It surprised Ethan that Simone hadn’t gone as far as to remove her uterus altogether.
James had found out what Simone had done and hired a surrogate to carry his and Simone’s child. James paid the surrogate millions of dollars and had her sign documents stating that she would never contact him after the baby was born. Ethan could not understand James’ reasoning for bringing a child into a loveless marriage, it still left Ethan with a lot of questions he would never get the answers to. His parents had more secrets than any government agency.
Ethan also found police reports that Simone filed against his father going as far back as when he was a teenager. But the charges were dropped. There were reports of physical abuse and restraining orders Simone filed against his father that were vacated. Ethan never knew the trauma his mother experienced being with his father. If only she had told him the truth, their relationship might have been different.
After he had found out, Ethan blamed himself for the problems in his parents’ marriage. Until Tyler; even Richard pointed out that his parents’ broken marriage had nothing to do with him. He didn’t want to admit it, but they were right. Ethan would always wonder if any part of Simone ever loved him. What threw Ethan on his pregnant ass the most was that James was a part of the same secret organization Seeker, his code name was Gabriel. Ethan had never seen such a terrified expression on his husband’s face before, when he showed the documents to Tyler.
Tyler sat Ethan down and explained to him exactly who Gabriel was. Ethan could not picture the father, he knew with the man he had heard and read about. Ethan hated to agree with Simone that he never really knew his father. He wondered exactly when did his father change and became accepting of what was happening in society. When he told his father he was gay, James embraced him and at times protected him.
Ethan winced when he felt a sharp pain in his belly. He reached down and rubbed his extended stomach. He was nine months pregnant, and five days overdue. It seemed the latest Hamilton was not ready to make his or her appearance into the world. Ethan blushed each time he thought about the day he found out he was pregnant again.
It was just a little over a year after things had settled down, Ethan was so busy he completely missed the signs. There was a flu epidemic going around the school and automatically Ethan thought that was the reason for his upset stomach. Ethan fainted while giving a speech to his student body and was rushed to the hospital.
When he woke up in the hospital again, Ethan rolled his eyes and wondered when the cycle would end. It was a blessing that the moment he woke up, the doctor was standing next to his bed. Ethan expected to see Tyler hovering over him and breathed a sigh of relief that his husband was not there yet. Ethan remembered when the doctor explained that he needed to eat more and to hydrate in his condition or else he’d faint again.
When Ethan plainly stated that he simply had the case of the flu, the doctor instantly corrected him and told him that he was six weeks pregnant. Ethan sat on the hospital bed, utterly shocked. He and Tyler talked about having another child, but they were not actively trying. They were both busy, Tyler was working at Hamilton Enterprise and his side projects. Ethan was busy with the addition to Ravenwood and the possibility of opening another school.
Ethan remembered the panicked look on Tyler’s face when he ran into the room, Ethan was placed in while he waited for the doctor to sign his release papers.
“Ethan, baby, what’s wrong?” he asked, lifting Ethan’s face, checking for signs of why he was in the hospital.
“Oh, it’s nothing serious. I got a bit dehydrated and fainted,” Ethan said nonchalantly, trying to think of the best way to tell his husband that they were going to have a baby.
Tyler sighed in relief. “I got the call that you were on your way to the hospital. I got here as soon as I could.”
Ethan smiled and pulled Tyler onto the bed. Tyler sat down and positioned himself on the bed so that Ethan could rest his head on his chest. That was their favorite position whenever they cuddled. Tyler lifted Ethan’s face by the chin. “Are you sure you’re ok? Do I need to go get the doctor? Wait, has he been in to see you?”
Ethan nodded his head. “I’m fine, trust me, just a bit exhausted,” he said and snuggled his head back into Tyler’s chest. He yawned and realized that he was tired. Ethan closed his eyes and hummed, wrapping his arms around Tyler, whose hand automatically fell to Ethan’s hair. “Man, I’m tired. I wonder if things will be like this for the rest of the nine months,” Ethan said around another yawn.
“Hmm,” Tyler said noncommittally. Suddenly, the fingers that were running through his hair froze. “Wh...what did you just say?” Ethan tried to pretend he did not just drop a bomb on his husband. Tyler lifted Ethan’s face so that they were looking at each other. He smiled and nodded his head. “H...how did it happen?”
“I would think you would know the answer to that, Mr. Hamilton. After all, six weeks ago, if I remember correctly, you returned from your last business trip and…” Ethan did not get a chance to finish his explanation because Tyler smashed their lips together, kissing him soundly and stupidly. Tyler ended their kiss and Ethan opened his eyes and saw his husband looking into his eyes.
“We’re going to have a baby,” he said in awe.
Ethan smiled and tenderly touched Tyler’s cheeks. “Yeah, we are.”
“I love you,” Tyler said and touched Ethan on his stomach. He could see the joy and happiness in his husband's face. “And thank you.”
Ethan leaned in and kissed Tyler once more. “I love you too, and there is nothing to thank me for. We are in this together.” Tyler nodded his head. “I do hope you’re ready, Mr. Hamilton.”
“Ready for what?” Tyler asked confused.
“Oh, I don’t know.” He raised his hand and began to count off all the things he could think of. “To be at my beck and call, for my weird food cravings, my emotional ups and downs. And I demand nightly foot massages.”
“Oh, you demand, do you?” Tyler asked raising an eyebrow.
Not deterred, Ethan confirmed, “Yes, I do. I’m serious, Tyler, Christen told me about…”
Tyler placed his finger on Ethan’s lips. “I will give you anything you want. Because I love you and I already love our child and it will be my pleasure to take care of both of you.”
Ethan smiled in memory of the wonderful love making that followed as soon as they got home. It surprised Ethan that he was the one that wanted to tell everyone about their good news right away. But Tyler convinced him to let them enjoy their good news for a couple of weeks before telling their family. Ethan was a ball of hormonal mess during his pregnancy. There were times he did not want Tyler to touch him or be in the same room with him.
There was one night he told Tyler to sleep on the couch because the baby didn’t want him so close to him. The minute Tyler left the room, Ethan felt lonely and went back to retrieve his husband. If Ethan could, he would give Tyler the most patient man in the world award for dealing with him over the past nine months. As promised, Tyle
r massaged his feet almost daily. And pandered to his every whim, even when Ethan was being a bastard because of his hormones.
“Hey.” Christen came over and sat beside him on the sofa. Ethan was so big all he could do was sit and have everything brought to him. “Having fun? Do you need anything?”
“I am having a blast and no, I don’t need anything,” Ethan said with a smile. Another sharp pain in his stomach hit him and he felt as if he had to go to the bathroom. He tried to get up, but Christen stopped him.
“What’s wrong?” Christen asked frantically. Ethan rolled his eyes, with being five days overdue, everyone was a bit on edge. Every move he made, the room stopped and waited to hear him say the words ‘it’s time’.
“I need to go to the bathroom, again,” Ethan answered, sighing and leaning back in the couch.
Christen stood and stretched out his hands for Ethan to take. “Come on, let me help you stand up.”
“Man, I love being pregnant, but I am so ready for this baby to be born,” Ethan commented while grabbing onto Christen’s hands.
“Oh, quit complaining, you enjoy the perks of being waited on hand and foot.” Christen chuckled.
“Well, yeah, there are perks that come with the job,” he said smiling.
“So,” Christen said. “Since we are alone now, why don’t you give me a hint about the baby’s gender? And are you sure it’s just one? I can’t let mom win another bet.”
Ethan laughed and then winced at another sharp pain shooting through him; at the same time, the baby decided to kick him in the ribs.
“Please don’t make me laugh while standing up, your niece or nephew gets a kick out of seeing me in pain.”
Ethan and Tyler had decided that they did not want to know the sex of the baby; they wanted it to be a surprise. Ethan was aware of the running bet going on between the members of his family and some of Ravenwood’s staff. However, they had a name picked that could work for either gender.
Loving You: Mpreg Romance (My One-Night Stand Series Book 2) Page 22