C7 Chapter 7

Ethan’s POV

I straight walked up to the information desk, my steps hurried, my mind a tangled mess of emotions.

“Katelyn,” I said to the nurse at the desk. My voice came out sharper than I intended. “Which room?”

The nurse glanced at the records. “She’s still in the exam room.”

I exhaled slowly, tension coiling in my chest.

Katelyn’s father arrived moments later, his face lined with worry. “Where is she?” he asked the nurse, his voice gruff but urgent.

“The exam room,” I repeated, rubbing my temples.

“She was in an accident, Ethan,” her father muttered. “She and Lucas—” He stopped himself, shaking his head. “This shouldn’t have happened.”

I said nothing. Because what could I say? I hadn’t been here. I hadn’t been the one waiting for news of my son. Katelyn had. Alone.

The door to the exam room opened, and I turned instantly.

Katelyn stepped out, her figure slightly hunched, a white bandage wrapped around her forehead. She walked slowly but steadily, her posture straight despite the visible pain in her every movement.

Her father rushed forward. “Katelyn. How are you?”

Katelyn let out a small, bitter laugh. “Not dead yet.”

Something about the way she said it—so careless, so detached—sent a shiver through me.

I took a step toward her. “Katelyn,” I started, my voice softer than before. “Lucas—how is he?”

She didn’t meet my gaze. “The surgery is done.” Her tone was even, unreadable.

I waited for her to say something else, to yell at me, to ask where I had been. But she didn’t.

I cleared my throat. “I—Katelyn, I was caught up with—”

“Spare me, Ethan,” she interrupted, her voice cutting through my excuse like a blade.

Then, as if she were simply commenting on the weather, she said, “I filed for divorce.”

The words hit me like a physical blow.

For a second, I thought I had misheard her.

“You… what?” I asked, my throat suddenly dry.

“I filed for divorce,” she repeated, her voice calm, emotionless. “I refuse to be your Luna any longer.”

I stared at her, my mind reeling.

This wasn’t the Katelyn I knew.

Where was the woman who always hesitated, who always waited for me, who always stayed no matter how many times I left?

I had expected her to be angry. I had expected her to accuse me, to demand explanations.

But not this.

Not a calm, decisive ending.

Not indifference.

“Katelyn—”

She turned away before I could say another word.

She walked slowly, each step clearly painful, her body stiff from the injuries she had suffered.

But she never faltered. Never looked back.

Her back remained straight, her head held high, as if nothing—not even the pain—could break her.

Her father reached out, grabbing her wrist gently. “Katelyn, wait.”

She stopped but didn’t turn around.

Her father sighed. “Come home, Katelyn. We need to talk. We should have a family meeting about your mother.”

Katelyn finally turned, and when she did, her expression was unreadable.

She tilted her head slightly, her lips curving into something almost like amusement. “Family?” she repeated, as if the word itself was foreign.

Her father hesitated. “You’re still part of this family. I know Derek was hard on you earlier, and I apologize for that—”

“There’s no need to apologize,” Katelyn interrupted. “It changes nothing.”

Her father frowned. “Katelyn, don’t be like this.”

She let out a quiet sigh. “Be like what?”

“Selfish.”

A cold silence filled the air.

Then Katelyn laughed. A short, humorless sound.

“Selfish?” she repeated. “Do you know what it feels like to be the unwanted one in your own home?”

She met his gaze, her expression unwavering. “You had Derek. You had Scarlett. That was enough.”

“Katelyn—”

“I was never part of this family,” she continued, her voice eerily calm. “Not even a bit.”

Something heavy settled in my chest.

I had never heard her speak this way before.

So final.

So… detached.

Her father’s expression darkened. “This is not the time to bring up old grievances.”

Katelyn’s lips curved into something cold. “No. You’re right. There’s no need to bring up the past.”

Her voice lowered slightly, almost as if she were talking to herself. “There’s nothing left to talk about.”

Silence.

A long, suffocating silence.

I watched her closely, trying to find something—anything—of the woman I had once known.

But she wasn’t there anymore.

After a moment, the doors to the operating room opened, and Lucas was wheeled out.

Katelyn moved before anyone else.

She reached for him, her hands gentle as she stroked his hair.

She leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “Mommy’s here,” she whispered.

Lucas stirred slightly, his small fingers clutching onto hers.

She smiled at him. A real, genuine smile. The first one I had seen from her all night.

Then, without looking at me, she straightened.

And walked away.

She didn’t say another word.

Didn’t glance back.

Didn’t hesitate.

She just left.

And for the first time in my life, I felt something unsettling.

Something close to fear.

Because I had never seen Katelyn like this before.

And it shook me to my core.