I remained silent.
She turned toward me.
“After your father died, I was so frightened of losing anything else that I started treating every decision like a financial calculation.”
Her eyes moved toward Ethan.
“I looked at him and saw the possibility of you struggling the way we did.”
She swallowed.
“I didn’t look at him and see the person you loved.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Linda—”
“No. Please let me finish.”
She wiped her face.
“When I offered you that money, I told myself I was protecting Olivia. I convinced myself that if you walked away, she would eventually thank me.”
She gave a small, broken laugh.
“Instead, I humiliated the man who loved her. And when he refused to leave, I punished him for proving me wrong.”
Ethan said nothing.
Mom looked down at her hands.
“I’ve spent years pretending that your success changed my opinion of you. The truth is, I should never have needed you to succeed before I treated you with respect.”
