Billionaire Ex-husband's Baby

Chapter 42 - The Suffering

Martha was a homeless girl in her late teens who had found shelter in the careless drunk that lived across the street from Helena.

"Your mother had such a beautiful smile when I first met her." Helena smiled at the old memory. "And her eyes were always so full of kindness whenever she would look at me."

"Whenever she would look at you?" Ethan and Olivia asked at the same time.

"Yes," Helena said. "The drunk who took her in, ruined her."

The thought of it made Helena's smile fade before she continued on how she had ended up becoming friends with Martha, but she had been heavily restricted by her then boyfriend and with nowhere to go since she had no trace of her family, she had obeyed his every word.

Apart from restriction, Martha had also faced abuse at his hands and on several occasions, she had been seen rubbing her eyes constantly.

"She always hid the truth from me about why she did that to her eyes," Helena said. "It turns out he would intentionally spray chemicals in her eyes whenever he was extremely drunk and would turn violent after starting an argument. I wish she had opened up to me completely."

Helena then recalled the time Martha came banging on her door late at night while screaming for help and when she opened the door, Martha was sitting by the door with a bleeding nose.

As that night replayed in Helena's mind, she couldn't help but insult Ethan's father, then cleared her throat to apologize.

"You didn't say anything wrong," Ethan said, clenching his jaw.

Relieved that Ethan took no offense, Helena spoke about how after a few weeks of taking Martha in, they discovered she was pregnant and despite having no trace of her ex boyfriend, who had left town, Martha had decided to keep the baby.

"Your mother gradually lost her eyesight thanks to all that had built up in her eyes. I was by her side the whole time until the day you were born. She wished to see you but that had been taken away from her."

"By my..." Ethan trailed off. "That man."

With a heavy sigh, Helena could only look down at the table, unable to look Ethan in the eyes with her next words.

"After you were born, things didn't get any easier. In fact, they became so difficult that we almost ended up on the streets. It was then that I suggested putting you up for adoption. Forgive me for that but I couldn't see you grow up in that state and your mother couldn't take care of you. I also had a lot going on, so I left you at that orphanage. Not long after that, I  lost contact with your mother. I'm sorry."

Helena burst into tears but soon covered her mouth to not draw attention.

Olivia reached for Helena's other hand as she looked at Ethan, who only leaned back in his seat with crossed arms.

"I understand if you're upset by all this," Helena said.

"How did you lose contact with my mother?"

"Please don't hate me." Helena brought her trembling hands together.

"Just tell me." He inched forward.

When Olivia could sense the tension in his voice, she reached for his hand and gently squeezed it, then asked Helena to speak.

With an obvious tremble in her voice, Helena explained that a few days after she had left Ethan at the orphanage, she stepped out just for a few minutes and locked the door to the house before she had left and Martha was inside.

When she had returned, the door handle was damaged and inside the house, there was no trace of Martha, only a note from Ethan's father.

"He took her and I couldn't find them. I should've stayed with her that day. My guilt was so hard to bear that I vowed to never return. Please forgive me."