Chapter 68: The Last Straw

The days that followed were an agonizing blur for Olivia. After the disaster at the hospital, Linda had taken her and baby Eva to Ethan's mansion, but the place that had once been their *Nest*, filled with warmth and love, now felt cold and unwelcoming. It was as if the walls themselves rejected her presence, echoing the same betrayal that Ethan had delivered without hesitation.

Olivia couldn't bear to stay in their old bedroom. The memories of happier days haunted her there, so she chose the guest room, where she and Linda could stay close to Eva's nursery. She needed her mother more than ever now. Though the baby's coos and tiny movements gave Olivia some sense of hope, the crushing weight of Ethan's rejection threatened to pull her under every day.

The upcoming months were nothing short of a nightmare.

Ethan, the man who had once been her everything, had turned into a stranger. He left early every morning, avoiding her and the baby completely. She knew he wasn't going to work—he no longer even bothered with Eva Enterprise or the family's legacy. He didn't seem to care about anything anymore.

Instead, he returned home every evening, drunk, accompanied by Jenna, who clung to him like a leech. It was infuriating, watching them stumble into the mansion as if they owned it, as if Olivia and Eva didn't exist. What was worse, Ethan had taken up smoking, a habit he had never had before, filling the house with the stench of cigarettes and the bitterness of his own downfall.

Olivia tolerated it all, though it tore her apart inside. She hadn't fought for this—hadn't built this life just to watch it crumble before her eyes. Every time Ethan returned home drunk, with Jenna by his side, laughing and pretending she didn't matter, Olivia told herself she wouldn't give up. She wouldn't let him destroy them. Not like this.

But she had limits.

One evening, after yet another late night of enduring Ethan's cruel indifference, he tossed a stack of papers at her. His face was emotionless, just like when he had broken her heart in the hospital. She picked up the papers with trembling hands, her heart pounding as she read the cold, impersonal words: **Divorce.**

The reason? Eva wasn't his child. That lie, that cruel lie, was his excuse to throw her and their daughter out, penniless, so he could continue his charade with Jenna. 

Olivia's hands shook as she stared at the papers. She couldn't breathe, the air leaving her lungs as if the weight of the entire world was pressing down on her. This was the final blow, the one she hadn't seen coming—though she should have. How could Ethan, the man she loved so deeply, deny Eva like this? How could he be so heartless?

But it wasn't just about the divorce. It was the way he wanted to strip her of everything. He didn't want to just walk away—he wanted to leave her with nothing, with no claim to the life they had built together, no financial support for Eva. He wanted her gone, erased, as if she had never existed.

That night, Olivia sat in the guest room, staring at the divorce papers, her mind racing. How had it come to this? How had their life turned into such a nightmare?

Linda was by her side, her face full of concern as she held Eva. "You can't sign those papers, Liv," she whispered, her voice firm but full of sadness. "This isn't the Ethan you know. Something's wrong, and we need to figure out what it is."

Olivia nodded, but deep down, she wasn't sure how much fight she had left in her. Every night, watching Ethan return with Jenna, hearing him laugh with her, the cold distance between them—it had broken her in ways she couldn't even describe. But she couldn't give up. Not yet. Not when Eva's future depended on her.

Meanwhile, Alex and Emma, equally frustrated by Ethan's behavior, had distanced themselves. They could no longer stand to be around him, not after the way he treated Olivia and Eva. Alex, especially, was infuriated by Ethan's betrayal, and though he had tried confronting him several times, Ethan had shrugged him off with drunken indifference. The pain of seeing his best friend like this was unbearable, so Alex and Emma moved in with Olivia, staying at Carter Couture to help her with the business and to shield her from the emotional devastation.

Even in the midst of her own despair, Olivia couldn't help but feel grateful for their support. She knew she wasn't alone, even if it felt that way sometimes. But the weight of Ethan's betrayal still hung over her like a dark cloud, threatening to suffocate her every time she thought about it.

The divorce papers were her last straw. She couldn't live like this anymore—waiting, hoping for Ethan to come back to his senses, to remember the love they once shared. She had fought for him, for them, but now she had to fight for herself and for Eva. 

She wasn't going to let Ethan win this. He might have thrown their life away, but she wasn't going to walk away with nothing.

Not this time.