Chapter 6: The Accident That Was Never An Accident
I thought I had already reached the worst part.
I thought finding out about Olivia was the deepest pain I could feel.
I was wrong.
Because betrayal has layers.
And every time I pulled one away, another one was waiting underneath.
I stared at Olivia.
“What accident?””
She looked terrified.
Not of me.
Of the truth.
“Emma…”
“Tell me.””
Ethan stepped between us.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“Move.””
“Please.””
“Move.””
Something in my voice made him stop.
He stepped aside.
Olivia took a shaky breath.
“The accident happened eight months ago.””
I tried to remember.
Eight months.
That was before Ethan and I started seriously talking about our future.
Before he met my parents.
Before he told me I was the only person who made him feel understood.
“What happened?””
Olivia looked down.
“Claire was driving.””
My eyes narrowed.
“What?””
“She crashed her car.””
My heart tightened.
“Was she hurt?””
Olivia nodded.
“Badly.””
Ethan looked away.
“And Ethan was involved.””
I turned toward him.
“You were there?””
His silence answered.
“You were there?””
“Yes.””
My voice became quiet.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
He looked broken.
“Because it was complicated.””
I shook my head.
“You keep saying that.””
“Emma—”
“No. Explain.””
He sat down slowly.
“I wasn’t driving.””
“I didn’t ask that.””
I looked at him.
“I asked why you hid it.””
His fingers tightened.
“Because Claire blamed me.””
The room went quiet.
“Why?””
Ethan swallowed.
“Because we were fighting before the accident.””
“About what?””
He looked at Olivia.
Then back at me.
“The same things we always fought about.””
“The lies?””
He nodded.
I waited.
Finally, he spoke.
“I had been seeing someone else.””
The words landed like a slap.
Even though I expected them.
Even though I knew there was another person.
It still hurt.
“You cheated on Claire too.””
His eyes closed.
“Yes.””
Olivia wiped her tears.
“I didn’t know that part.””
I looked at her.
“You didn’t know?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
For the first time that night, Olivia looked genuinely shocked.
Ethan stood up.
“Emma, I made mistakes.””
“Mistakes?””
I stared at him.
“You keep calling them mistakes because mistakes sound smaller than what they are.””
He had no response.
“What happened after the accident?””
He looked uncomfortable.
“Claire recovered.””
“And?””
“And she ended the engagement.””
“Because she found out?””
“Yes.””
I nodded slowly.
Then something clicked.
“Wait.””
I looked at Olivia.
“How did you know about this?””
She looked nervous.
“I found old messages.””
“Between who?””
She hesitated.
“Between Ethan and Claire.””
My heart sank.
“What did they say?””
Olivia looked at Ethan.
He looked terrified.
That was enough.
“Tell me.””
She whispered:
“Ethan asked Claire not to tell anyone what happened.””
My stomach twisted.
“Why?””
Olivia looked at me.
“Because he was afraid people would find out he was responsible.””
The room went silent.
Ethan immediately shook his head.
“That’s not true.””
“Then tell her the truth,” Olivia said.
“I made a mistake.””
“What mistake?””
I looked at him.
“What happened?””
He looked exhausted.
“I was angry that night.””
“At Claire?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
He hesitated.
Then said:
“Because she found out about the other woman.””
My breath caught.
“And?””
“We argued.””
“Then?””
“She left.””
“And the accident?””
He looked down.
“She lost control of the car.””
I watched him.
“Did you call for help?””
His silence was immediate.
Too immediate.
“Ethan.””
He finally whispered:
“I waited.””
The words barely left his mouth.
But they destroyed me.
“You waited?””
“I was scared.””
“Someone you loved was hurt, and you waited?””
“I panicked.””
I stepped back.
I didn’t recognize him.
Not anymore.
The person standing in front of me wasn’t the man who held my hand at graduation.
He was someone who ran from consequences.
Someone who protected himself first.
Then my phone suddenly buzzed.
I looked down.
A new message appeared from an unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
But then I saw the name attached.
Claire Morgan.
The message contained only one sentence.
My hands started shaking.
Because Claire had sent me the truth Ethan had spent years hiding.
May you like
And it wasn’t about the accident.
It was about me.
