The Billionaire CEO Betrays his Wife: He wants her back-Chapter 138: Mama got you

Ethan hung up and leaned in, gently brushing the hair from her forehead. "Come on, love... you’re almost there. Just a little more." Her eyelids fluttered. And then, her lips moved.

It was barely a whisper. But he heard it. "...my baby..."

Tears sprang to Ethan’s eyes as he dropped to his knees beside the bed, kissing her hand.

"Yes. Yes, Mara. We’ll find him. Just come back to us." Moments later, Stefan burst into the room with his medical bag, rushing to her side, checking her vitals, eyes wide with hope.

Then the others arrived, Steve first, then Stanford and Stanley. They crowded the room, none of them speaking at first, too afraid to hope.

But Stefan looked up.

"She’s fighting. She’s not out of the woods, but... she’s coming back." Stanford exhaled hard, his hand going to his mouth as if he might cry.

Steve crossed to her other side, brushing her cheek. "Come on, princess... open those eyes."

Outside the door, baby cries rose softly in the hallway. Valerie had come up, carrying the little girl. She paused as she saw the room filled with brothers and doctors, and Ethan crouched beside the bed.

She smiled faintly, clutching the baby tighter. "She’s almost home," she whispered.

–

No longer cloaked in shadow, it was now glowing softly with golden light. The trees had bloomed, petals drifting like snow, and both cribs were lit with a faint warmth. But the second one, the one that had been empty, was now full.

Mara stepped forward, her heart pounding in her chest. There he was. A baby boy.

Sleeping peacefully, wrapped in a navy-blue blanket embroidered with stars. His little chest rose and fell with ease as if telling her I’m okay.

She fell to her knees again, trembling, overwhelmed. Then a voice small, clear, and impossibly calm- rang out around her. "Mama... I’m waiting."

Her head snapped up. The baby hadn’t moved, but the voice came from him. Not a newborn cry but the soul within.

"You have to wake up now." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she whispered, "Where are you?"

"I’m safe. But not for long. You need to find me." Mara gripped the edge of the crib.

"I will. I swear I will. I’m coming."

The garden began to tremble. A warm wind blew through the leaves, rustling the trees. The light pulsed brighter, filling the entire world with a golden hum.

"Wake up, Mama."

"Wake up."

Her eyes flew open.

Stefan dropped the stethoscope, and his breath caught.

"Mara?" Ethan gasped, leaping forward. "Mara, can you hear me?"

Her eyes searched the room, dazed. Then they landed on him. "Ethan..." she croaked, barely audible.

"I’m here," he whispered, choking on the words.

She looked around slowly at her brothers, at the baby in Valerie’s arms, and tears spilled from her eyes.

"Our baby... our boy... where is he?"

"Stef," Steve said, his voice cracking, stepping closer. "We’re gonna get him back. I swear to you." "I need to find him," And with that, she closed her eyes, not unconscious, but resting alive.

Awake.

Sunlight streamed gently through the windows. The soft scent of flowers lingered in the room, placed by her brothers in hopes it would bring her peace. But there was no peace in Mara, not anymore.

She was awake. But not truly there.

Mara sat in the corner of her bed, knees pulled to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around herself like she could hold the pieces of her heart together by force. Her hair was tangled, her hospital gown slipping from one shoulder. Her breaths came shallow and quick.

The moment her eyes opened that morning, the tears began. Silent at first... then choking sobs.

Now, she refused to speak. Refused to eat. Refused to be touched. When Ethan tried to sit beside her, she flinched and turned away. When Stefan offered to check on her vitals, she shoved the blanket tighter around her body. When her baby girl cried in the next room... she curled into a tighter ball.

"Where is he?" she whispered once—only once.

No one answered.

Steve stood by the door, his jaw clenched so tightly it trembled. Stanford leaned against the wall, face buried in his hands. Stanley paced outside like a caged lion. Stefan quietly wept into his stethoscope.

Ethan... He sat on the floor. Not at the edge of the bed. Not beside her. Below her.

He placed his hand flat on the floorboards like he could catch the broken pieces of her from underneath.

"I should’ve come sooner," he said quietly. "I was just down the road. if I’d run..." Mara didn’t answer.

But her body trembled. "Tell me what to do," Ethan begged. "Tell me how to fix this. How to breathe for you. Please."

Still, silence.

Until—

"Bring my baby boy to me." Her voice cracked like glass.

"Find him."

Then, her sobs broke loose. Deep, guttural. The sound of a mother mourning a child she never got to hold. She pressed her forehead to her knees, her whole body shaking.

"He is my baby," she whispered. "I felt them kick. I heard them both cry in my dreams. And now I have to look at one... and wonder where the other is. If he’s hungry. If he’s cold. If someone’s hurting him..."

Stefan stepped closer, but Steve held him back.

"Give her time," he said quietly. "We’ll stay close. But not too close."

Valerie, holding the baby in the hallway, cradled the little girl tighter. "Your mama’s fighting, baby girl," she whispered. "She’s still at war." Inside the room, Ethan didn’t leave the floor. He wouldn’t. Not until she could breathe again.

Not until she let someone in.

—

The air smelled of salt and fresh paint.

Lucy sat in the nursery of a rented villa, rocking gently in a pale blue armchair with the baby boy swaddled tightly in her arms. The room looked like something from a magazine cloud mobiles, plush toys, soft lullabies humming through a speaker. Everything perfect.

But the baby wouldn’t stop crying. "Shhh... baby, it’s okay," she whispered, brushing his cheek. "It’s me. It’s Mama. I know it’s all new. I know you miss her, but you’ll forget soon. I’m here now. I’m all you need."

She pulled him closer, holding him tighter than she should. Her hands shook.

"Don’t cry, please don’t cry. If you cry, then I’ll cry, and I don’t want to cry right now," she whispered, voice cracking. "I’ve waited so long... I lost so much... You’re supposed to fix that." Still he screamed louder.

Lucy stood, pacing now. "You’re just... tired, that’s all," she told herself. "Or hungry. Or cold."

She placed him in the crib and turned to make a bottle, but her hands were clumsy, spilling the powder. Her breaths came shallow now. Her reflection in the dark window caught her attention wild eyes, trembling lips.

She looked like her mother. Lucy dropped the bottle and grabbed the baby again, cradling him tightly, whispering things that didn’t make sense.

"Ethan will come. He will. He’s just upset. He’ll see the truth. You’re his son. You’re our son. Mara doesn’t want you. She never did. She gave up. I’m the one who came for you. I’m the one who stayed."

But even she didn’t believe that anymore. She sat back down, holding the boy as her tears finally fell, dripping onto his blanket.

Lucy didn’t know if she could last that long to call Ethan over.

She looked at the baby again, his face flushed from crying. "Why don’t you love me?" she asked softly. Outside, the ocean roared louder.

—

The soft cry echoed through the dimly lit room. Mara stirred.

For days, her body had moved without spirit. Her mind clouded by grief, her soul curled in on itself like scorched paper. But tonight... something pulled her from the fog. A cry not sharp, not distressed. Just a soft, searching call.

The cry of her daughter.

Her eyes fluttered open, her heart beating steadily for the first time in days. She sat up slowly, her body still sore, still healing, but alive.

The baby girl was in the bassinet near the window, waving her tiny fists in the air, her face scrunched as she let out a determined wail.

Mara hesitated. Her hands trembled as she reached out.

Then she did it. She lifted her baby girl into her arms.

"Hi," she whispered, voice cracked but warm. "It’s just us now."

The baby settled almost instantly in her embrace, her mouth seeking instinctively. Mara adjusted, letting her feed. Her lips tickled Mara’s skin as her little hands gripped onto her. She laughed, actually laughed-when...when her baby looked up at her with wide, curious eyes.

"Hello there... baby Audrey," Mara whispered with a trembling smile. "You’re perfect. So perfect." She kissed her daughter’s forehead and felt something shift inside her chest.

The fire wasn’t gone. It had been sleeping. Now it blazed. Mara held Audrey close, rocking her gently, humming softly.

"Sleep, little star, The sky’s not too far, I’ll chase down the dark, Wherever you are..."

The door creaked.

Steve stood there first, his eyes widening at the sight. Stanley followed. Then Stefan. Then Stanford.

They froze.