Gwen woke up the next morning, feeling emotionally drained.
But then, she asked herself, what else do you expect after you cry yourself to sleep?
Still, she had reached some conclusions after sorting through all the pain and humiliation and loss that Ethan's fascination with Theresa had brought her. She had to admit that Ethan did not want her. He had made that clear to her yesterday when he informed her that, to his enlightened, noble way of thinking, their entire marriage was based on a fraud if Gwen had anything to do with exposing his true paternity to that tabloid.
There was no doubt in Gwen's mind that, if Theresa had located JT and he had produced the proof she was involved, Ethan would have left her immediately, with joy in his heart. Though the ache in her heart was duller, it still pained her beyond belief.
It was only after Ethan learned that Theresa was no longer in control of Crane, because Alistair was not incapacitated, as everyone had thought, that he lost all curiosity about the tabloid.
Ethan wants Crane back.
It was all still about Crane; Ethan's lost "legacy." The birthright that Ivy had stolen from her younger son and rightful heir, Nicholas Fox Crane and bestowed on her and Sam Bennett's love child, Ethan. No matter what he said to the contrary, Ethan still felt the loss of Crane keenly and had never fully resigned himself to losing it. That is why he never made any effort to strike out on his own. That is why he never bothered to avail himself of all the old political contacts that Ivy still had through her late father's now defunct law firm. Instead, he chose to work for Crane at the mercurial whim of Alistair or Julian and put himself at the mercy of their Crane Family Mattress, Theresa. If not, he simply sat on his ass and sulked.
Ethan may not want me, but he needs me.
Now that Theresa was no longer in control of Crane, Ethan had to know that Gwen would waste no time in getting her trust fund monies out of Crane Banks and back to the independent banks that her father traditionally used. It was foolish of her to move her money to any banks that Crane controlled during her all-too-brief engagement to Ethan, but then she thought she would become a Crane herself. After the pain and humiliation of being publicly jilted by Ethan for Theresa, Gwen had forgotten about them. Then Ethan had been exposed as the cuckoo in the Crane nest and promptly disinherited, so it didn't seem to matter. Never in a million years did Gwen dream that the obsessed little teenager stalking Ethan would end up in control of her funds.
Gwen picked up the phone and immediately ordered a transfer from Crane Banks back to her old family bank. As she expected, the transfer went through without a hitch. Alistair was still annoyed by his blushing bride's antics and would make sure she had no more leverage over her lover's wife.
Ethan also had to know that, though he made a big production of protesting the idea mightily, Gwen would also waste no time drawing on her funds to support him and Jane. He didn't know that she also had three years' severance pay in her account, but that was just a bonus. What he also didn't know was that his pity party was about to come to an end.
When we get back to Harmony, Gwen vowed to herself, I'm going to do whatever it takes to make Ethan take his true birthright - a proud birthright - and become his own man. Not just another lotus eater waiting for the old man to die, like his ex-father, Julian Crane. My days of feeling guilty over my part in exposing his true paternity to the tabloids are over!
Gwen got up, dressed and meticulously made herself up to cover the effects of the previous night.
Ethan was already up and at the breakfast table.
She flinched as he made to embrace her. The look of scorn in her eyes made him hesitate, but he kissed her cheek. He knew he was still in the doghouse and that he would have to be a very considerate husband indeed to obtain her forgiveness. He behaved…just like he did right after Sarah died. Gwen wanted to leave him and he was on his best behavior … until the smoke had cleared and he was no longer the social pariah who was caught on camera at a public beach, rolling around in the sand with his teenaged girlfriend while his wife labored to give birth to his firstborn. The remembrance made bile hit the back of her throat.
"Breakfast is ready," Ethan said with a cheerfulness he plainly did not feel.
"I can see that," Gwen said noncommittally.
"I ordered all your favorites," Ethan said.
"Thank you," Gwen replied and sat down. They ate in silence.
When they finished, Gwen wiped her mouth and politely excused herself, saying she wanted to go for a walk.
"Are you ever going to speak to me again, Gwen?" Ethan asked uncomfortably.
"Probably," Gwen said coldly, "But not today."
"Well, tomorrow then?"
"Tomorrow doesn't look very good, either."
"Well, when?"
"I don't know. When I'm ready."
Gwen left their suite without another word and walked around the streets of Rome.
Rome wasn't called the Eternal City for nothing. It was breathtaking. Gwen had hoped she and Ethan would have their honeymoon here and make beautiful memories. Now it was just yet another moment sullied by his fascination with Theresa.
Theresa. The obsessed little psycho would never give up now that she had leverage and that leverage was Crane. Oh, control of Crane was momentarily snatched away from her now that Alistair had "recovered." However, it was only a matter of time before Alistair really was incapacitated … or … dead. Only the good die young, which meant that Alistair should live forever . But even though the evil bastard was as old as sin itself, he eventually had to die, like everyone else. By Gwen's best guesstimate, he was at least in his seventies. He could live for twenty or so years, but then he could drop dead tomorrow. Either way, it was a probability that Theresa could outwait him and make Gwen's life hell while she waited.
And Gwen would go back to square one. With Theresa. Gwen would lose everything that mattered to her to that psycho bitch from hell. Again. Of course, all Theresa wanted was Ethan. Little did the twit know that the stakes for Gwen had changed. The idea had just hit her with a bright clarity. All Gwen really wanted anymore was Jane. Not Ethan. But to keep Jane, she had to stay with Ethan. That was all there was to it. If Jane was truly hers, there was no way she'd stay with Ethan. She'd take her and go far, far away, because she wanted that little girl all to herself. She didn't want to share Jane with anyone, not even her own father.