A mother, dozing with her newborn in her arms, didn’t realize she had leaned against the first-class passenger sitting next to her — but when she finally woke up, the scene around her was the last thing she could ever have imagined…

I froze.
« What do you mean? »

“The woman from the flight. Her name is Andrea Watkins. Security caught her trying to leave the airport after an altercation with the police. She claimed you abused your daughter and that I ‘covered it up.’ She used your appearance, your fatigue—anything she could twist.”

I felt nauseous.
« People will believe her. »

Ethan met my gaze.
« Not if the truth comes out first. »

He handed me a tablet with a statement prepared by WardTech’s public relations team:

A passenger harassed a young mother on today’s flight and attempted to fabricate a story implicating CEO Ethan Ward. Airline security intervened. No children were ever in danger.

I blinked.
« That… that defends me. »

« Because you deserve to be defended. »

My eyes were stinging. No one had taken my side for years — not my ex, not my parents, not even my colleagues who labeled me as “the perpetually exhausted mother”.

Later that evening, Ethan returned with two coffees.
« I need to ask you something, » he said cautiously. « Would you like us to file a formal complaint? You don’t have to decide right away. »

I looked at Lily, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed.
« If there’s a chance that this woman will come back to find us… yes. »

He nodded.
« Then we’ll go all the way. »

Over the following week, WardTech’s legal team worked with the police. Andrea was arrested for harassment, stalking, and obstructing the flight attendants’ work. Ethan testified. The flight attendants did too.

And in the end, the matter was rather simple.

What was not simple at all, however, was how Ethan continued to show interest in me.

The way he asked me how I was coping with all of this.

The way he held Lily in his arms as if he had been doing that all his life.

The way he looked at me as if I wasn’t invisible.

One night, when the chaos had finally subsided, he said softly:

« Emily… if you ever need anything at all—help, support, or even just a break—I’m here. »

For the first time in a very long time, I really believed that someone thought it.