The Billionaire CEO Betrays his Wife: He wants her back-Chapter 160: I could feel it

The room quieted as Ethan entered. All four Shepherd brothers straightened. Rafael stood near the mantle, Audrey balanced against his shoulder. Mara rose slowly from the couch, her gaze fixed on the little boy curled against Ethan’s chest.

Ethan walked forward and gently passed Andrew to Mara without a word.

She took him in her arms like muscle memory. Like breathing. "Hi, baby," she whispered, brushing her lips against Andrew’s forehead. Her fingers traced the curve of his cheek. He stirred slightly but remained sleeping.

Ethan stepped back, his breath catching for just a moment. He stood still, watching her. Watching them. Mara’s posture was guarded, but her eyes couldn’t hide everything. And the boy... the little boy beside her... It was in the way he looked at her. The way he held onto her hand, like it was the only thing in the world that made sense. Ethan felt it in his bones, It wouldn’t be long now.

Soon, he would reunite Mara with their son. Their son. The truth was already beginning to breathe between the cracks. He could see it. And he knew she could feel it too. Even if she wouldn’t say it. Even if pride still stood like a wall between them. It was only a matter of time.

He would deliver on the promise he made. The one that kept him up night after night. He would find their child. Bring him home. And give Mara the justice she deserved. Lucy... She would pay. Not just for the lies. Not just for the years. But for every single second she stole from a mother and her child.

Ethan swallowed hard, the weight of it all tightening in his chest. Then he spoke softly.

"You two look incredible." His voice was low, almost reverent. As if speaking too loudly would shatter the fragile moment hanging in the air.

Mara didn’t answer. Her eyes were full. She blinked quickly. Rafael didn’t move from his place, but Ethan’s glance didn’t miss how naturally he cradled Audrey, how familiar he was in the home that once only belonged to Ethan and Mara.

"Thanks for letting me come," Ethan added, directing it more to her than the room.

"He should know his sister," Mara finally said, still not looking up.

A beat passed. Then Steve clapped his hands once.

"Alright, tension’s too thick in here. Someone pour something. We’re all family tonight—even if some of us are still figuring out how."

That broke the moment. Just slightly.

The brothers pulled Rafael into a half-hearted conversation as he gently passed Audrey to Mara, who now held both babies in her arms. And for a fleeting moment, it looked... whole. Ethan could only stare at them, and seeing how the Shepherd brothers wholeheartedly accepted Rafeal made him wish he could dig some dirt on him so he could show Mara he was not the angel he portrayed to be.

But deep inside, Mara couldn’t quiet the pulse of uncertainty. No matter how still she stood... No matter how calm she appeared on the outside... It beat steadily beneath the surface.

What if? The question echoed through her with every glance at the boy. She and Rafael had already agreed to start the process for a DNA test. They needed answers—real ones.

But tonight... Tonight, she could pretend. Just for a little while.

As the evening wore on, Mara turned to Ethan with a carefully neutral tone. "It’s late," she said softly. "If the baby and the nanny could stay the night... it might be easier." Ethan’s brow lifted. He didn’t say anything at first, but the question was written all over his face. If Rafael was staying, why couldn’t he?

She saw the unspoken tension in his eyes— the same eyes that had once read her better than anyone else. Before he could ask, Mara spoke again. "You can stay too," she offered, a touch too quickly. "I realized you weren’t looking well earlier... I thought maybe you shouldn’t drive tonight."

Her voice was smooth, practiced. But Ethan knew her well enough to hear the hesitation beneath it. Still, he didn’t press. Not yet.

In the corner of the room, her brothers exchanged glances. They didn’t say a word, but their silence was loud. They knew what this meant. They knew the danger.

If Mara got too close, if she started to believe that Andrew might be her missing son...

And it turned out not to be true, it would crush her.

But tonight... they said nothing. Because they also saw something else. Hope. A fragile kind of hope. One that hadn’t lived in her eyes for a long time.

So Ethan stayed. He didn’t push, didn’t question. He just nodded once, quietly taking a seat—

His gaze flickered once more to the boy.

Something was shifting. And they all felt it. But no one dared speak it aloud. Not yet.

The house had gone still.

Soft footsteps padded across the hallway, the muffled sounds of the nanny settling the baby, the occasional creak of the floorboards. But down in the sitting room, behind a closed door, the shepherd brothers stood in a quiet circle—faces drawn, voices low.

Stanford spoke first. He stood by the window, arms folded, watching the moonlight filter through the sheer curtains. "She’s getting too close."

His voice was tight, controlled, but anyone who knew him could hear the worry under the surface. Steve sighed and sank into the edge of the armrest, running a hand through his hair.

"What were we supposed to say? Drag her out of her own house? She made a decision."

"A decision based on emotion," Stanley added, pouring himself a glass of water but not drinking it. "Not fact. There’s no proof yet. Just... resemblance and instinct."

"And that instinct could break her," Stafen cut in, voice sharper now. "If this turns out to be nothing—another dead end—she won’t come back from it. You saw her tonight. She’s clinging to something she can’t even name out loud."

They all went quiet. Then Steve looked up. "Did you see her face when she looked at Andrew?"

A pause. "She knows, or at least she feels something. She hasn’t looked that alive in months."

Stanley finally took a sip of the water, his jaw flexing.

"And Ethan?" The room fell heavier with that name.

"He still loves her," Stanford said, no hesitation. "That much is clear."

Steve nodded slowly. "Yeah. But she has Rafael now, a much better choice. I won’t let him mess up Stef’s head again,"

They stood there, brothers, four men who had protected their sister through heartbreak, loss, and years of silence.

Tonight, she had opened the door to possibility, to pain, to the past. And they could only watch.

"Do we let this play out?" Stanley finally asked, eyes steady on the others. A long silence passed between them.

Then Stanford answered, voice low. "We don’t have a choice. But let’s hope she knows what she is doing and comes to her senses."

Ethan hadn’t meant to linger. He had only come down the hallway in search of a glass of water, needing space from the thoughts pressing on his chest. But as he neared the sitting room, voices filtered through the slightly ajar door—familiar, low, tense.

He paused.

The sound of Stanford’s voice came through first, clear and sharp. "We can’t let Ethan play with her emotions again—not after everything she’s been through."

Ethan froze.

"She hasn’t even fully accepted Rafael," Steve added, pacing quietly. "But you saw the way she looked at Ethan tonight. There’s still something there, whether she wants to admit it or not."

"Exactly," Stanford snapped. "Which is why we have to keep our eyes open. Ethan might mean well, but good intentions didn’t protect her the first time."

Ethan’s jaw tensed. He leaned back against the wall, their words cutting deeper than expected. He couldn’t blame them. Not really. He had failed Mara. There was no rewriting of that.

But what caught him off guard was Rafael.

"She hasn’t accepted Rafael?" Ethan whispered to himself, trying to make sense of it.

And then Stanley’s voice answered the silent question, as if on cue.

"They’re not even together—not really. Rafael’s been more of a protector than anything else. A friend. He’s done everything to keep her afloat while we were trying to hold her together."

Ethan’s breath caught. They weren’t a couple.

All this time, he had believed Rafael had taken his place. That the other man had won her heart while he paid the price for the past. But the truth was different. Far more complicated. Far more open than he thought. He stepped back quietly, his mind spinning.

Mara hadn’t moved on... not fully. And now, the door wasn’t just cracked open.

It was waiting.

But so were her brothers, five sentinels standing between him and her heart.

If he wanted a second chance, he would have to earn it. And this time, he couldn’t afford to fail.