Juliet didn't know why she cared whether or not Ethan was married but she did. It was one thing to walk away from Ethan, but it was an entirely different thing to have been rejected by him. Not only had Ethan succeeded in divorcing her, he had managed to get another court hearing and she knew he was most likely going to win. The longer she sat thinking about the situation at hand, the more convinced she was that as always, she was about to be the biggest loser —Ethan would get the child, her guardians most likely would scheme their way into keeping the manor, and Juliet, the pawn in everybody's game, would walk away with nothing.

She watched Elaine pace the length of the room all evening and storm out early the next morning. She had been beyond thankful for Elaine's exit, considering the fact that Elaine's agitated state was agitating her as well as the child who still wasn't letting up on her cries.

A soft knock sounded on the door, causing a frown to settle on her face. She guessed...no, hoped, it was Ethan.

Rising to her feet, she ignored the wailing baby who sat on the carpet, and walked over to the door. Pulling it open, a red head stood there, her brown eyes fixed on Juliet briefly. Then, as if finding a treasure, she brushed past Juliet and hurried into the room. Juliet turned around just in time to see her fall to her knees and carry the wailing child —whose cries immediately ceased at the sight of her— in her arms.

“Mama!” She heard the child speak for the first time in days as she leaned further into the woman's arms, chubby arms wrapping around the woman's neck.

She felt a stab in her chest; this was Ethan's wife. She might not have taken note of the woman's face, but as she watched her with the child, she guessed who she was. The woman's body shook slightly as she held on to the child.

Rising slowly to her feet after a brief second, the woman turned around. Her eyes were red and her face was stained with tears as she nestled the baby against her chest.

Staring at her, Juliet couldn't explain the surge of emotion she felt; not only had this woman taken Ethan, she had taken Juliet's child as well. Somehow, the child believed the woman to be her mother. For six months the child lived with Juliet, for six months Juliet had tried to get her to call her 'Mama', for six months, Juliet failed. What did this woman possess that earned her the right to be called 'Mama' by Juliet's child?

The woman's lips trembled slightly, apparently struggling for the right words. Juliet would have spoken but chose silence instead. Perhaps it was because she herself didn't know what to say.

“My name is Gretchen,” she began, her voice trembling as she instinctively tightened her hold on the child. “I'm...”