After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 103

"Oh, I guess I was just overthinking. Isabella’s at her friend’s place? Got it, thanks."

After making endless calls and running in circles, Ethan finally confirmed Isabella was staying at Laura’s apartment. Relief washed over him and his mood lifted. He didn’t feel like dragging Jesse out for drinks anymore. He hung up, sat on the couch for a bit, and then headed upstairs.

Not long after, his phone started pinging with purchase notifications. The bank card he gave Isabella was in his name and linked to his number, so every time she spent money, he got an alert. She was clearly on a shopping spree, probably getting back at him in her own way.

After his shower, Ethan lay on the bed. The steady stream of messages didn’t bother him at all. He just let her buy whatever she wanted. As long as she was happy, that was enough for him. If there was one thing he had plenty of, it was money. He’d always earned more than he could spend, and no one ever helped him use it. Now that Isabella was spending it, it felt right.

The notifications finally stopped a little after eleven. Ethan did a quick calculation in his head and realized she’d burned through a small fortune that night. He couldn’t help but wonder what she’d bought. Maybe she’d gotten him a little gift? After all, she did make him mad. She should probably try to make it up to him, right?

With those thoughts, Ethan drifted off. But his sleep was anything but peaceful. He kept tossing and turning, waking up from one bad dream after another. He felt lousy. When he touched his forehead, it was burning hot again.

He’d taken his medicine once during the day and it brought his fever down, but he skipped the next two doses. The housekeeper tried to convince him to take them, but he refused. He always thought he was in great shape. Sure, he’d caught the occasional cold or fever before, but never anything that stuck around like this. He still didn’t want to take more medicine. Instead, he got up, drank a big glass of warm water, and crawled back into bed.

Besides setting a start date for the shoot, Isabella and Laura needed to talk with the big streaming platforms about getting their drama featured. Without those partnerships, their work would never get the spotlight it deserved. There were already a few sites doing short dramas, but not many. She figured that by next year, short dramas would be all the rage, with big websites and companies jumping on board. Some editors would even focus just on short-form stories.

From what she remembered, this year and the next were the prime time for short dramas. That’s when the real money was to be made. After that, things would slow down. Isabella wanted to jump in while the market was hot, make enough money in two years, and then move on. She hadn’t decided what she’d do next. Maybe she’d stick with her bookstore and coffee shop, especially if she could score some deals with local colleges. That would be more than enough to support her lifestyle.

Of course, if she had the chance to invest with some big names, she’d go for it. The only problem was, she barely knew any major players. Besides Ethan and his close friends, her network was pretty limited.