After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 1089

He was definitely drunk, but not blacked out. He could still manage his own movements.

"Boss, are you sure you can make it inside by yourself?" Malvina asked with feigned concern.

Jordan grunted. "I'm fine. I'll go in myself."

With that, he stumbled toward the front doors.

The butler immediately held his hand out, demanding the car keys from Malvina. She handed them over, and he stated flatly, "Miss, you'll have to call a cab yourself. It's late, so I won't be walking you out."

"It's quite a walk from here to the main road," she replied. "Could you at least drive me to the gate so I can catch a ride?"

The butler hesitated for a split second before shutting her down. "I'm sorry, I can't. If the missus finds out, I'll lose my job."

Malvina stayed silent for a moment, realizing she couldn't force him.

She turned on her heel and began the long trek toward the estate exit.

Thankfully, she was somewhat familiar with the area, but walking out of the massive gated community on foot would still take her the better part of an hour.

By the time she actually made it back to her apartment, it would probably be past one in the morning.

Jordan, of course, was completely oblivious to this, nor did he care how she got home. To him, she was nothing more than a convenient thrill to pass the time. The woman he truly loved was Natalie.

Stumbling inside, he poured himself a glass of water, collapsed onto the sofa, and downed it before heavily making his way upstairs.

The lights in his father and stepmother's bedroom were already off, and his younger half-brother's door was firmly shut. The house was dead quiet.

He stood outside his own bedroom door, pausing in the silence before finally pushing it open.

The lights were glaringly bright.

A heavy, suffocating stench of alcohol hit him instantly. On the small wet bar in the corner sat a half-empty glass of liquor. He didn't even need to ask to know Natalie had been drinking.

But she was nowhere to be seen.

Jordan shrugged off his suit jacket, loosened his tie, and unbuttoned his cuffs before walking deeper into the room. She wasn't in the bed either.

Natalie pulled her hand back, lifted the cigarette to her mouth, and took a vicious, deep drag before exhaling a thick plume of smoke.

"When did you start seeing her again? Or did you two never actually stop, and you just played me for a fool?"

Jordan didn't bother lying. He answered with brutal honesty. "You caught us right at the beginning. The thrill hadn't even worn off yet. Expecting me to just cut her off completely... it was hard."

"But I did make her leave the company back then. I only brought her back as my secretary recently... because I was in a bad mood."

A suffocating wave of despair washed over Natalie.

He was disgusted by her.

Disgusted by her ruined purity.

Tears slipped silently down her cheeks.

She took another desperate, violent drag of her cigarette, only to choke on the smoke, breaking into a harsh, gasping fit of coughing.