After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 1115

She started it, trying to harm others, and got a taste of her own medicine. Who was to blame? Themselves! It was self-defense.

Deborah didn't think she and her sister had done anything wrong.

Tonight, Natalie had intentionally picked a fight.

Jordan was momentarily speechless. After a long beat, he finally said, "I didn't know Natalie was pregnant. She just mentioned feeling a bit unwell lately—poor appetite, feeling a little nauseous. She thought it was a stomach bug."

"This isn't her first pregnancy. If she was having symptoms, how could she not know what was going on?"

Deborah muttered under her breath.

Jordan glared at her with venom in his eyes.

She curled her lip and looked away, but her mind was swarming with suspicions.

She remembered Natalie's first pregnancy, which had ended in an abortion due to poor embryonic development. But right before the procedure, she had inexplicably craved Isabella's Honey-Glazed Ribs. She had even called Ethan, using him to pressure Isabella into returning to the Lane Estate to wait on her.

She had stubbornly insisted on eating Isabella's Honey-Glazed Ribs, refusing it if anyone else made it.

When Deborah heard Jackson complain about it, she knew Natalie was up to something. At the time, her own identity hadn't been exposed yet; she was still just a hidden mistress. She had kept her mouth shut and watched the drama unfold.

Ultimately, Isabella had refused to return to the Lane family to cook for Natalie.

Not only did Isabella refuse, but even the former Mrs. Lane, Cynthia, had kept her distance. Natalie later went to the hospital for the procedure, only telling her father-in-law afterward that the doctor said the embryo wasn't viable.

Jackson had been devastated back then. He had wanted to be a grandfather for a long time, and the news of his daughter-in-law's pregnancy had brought him immense joy.

But the embryo hadn't developed, and they had to terminate it.

Deborah, however, suspected that Natalie had known about the unviable embryo all along and knew she would lose it sooner or later. Asking Isabella to come back and cook for her was likely a setup to pin the miscarriage on Isabella.

"She said she was going to the hospital for a check-up in a couple of days. She got beaten into the hospital by you before she even had the chance. Deborah, let me tell you, if something happens to Natalie, I won't let this go!"

Deborah scoffed coldly, "Your wife brought this on herself. Who else can she blame? Do you think I'm scared of your threats? You and your wife hate the sight of me and have tried everything to stop my marriage to your father. We've been at odds for a long time."

She and Jordan were destined to be mortal enemies.

She could never be a good stepmother. Besides, even if she tried to be one, would Jordan ever be a good stepson?

Just look at Cynthia's fate.

Jordan and Natalie were both toxic and malicious.

Since she couldn't be a good stepmother, she would just embrace being the evil one. After all, stepmothers were always the villains in the public eye anyway, so she didn't care if people called her a bad person.