After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 161

“If the truth from the security footage comes out, what’s going to be left of Natalie’s reputation?”

Ethan stayed quiet for a long time before finally saying, “You’re telling me Natalie poured that juice on herself? Why would she even do that?”

“She shouldn’t have,” Isabella replied, still eating her noodles and not even glancing his way. “She’s always been so gentle and kind. It just doesn’t seem like something she’d do.”

But all that really mattered to Isabella right now was filling her stomach. She didn’t care if Ethan understood or not.

“Ethan, I know you’ve always favored Natalie, but you’re not blind. You know exactly what’s going on. You just choose to ignore it because you love her. You pretend not to see her faults, but you do.”

“Why did she do it? Because she saw me getting along with Barbara and the others, and she was jealous. The second she showed up, they all left. She’s supposed to be a socialite just like them, but she can’t fit in with the really influential ones.”

“And then, when she saw us acting like a real couple, she got jealous again and warned me not to get cocky. She said even if I married you, I’d just be a wife on paper and wouldn’t really hold onto my spot.”

“She even told me that if she asked you to divorce me, you’d do it without a second thought. Honestly, Ethan, if she tells you to divorce me, just go ahead and do it. This arrangement isn’t doing either of us any favors.”

“But since you used me and messed with my feelings, leaving me with some serious emotional scars, I’ll need a decent compensation when we split. At least five million, just to start.”

“After being played by you, it’s going to be hard for me to trust men or believe in love again. What if I end up alone for the rest of my life? You should pay me extra for that.”

Ethan stared at her. “Can you stop eating your noodles for a second?”

Watching her eat was making him hungry, too. He hadn’t touched any food at the hotel, just had a few drinks. Now he was starving.

Why did he insist he didn’t want any when she offered? Now, seeing her devour her noodles, he wanted some so badly. What was wrong with him? He’d grown up on the fanciest food, and now all he could think about was Isabella’s simple bowl of noodles.

And she’d even made two fried eggs.

After a while, he muttered, “Isabella, I’m not going to divorce you. I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life. I’m not going to leave you with nothing.”

“Looks like Natalie doesn’t shine so brightly in your eyes anymore.”

“Lucky for her she didn’t ask you to divorce me right then. If you’d turned her down, her whole precious image would’ve shattered.”

Ethan’s jaw clenched. “Do you really want a divorce?”

“What’s the point of keeping a husband whose heart isn’t with me? Unless you can magically produce gold every day, maybe then I’d think twice. If you could give me a few dozen pounds of gold every day, I’d definitely reconsider.”

Ethan just stared at her. Was this her way of asking him for gold?