After I Stopped Loving Him novel Chapter 17

"I’m not cold," Natalie insisted, brushing off the idea of wearing a jacket.

Isabella kept her thoughts to herself. Sure, she wasn’t cold now, but when she caught a chill later, Isabella would be the one stuck taking care of her.

“Natalie, it rained all night and the wind’s picking up. You really should put on something warmer so you don’t get sick,” Isabella said, trying to sound casual.

Ethan jumped in, “Yeah, Natalie. Just put on a jacket.”

Before Natalie could argue, Jordan headed upstairs and returned with a jacket, slipping it gently around her shoulders. “Don’t let yourself catch a cold,” he said quietly.

Natalie finally smiled and gave in. “Alright.”

Out of nowhere, Ethan shrugged off his own suit jacket and draped it over Isabella’s shoulders. “Babe, you can’t just worry about Natalie. You need to take care of yourself too. You rushed over here so fast, you barely put on any layers. Here, wear mine.”

Isabella’s cheeks went pink as she smiled up at him. “Thank you, honey.”

Isabella followed, suddenly on guard. She watched Natalie’s every move. Was she planning to push her in the water? Or maybe she’d jump in herself and blame Isabella? It was the kind of trick she’d seen villainesses pull in those short drama series she used to binge.

Back in her last life, Isabella had watched a ton of those mini-dramas to pass the time. They’d blown up in popularity over the past few years, even though the plots were always a little wild. The production quality had gotten better and better as more people jumped in, making the whole industry more competitive and expensive. But in those early days, the people who started early and invested fast made an absolute fortune. Everyone always said, if you catch the right wave, even a pig can fly.

Short dramas, huh? She’d come back three years in the past, right before the industry really took off. If she invested now, she could get ahead of everyone else. The Adams Group already had a foot in the entertainment world, with a few companies and a bunch of signed celebrities—plus plenty of new faces. As Mrs. Adams, she had the perfect opportunity to handpick new actors and directors from Adams Entertainment to make her own shows. All she had to do was set up a studio or a small production company and hire a couple of writers to crank out scripts. The pocket money Ethan gave her would be more than enough to get started. Back then, three or five hundred thousand was enough to make a top-notch short drama. It was only later, when everyone got in, that the costs and actor fees shot through the roof.

Her best friend was a web novelist, and she’d actually become pretty well-known. Just a couple years ago, one of her books went viral and the royalties hit seven figures. Isabella had been jealous for a while, even tried to write her own stories, but it turned out she just didn’t have the knack for it.