After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 198

Since Ethan had given her the gold bars, Isabella wasted no time tucking them away. She didn’t have a safe, so for now, she stashed them in a drawer of her bookshelf.

She thought about wearing the gold jewelry, but the idea felt a little too showy. In the end, she put it in the drawer with the bars. She really needed to buy a safe as soon as possible. That thought got her moving right away.

First, she headed downstairs for breakfast. For the first time, she was eating after eight. Susan was especially attentive this morning, standing beside the table, waiting to serve her.

Isabella felt awkward being watched and said, “Susan, you can go do your work. No need to stand here. I’ll wash my own dishes when I’m done.”

Susan smiled and shook her head. “I can’t let you do that. We have so many people working here.”

“If you don’t like me waiting here, I’ll just step outside. When you’re finished, I’ll come back in to clean up,” Susan said before quietly leaving.

Isabella figured Susan was being extra nice because Ethan had called several times that morning, probably making Susan think he was finally showing some care. Susan always followed Ethan’s lead, so Isabella didn’t hold it against her.

After breakfast, Isabella sat for a bit, then grabbed her car keys and headed out. She went alone to a furniture store and bought a safe that cost her over five thousand. When she got back, Susan looked surprised to see the safe, but didn’t ask any questions. She just got some help to carry it upstairs to Isabella’s room.

“Susan, I’m going to read for a while. Unless it’s urgent, please don’t come up,” Isabella said.

“Alright,” Susan answered politely, then went downstairs.

The moment Susan left, Isabella pulled out all the gold bars and jewelry and carefully locked them in the new safe. She couldn’t help grinning when she saw all that gold. No matter when or where, gold was always valuable. You could always trade it for cash.

“Tell Isabella I’ll be home for lunch.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. “Actually, forget it. I have a lunch meeting I can’t skip. I won’t be coming back. Maybe another day. I’ll come home for dinner when I have time. Things are really busy right now, so I probably won’t be home much. If Isabella asks, just say I’m swamped at work, putting in lots of overtime, totally exhausted.”

Susan hesitated, then asked, “Ethan, do you want Isabella to bring you some soup or something?” His meaning was pretty obvious.

Ethan paused. “Don’t say anything. If she thinks of it herself, that’s up to her.”

He didn’t want to ask outright. It wouldn’t feel right. He just hoped Isabella would hear he was working late and, like before, decide to make him some nourishing soup and bring it to him.

He let out a sigh. It had been a long time since he’d had Isabella’s homemade soup. Back when she used to make it for him every day, he’d almost gotten sick of it. Now that he didn’t have any, he actually missed it.