After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 20

Ethan was fuming inside, but you’d never know it from looking at him. He just kept eating, acting like nothing was wrong. Even after dinner, he chatted casually with Jordan Lane for a bit before finally taking Isabella home.

Cynthia handed Isabella a few gifts before they left. Most were simple things, except for a box of bird's nest—something a little fancy. Jackson had bought it for Cynthia, but she saved it for Isabella to take back. Sure, Isabella had married into the Adams family and didn’t have to worry about money, but that box of bird’s nest was Cynthia’s way of showing she cared. She hadn’t been able to give her daughter an extravagant wedding gift. Honestly, out of all the wedding gifts Ethan had given, Isabella only actually got a small villa and a car. Jordan had kept the rest, and Cynthia didn’t dare argue. Isabella needed her family’s support to survive in the Adams family, so Cynthia just swallowed her pride and dealt with it.

On the drive home, Isabella fell asleep. The trip should have been ten minutes, but traffic turned it into half an hour. She’d been up early, so it was no surprise she dozed off in the car.

Ethan noticed her head resting on his shoulder. His first reaction was to shove her off, but when he saw how peaceful she looked sleeping, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He still needed her around, after all. If he treated her too coldly, she might get jealous and take it out on Natalie. Letting her lean on him wasn’t going to hurt.

When they pulled up at the Adams estate, Ethan reached over and gave her a nudge to wake her.

“We’re home already?” Isabella mumbled, still half asleep. “That was fast.”

Ethan rolled his eyes. “You fall asleep the second you get in the car and call that fast? We were stuck in traffic for half an hour. You slept through the whole thing.”

“I didn’t sleep well last night, and you woke me up so early this morning. It’s already past one in the afternoon. Of course I’m tired.”

He just glared at her.

Isabella blinked. Did she say something wrong?

The car stopped out front.

“Get out,” Ethan said, his voice flat.

“Oh. Okay.” Isabella quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out.

She went inside, headed straight upstairs, and flopped onto her bed for a nap. She didn’t wake up until evening.

After plenty of sleep, Isabella felt refreshed and in a good mood. She remembered her plan to invest in short dramas and grabbed her phone to call her best friend, Laura Charles.

When Laura picked up, Isabella asked, “Hey, Laura, are you free right now? Did you finish today’s update? I want to take you out for dinner. Same place as always?”

Laura sounded surprised. “Isabella, isn’t today the day you visit your family? You have time for dinner? Don’t you need to pack for your honeymoon tomorrow?”

“No honeymoon. I’ll explain when I see you.”

Laura didn’t push. “I finished my update ages ago. I’m actually meeting a couple of local writers at Blue Night Lounge for drinks and karaoke. Apparently, they have some ridiculously handsome new guys working there, so the girls want to check them out.”