After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 237

Isabella’s plan to use Ethan’s status was paying off. She’d gotten Barbara and Linda to invest, but let’s be real, would those two society princesses have even given her the time of day if she weren’t Ethan’s wife? They only cared because of him.

Even Mr. Byron and Mr. Baker, who were introduced by Jesse—would those deals have gone through if Isabella didn’t have Ethan supporting her? Maybe it looked like Ethan wasn’t doing much for her, but just being his wife was a resource in itself. She knew how to make it work for her.

“Laura, I know what you’re worried about,” Jesse said, watching her closely. “But you have to believe me. I’m not Ethan. You’re not Isabella. I really like you. I’d never use you like that.”

“And you don’t need to stress about my family. They’re actually really open-minded. If I’m happy, they’ll be happy.”

Laura finished her chicken wing before answering. “Jesse, that’s just what you think. If we actually dated, you’d see a whole different side of your family.”

She pushed her plate away and stood up. “This barbecue is amazing. I’m going to get more.” She shot him a quick smile. “You should eat too, Jesse. You’re the one paying. No starving yourself.”

With that, Laura walked over to where everyone else was gathered, making it pretty clear she didn’t want to keep talking about it. Why worry about a future that might never happen?

Honestly, marriage was always about matching families. That’s just how it was. Whenever people from different backgrounds tried to make it work, it rarely ended well. Someone like her, from an ordinary middle-class family, should just find someone like her. There was no point dreaming about marrying into a world she didn’t belong to.

Jesse watched Laura walk away, feeling kind of defeated. But he didn’t let it show for long. He flashed a smile, joined the others, and kept up his usual easy conversation, still being extra thoughtful with Laura the whole time.

Anyone could see it—Jesse only had eyes for Laura.

The crew worked late into the night, finally stopping because Laura insisted on calling it a day.

The next morning, Isabella was up and out early. With her running things on set, Laura took the chance to hole up at home and write non-stop for three days. She cranked out enough chapters to last a while before heading back to the crew.

“Natalie, what’s up?”

“Isabella, you haven’t been home in forever. When do you have time to come by? Cynthia misses you. She wants to have a meal together, but she doesn’t want to bother you while you’re working.”

“I’m pregnant now, about to be a mom. Suddenly I get how tough it is. You should really come see Cynthia more often.”

Isabella hadn’t been back in a week, but she messaged her mom every day. If her mom needed anything, she’d say so herself—she wouldn’t send Natalie as a messenger.

Honestly, Isabella was pretty sure Natalie was up to something.