After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 406

Ethan frowned, slipping out of the shop and lowering his voice as he spoke to the housekeeper. “Didn’t Adelina go over already? I mean, I’m not a doctor. Me being there won’t help bring her fever down. She’s sick, you should just take her to the hospital. If she refuses, call the family doctor.”

“Adelina isn’t home,” the housekeeper answered. “She called to check on Natalie, but Natalie told her it was just a mild fever. Actually, her temperature’s pretty high. She caught a chill last night, woke up feeling lousy, skipped breakfast… We only realized how serious it was when we checked her temperature. Mr. Adams, she’s really not doing well, and Jordan’s out of town today…”

Ethan ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “Just call the family doctor for now. I can’t leave yet. I’ll come by to check on her when I get a chance.”

“Alright. But please hurry, Mr. Adams. Natalie gets really fragile when she’s sick.” The housekeeper had joined the family after Natalie married in, and she was always on Natalie’s side, doing whatever Natalie asked.

After hanging up, Ethan stood in front of the shop for a few minutes, lost in thought. He finally turned to go back inside, only to find Isabella standing right behind him. He hadn’t even noticed her come out.

“Hey, honey…”

Isabella’s voice was cool and even. “She’s not feeling well. You should really go see her. If anything happens, everyone will blame me, and I’ll be the one left holding the bag.” She knew why he hadn’t left—he thought she was mad and he wanted to make it right. But if Natalie actually got worse because of this, he’d definitely blame her, accusing her of picking a fight at the worst possible time. He could usually be rational, but when it came to Natalie, all that logic just disappeared.

“Babe…”

“Mr. Adams, just call me by my name.”

Ethan hesitated, torn between worry for Natalie and the knowledge that leaving now would only create more distance between him and Isabella.

“Want me to come with you?” Isabella asked.

“Who are you messaging, Isabella?” Ethan finally asked. She’d been glued to her phone the whole car ride, looking busier than he was. Not that he had much to do—his brothers had picked up his workload today, knowing he spent last night sitting outside Isabella’s door.

“What’s it to you?”

The words came out sharp and cold, leaving Ethan frowning, but he couldn’t say anything back.

Another ten minutes passed. The car finally stopped at the gates of The Lane Estate. The driver honked, and the housekeeper hurried out to open up. When she saw Ethan’s car, she rushed over, looking anxious. “Mr. Adams, thank goodness you’re here! Natalie still refuses to go to the hospital, and she won’t see the family doctor either. I really don’t know what to do with her.”

Inside, she felt a bit relieved. Mr. Adams clearly still cared about Natalie. Truth was, Natalie was just a little under the weather, a low fever, nothing too serious.