After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 416

Isabella stayed quiet. On the phone, Stephanie was still going off about Ethan, her voice sharp and relentless. When Stephanie finally ran out of steam, Isabella spotted Ethan coming out of the house and quickly said, “Grandma, I have to go.”

“Alright, sweetheart. Call me if you need anything,” Stephanie replied.

Isabella thanked her and hung up. She watched as Ethan scanned the yard, searching for her. When he saw her standing off to the side where it was quieter, he started walking over. Isabella thought about meeting him halfway, but since he was already coming, she just stood still and waited.

He stopped in front of her and asked, “What are you doing all the way over here? I couldn’t find you at first. I thought you’d left.”

“It’s not as sunny here,” Isabella replied, her tone cool as she looked at him. “So, did you talk to her? Is she giving my wedding gift back or not?”

Ethan didn’t say a word. That silence told Isabella everything.

“Natalie said no, didn’t she?” Isabella pressed. “Did she spend it already, or is she just refusing to return it?”

Ethan hesitated. “Isabella, can we talk about this in a few days?”

“Why wait? She’s got something that belongs to me. Honestly, just the fact I’m not charging her interest is more than fair.” Isabella let out a short laugh. “If she won’t give it back, fine. Consider it your wedding gift to her. Go ahead and ask her to divorce her husband and marry you instead. She’s the one you really want, right?”

She took a breath and continued, “Or, you could just divorce me. Once it’s over, what you do with Natalie and that gift is your business. I won’t care anymore.”

“Three days is nothing. And don’t worry, I’m not going to use the time to come up with some new wedding gift just to trick you again.” He looked down, regret in his eyes. “I hurt you once. I’m not going to do it again. If I did, we couldn’t even be friends after all of this.”

Isabella was quiet, thinking. Finally, she nodded. “Alright. Three days. But after that, I expect a real answer. And I’m holding you to it.”

Ethan nodded. “You’ll have my answer.”

“Then that’s it. I’ll get back to work. Go check on your precious Natalie.” She paused, looking him dead in the eye. “Don’t worry about Jordan. For now, I won’t tell him the real reason you married me.”

She’d wait until after the divorce. It wasn’t about getting back at Ethan. This was about Jordan and Natalie. She wasn’t going to let them get away with everything. And she knew, deep down, that all of this would change things between Ethan and the two people he’d always trusted most.