After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 449

“Most people couldn’t even lay a finger on her, honestly. Don’t worry.”

Isabella wasn’t born into the Lane family. She came with her mom when she remarried, so technically, she wasn’t really one of them. Jordan used to pick on her all the time, which got the other kids to gang up on her too. They’d call her names, say she was a nobody with no dad, and she’d end up fighting them. She practically grew up with her fists up, so getting into scraps was nothing new for her.

“Ethan?”

Natalie’s voice floated through the phone. She must have been right next to Jordan and, seeing he couldn’t talk Ethan into coming out for drinks, she took the phone.

“Ethan, come have a drink with me, please?” Her voice was soft and a little shaky. “I’m not asking for much, am I? It’s just a small favor. You always used to show up whenever I needed you. No matter what happened, if I was upset, you’d be there to cheer me up. And now, I ask you out for a drink and you say no?”

She paused, her voice sounding small. “Ethan, you’ve changed. You’re turning your back on our friendship.”

Ethan could hear the hurt in her voice, like she was about to cry. He wanted to tell her she was wrong, wanted to explain, but in the end, he just hung up.

Was he really the one betraying their friendship? Or were they the ones who had betrayed him?

He kept thinking about what Keith had said. Every word had hit home, sharp and painful, but true. Jordan and Natalie’s happiness was built on his heartbreak.

He loved Natalie, that was the truth. But she didn’t love him back. She never even thought about how he felt. She chose Jordan, and that was that. Now she was Jordan’s wife. No matter how close they’d been growing up, it was time for him to step back. He couldn’t be the third wheel anymore.

“And now he just hangs up. He doesn’t want to deal with me anymore. He won’t spoil me, won’t take care of me. How could he do this?”

Only Natalie would spill her heart like that in front of Jordan. Maybe it was because both of them knew, deep down, how Ethan felt about her.

Ethan taking care of her had always been to Jordan’s advantage. Hearing her say all this out loud, Jordan felt a pang of jealousy, but mostly he was just mad.

He muttered, “I was always against him getting with Isabella. She’s just like her mother, always knows how to get what she wants. Once she set her sights on Ethan, he never stood a chance.”