After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 45

Isabella took her time before walking over to Ethan. She leaned in, her face so close she could see every detail, her eyes searching his for answers.

Ethan looked right back at her.

Their eyes met and held. There was something about the way he looked at her, something deep and impossible to understand. His gaze felt endless, like a mystery she could never solve. And he really was stunning, easily the most handsome man she had ever seen.

Ethan and Jordan Lane had grown up together, so after Isabella came to live with the Lane family, she saw Ethan all the time. In her previous life, it had only taken him three months to win her over, and she’d fallen for him so completely that marrying him felt like the only choice.

Looking back, she realized she must have liked him all along, but she had been too scared to admit it to herself. When Ethan cared about someone, he gave everything. She had never dated anyone before, so when he came after her, she didn’t stand a chance. She fell for him, hard and fast.

“Ethan,” Isabella said quietly, “you’re not actually falling for me, are you?”

Ethan didn’t hesitate. He pushed her away, and he didn’t hold back. She lost her balance and landed on the coffee table behind her.

“My heart belongs to Natalie,” Ethan said, his voice cold. “You can ask me for money or for things, but never ask for my heart or my love.”

“The only reason I don’t want you talking about divorce is because I need you to get in and out of the Lane family. I need to see Natalie, that’s all.”

Isabella stood up and patted her chest, like she was trying to calm herself down. “Okay, that’s good to know,” she said with a light laugh.

Ethan frowned, clearly annoyed. “Isabella Lane, I told you before, there are limits to everything.”

“No matter what you do, I will never fall in love with you.”

In the days that followed, Isabella threw herself into her work. She set up her own studio, started hiring writers, collected scripts, and even convinced Frank to lend her a bunch of good-looking actors and actresses. She was getting everything ready for her short drama series.

She knew the craze for short dramas would only last a couple of years. By the time she died in her last life, people were still making them, but it wasn’t as easy to make money anymore. This wasn’t a long-term thing for her. She just wanted to cash in while she could and move on.

That meant she needed other investments, too. She wanted to open a shop. After talking it over with her best friend, they decided on a big bookstore that doubled as a café and dessert spot.

Whenever she had free time these last few days, she and her friend would wander around the city, looking for the perfect location. Her dream was to combine the two spaces—one side for coffee and sweets, the other filled with books and cozy corners. Just thinking about it made her feel happy and at peace.

On Saturday, Isabella’s phone rang. It was Susan, calling out of the blue.