After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 498

“When Cynthia woke up, she just couldn’t handle the news about Isabella. She jumped from the building... she wanted to follow Isabella.”

Natalie looked like she was about to faint. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and her face was so pale it was almost see-through.

“Ethan, you need to get to the hospital. Cynthia’s hurt so badly, I don’t think she’s going to make it. I... I’m so scared right now, I don’t even have the strength to walk.”

Ethan felt like the ground had disappeared from under his feet.

He’d planned to bring Cynthia to see Isabella one last time. He never imagined Cynthia would find out about Isabella’s death and then try to end her own life.

He spun around and ran for his car, barely remembering to close the door before he sped off, desperate to catch up with the ambulance.

By the time he reached the hospital, the emergency room light was already off. The doctors who had been working on Cynthia were coming out.

Ethan rushed over, but before he could even say a word, one of the doctors looked at him and said, “I’m so sorry, we did everything we could. Her injuries were just too much. She had no vital signs when she arrived. We tried to bring her back, but we couldn’t.”

Ethan’s legs gave out, and he slid down the wall behind him.

Cynthia was gone. Cynthia was gone, too.

He hadn’t protected Isabella, and that was why she’d been killed. Isabella was dead, and now Cynthia couldn’t take the pain, so she’d followed her.

It was all his fault.

Isabella...

***

“Isabella. Isabella...”

Ethan kept muttering her name from the little cot next to the hospital bed. The noise woke Isabella up. She turned and saw him lying there, eyes squeezed shut, but there were tears on his face. Was he really crying?

He was calling her name. Was he dreaming about her?

Suddenly, he jumped off the cot and practically launched himself at her.

If Isabella weren’t injured, she would have kicked him off the bed before he even got close. But right now, she was helpless. He wrapped his arms around her head and hugged her so tightly she thought he might actually suffocate her.

She started to seriously wonder if he was trying to kill her by smothering her with his chest. This was not her idea of a “sweet death.”

She tried to push him off, but he wouldn’t budge. So she pinched him, hard. He yelped, but she didn’t let go until he finally loosened his grip on her head.

“Ethan, are you trying to suffocate me? What is wrong with you? If you’re going to have a breakdown, do it outside so the doctors can send you to the psych ward.”

“It hurts. So this isn’t a dream? Isabella, you’re really here.”

Even though he was rubbing the spot she’d pinched, Ethan didn’t seem mad at all. In fact, he looked thrilled.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying you wish I wasn’t here? Are you cursing me to die early? Well, guess what, even if you dropped dead right now, I’d still be alive and kicking.”