After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 531

“I think you and Isabella are much better off as friends. You two just aren’t meant to be married.”

Frank glanced over, concern clear in his voice. “And you really have to stop with the cigarettes. You’ve been smoking way too much lately. Keith said he’s tried talking to you, but nothing works, so he asked us to step in. You need to slow down, stop working yourself into the ground, and actually get some rest. You’ve dropped so much weight in just a few days.”

Ethan still wore his suit, but any trace of his usual confidence was gone. He looked tired, his face drawn and grim. Every little mistake from the team would set him off, and his patience was at zero. The whole company was on edge, everyone tense and dreading getting called out.

Nobody wanted to be anywhere near him, not even Frank, who did his best to steer clear whenever possible. No one wanted to get caught in Ethan’s bad mood.

It all came down to one thing—Ethan had failed to win Isabella back.

If he’d known it would end up like this, maybe he would have done things differently.

“Why is no one on my side?” Ethan turned around, his voice tight with frustration. “I know I messed up. I said I’ll change. Isn’t that enough? Why won’t any of you just give me a chance to make things right?”

“Why won’t you help me? Why is everyone telling me to divorce Isabella?”

“I don’t want a divorce. I never wanted one. Why can’t you help me talk to her, convince her to stay?”

Frank didn’t take the accusations personally. He just shook his head. “Ethan, I get where you’re coming from. But this isn’t about us helping or not helping. Isabella’s mind is made up. She’s stubborn, and once she decides something, that’s it. There’s no changing her mind.”

“You hurt her, Ethan. She’s done. She’s given up on you. Do you really think just saying ‘I know I was wrong’ is enough to fix everything?”

Frank fell quiet. He could see that Ethan truly didn’t want the divorce, but as the day he’d promised Isabella drew closer, Ethan just seemed more and more afraid. He was so anxious he couldn’t even bring himself to visit the hospital today.

“Natalie took her wedding gifts, but I got the rest back for her. I checked everything; nothing’s missing.” Ethan’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I was waiting for her to get out of the hospital so I could give them back…”

He’d said from the beginning Isabella could keep the wedding gifts, that she didn’t have to return anything. It was supposed to be his way of making it up to her.

Frank looked over, his tone even. “Those gifts were always hers. Getting them back is the bare minimum. That’s not something to brag about.”

Ethan stared at Frank, a sinking feeling in his chest. Lately, it felt like everyone had turned against him. Friends, family, everyone he cared about seemed to be making things harder. He felt completely alone, and the hurt was almost too much to bear.