After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 628

"Jordan, you're back? I thought you weren't coming home until tomorrow."

Jordan didn't say anything at first. He just wrapped Natalie in a big hug, holding her close. "I finished work early, so I came home sooner. I missed you so much."

Natalie hugged him back for a moment, then gently pulled away. "Ethan's in the hospital," she said quietly. "Sophia just called and asked me to go see him."

"I was just about to go to the hospital myself. You came back early and didn't tell me. I would have picked you up from the airport."

Jordan shook his head. "I grabbed a cab. I didn't want to trouble you. So, Ethan... what happened? Is he sick? Hurt?"

Natalie lied without missing a beat. "I don't know. Sophia just said he's in the hospital and that Isabella brought him in. Maybe he tried to talk to Isabella again and she accidentally hurt him or something. Who knows."

Jordan frowned, looking annoyed. "They're still getting divorced. Why's he even bothering with her? Don't tell me he's actually fallen for Isabella now."

Something twisted in Natalie's chest. Deep down, she had a feeling he really had fallen for Isabella. Still, she kept her voice casual. "Well, she's the only woman he's ever married. Ethan's stubborn like that. He thinks since he's only ever married Isabella, she's the only one who should be his wife. Doesn't matter if he loves her or not, he's decided she’s the one."

Jordan was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, that's just the way he is."

Jordan's plan was simple. He'd have Mandy come to the city with the excuse that she wanted a fresh start and a job, but hadn't found anything yet. Mandy would ask to stay with Deborah. Jordan figured Deborah wouldn’t say no to her own cousin, at least not for a while.

These days Jackson was basically living at Deborah's place. The two of them acted like a real married couple.

Mandy was gorgeous, maybe even more beautiful than Deborah. When Mandy was still underage, Deborah was already Jackson's mistress. Every time Deborah visited home, she played the rich lady, handing out expensive gifts to friends and family.

Mandy had envied her from the start, even though she knew exactly what Deborah was doing. She didn't care that Deborah was a homewrecker. If anything, she wanted to be just like her, living in luxury with money to burn. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted Deborah to take her to the city, show her around, maybe even introduce her to a rich man. Then she could finally have the life she'd always dreamed about.