After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 718

No one really knew what Natalie was up to or who she was meeting. She kept her plans to herself, and everyone who thought they knew her was left guessing.

The hours slipped by, and before anyone noticed, it was already ten o’clock at night.

Ethan and Harold showed up at Hearthside Coffee almost at the exact same moment. Ethan got there a little earlier.

He came in holding a bouquet of flowers, scanning the shop until he spotted Isabella wiping down tables and helping tidy up. He didn’t hesitate. He walked straight over.

“Isabella, the staff can handle this. You shouldn’t be wearing yourself out, especially when you’re not feeling well,” he said, concern written all over his face.

She’d spent last night drinking and woke up with a pounding headache, so she’d stayed home most of the day, only coming into the shop in the afternoon to check on things.

Isabella’s tone was cool. “We’re about to close. I’m just pitching in. What are you doing here?”

Ethan handed her the flowers and gently took the rag from her hand. “Let me do it. Go sit for a bit. You don’t need to push yourself.”

Isabella just stared at him for a second, not quite knowing how to react.

Ethan actually started wiping the tables himself. This was a guy who never had to lift a finger at home, but now he was here, fighting for the chance to clean tables for her. Was he really trying to win her back with these tiny gestures?

Harold walked in while Ethan was finishing up his second table. He was holding a bouquet, too.

Laura caught Harold’s eye and gave him a subtle gesture, pointing out that Ethan had beaten him there.

Harold shot Laura a grateful look. Lately, on Isabella’s Twitter, he was coming out ahead of Ethan. Everyone knew Ethan had hurt Isabella, and after their divorce, all her friends felt for her. They were always saying she deserved better and, behind Ethan’s back, calling him a jerk.

“We should give him a chance to prove it. When he’s done, we’ll check to see if he did a good job.”

Ethan led Isabella over to the counter, made her sit, then scooped up the bouquet she was still holding. Without a second thought, he tossed it onto the floor and stomped on it, crushing the flowers beneath his feet. What had been a pretty bouquet was now a mess.

Isabella stared at him, totally speechless.

Laura just gaped, not sure what to say.

Harold was fuming. He darted over to the table where Ethan’s flowers sat, grabbed the bouquet, threw it on the floor, and stomped on it too, grinding it into the ground until there was nothing left.

Ethan had planned to grab his bouquet back for Isabella, but Harold beat him to it, destroying it right in front of everyone.