After I Stopped Loving Him novel Chapter 78

When Isabella got married, Jackson had planned to prepare a special wedding gift for her. But before he could even start, Natalie Gates jumped in and offered to handle it herself. Jackson agreed and handed the whole thing over to her.

The result? Most of the extravagant, expensive gifts Ethan had sent for the wedding never made it to Isabella. Natalie kept almost all of them for herself, replacing them with a bunch of ordinary things that only looked impressive on the surface. There were lots of boxes, but when Isabella finally had a chance to go through them after the wedding, she realized they weren’t worth much at all. The disappointment stung, and her resentment toward Natalie only grew. It was bad enough knowing she was just a pawn in someone else’s game, but this felt like a final insult.

Ethan gave her a small smile. “You’re her only child. Of course your mother’s assets will go to you.”

But Isabella was thinking something else entirely. If only she could inherit Ethan’s fortune instead, that would really be something. She found herself wondering when he might die. They’d never signed a prenup, and their assets weren’t registered separately. If anything happened to him, she’d be his legal wife and the first in line to inherit everything.

If Ethan ever realized his little chess piece was secretly wishing for his death just to get his money, he’d probably choke on the spot.

They walked together, talking quietly, until they found themselves back at the seaside villas. The night had grown late and the whole place was calm and still.

“Goodnight, Ethan,” Isabella said as they headed upstairs.

She stopped at the door to her own room, glanced back at him, then slipped inside and closed the door behind her.

Ethan stood in the hallway for a while, staring at the door, before finally turning away and heading to his own room.

The rest of the night passed quietly.

Just after six in the morning, Isabella woke up. Her internal clock was always reliable. She liked to start her day with a run, so she changed into her workout clothes and headed outside.

She had barely stepped out of the villa when she spotted Natalie Gates coming her way. Natalie was dressed for exercise too, though she wore a long-sleeved tracksuit, while Isabella had opted for summer gear.

Natalie had worried about Ethan after he left last night. He’d drunk even more than Jordan. But now that she was married, she couldn’t just chase after Ethan like she used to. She spent the whole night waiting for a message from him, but nothing came, and her concern only grew.

Now that she had Isabella in front of her, she had to ask.

“He was in a bad mood,” Isabella admitted. “He found me at the beach. We walked back together, then went to our own rooms to rest.”

Natalie paused and turned to look at her. “Wait, you and Ethan sleep in separate rooms?”

Isabella met her gaze and answered honestly. “Yeah, we do. We only dated for three months before getting married. Sometimes it still feels like a dream, like it’s not real. I just don’t want to rush into… things.”