After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 848

“Deborah is definitely doing this on purpose. But Natalie, you can’t just come over here every day. If you do, it’s like you’re handing the whole house over to her. We can’t back down. If we do, where will we fit in that family?”

Natalie knew Jordan didn’t want her showing up all the time. He needed his space, wanted time alone with Malvina, and if Natalie was always there, it would just get more complicated.

She sighed. “I don’t even want to stay at home until after she marries your dad.”

“Deborah is so shameless. She keeps coming to me for advice about her wedding, asking what brand of dress she should wear, or what I wore when we got married. Then she brings up the dowry—says since she’s older, hers should be double what you gave me. She’s just trying to show off and get under my skin.”

Jordan’s expression darkened. But his father still ran the household, and everyone kept telling him not to fight with him. They worried it would push his dad even closer to Deborah and Kevin. All Jordan could do was grit his teeth and put up with it.

“Deborah’s just out of control. Jackson lets her get away with everything,” Jordan muttered, then reached for Natalie’s hand. “You’ve really had to put up with a lot.”

“We just have to hold on a bit longer. I’m working on winning over more people at the company. Jackson wouldn’t dare leave everything to Kevin. My uncle’s side might not be as powerful as before, but there’s still a lot of them. They’ve already said that if my dad tries to cut me out, they’ll step in. Your family won’t let it slide either.”

“You’re right. We need to keep your dad happy for now.”

“But don’t get into open fights with Deborah at home. She knows how to play innocent, and Jackson falls for it every time. And as for Mandy, she’s completely useless.”

Jordan’s face tightened. “Natalie, that’s not fair. How could you even say that? You’re the only woman I want. I’ve only ever wanted you. We’re married, and we’ll be together for life.”

Natalie laughed, her eyes softening. “I’m just teasing you. Of course I trust you. I know you’d never betray me. But Jordan, if we want to handle Deborah, Mandy is the perfect pawn.”

Jordan fell silent. Mandy was gorgeous, with a great body. If she wasn’t Deborah’s sister, maybe he would have been tempted.

“Natalie, I trust you. We worked hard to get Mandy on our side. Even if things didn’t go exactly as planned, we can still use her to get what we want if we play this right.”