After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 906

“Mom, things are only going to get better for us now. We’re finally away from all those toxic people.”

Cynthia reached out and brushed her hand gently across Isabella’s cheek. Moments like this didn’t happen often between them. Back when Isabella was little, before Cynthia married Jackson, she used to hold her all the time, stroking her soft, round face. That was a long time ago.

After she married into the Lane family, everything changed. Because of Jordan, Cynthia had to force herself to treat him even better than her own daughter. If she showed Isabella too much love, Jordan would get jealous. Jackson always reminded her to treat both kids the same, sometimes even asking her to be extra kind to Jordan. He’d say Jordan didn’t have a mom anymore, while Isabella still had her. Even if she tried to balance it, she was always Isabella’s mother at the end of the day.

But no matter what Jackson said, Cynthia saw how Jordan would pick on Isabella, sometimes openly, sometimes in secret. If she was too nice to Isabella, Jordan would make her pay for it. Cynthia felt she had no choice but to be kinder to Jordan, just to protect her daughter from being bullied even more.

“Isabella, I’m so sorry.” Cynthia’s voice was thick with guilt as she cupped Isabella’s face. “I let you go through so much. I honestly can’t remember the last time I touched your face like this.”

Isabella held her mother’s hand against her cheek, her eyes soft. “Mom, I used to be so angry at you,” she said quietly. “I thought you stopped loving me, that you only cared about yourself.”

She swallowed, then went on. “But as I got older, I started to understand. You didn’t have an education or any special skills. Dad’s relatives were terrible people, always trying to take me away, maybe even sell me for money. You married Jackson because you had to, just to keep me safe.”

“You knew you couldn’t fight them alone, so you used what you had—your looks and your courage—to marry into the Lane family. Even if I didn’t get to live like some spoiled rich girl, at least Dad’s family never dared to come after me again.”

“Everyone knew I was the Lane family’s stepdaughter. Jackson wasn’t especially loving, but he made it clear that I belonged to their family. Anyone who messed with me would have to deal with them.”

“Except for Jordan and Natalie, almost nobody dared to bully me. I got to finish school and grow up in peace. I know you endured a lot for twenty years, Mom. I get it now.”

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