After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 1018

“Isabella, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

“The people who did this to you… they’ve all paid for what they’ve done. The law made sure of it.”

“You can rest now, okay?”

Ethan’s eyes filled with tears. Everyone who had a direct hand in Isabella’s death was punished. But him… the one who let it all happen, the one who hurt her the most, he was the only one left unpunished. Ethan never forgave himself. The guilt ate at him every single day.

He was a shadow of his old self, thinner, quieter. He hardly slept. When he did, he always dreamt of Isabella. In those dreams, she told him she hated him. She said if she had another chance, she’d never marry him, never fall in love. Maybe it would have been better if they’d never met at all.

But Ethan wished for just the opposite. If he was given a second chance, if there was another life, he’d do anything for her. He’d love her right, only her, from the start.

“Isabella, I’m sorry, I really am. If there’s a next life, I swear, I’ll do it right. You’ll be the only one I ever love, I promise,” Ethan whispered, trying to hold back the tears.

Since Isabella died, every time Ethan visited her grave, he found himself apologizing. He never treasured her when she was alive. He always sided with Natalie, ignoring Isabella’s feelings. She’d loved him so much… and he broke her, bit by bit, until she asked for a divorce.

And even then, he listened to Natalie. He refused to give Isabella a cent. She left with nothing but her pride. Natalie had convinced him that Isabella would regret it, that she’d come crawling back.

After he married Isabella, everything changed. Once she found out the real reason for their marriage, it was as if she wasn’t herself anymore. She never fit in with the high society crowd, and those women looked down on her for not being a “real” Lane. No one accepted her, no one cared — except Laura. Laura was the one who stood by Isabella, who listened, comforted, encouraged her.

Laura wasn’t alone. She was with two men Ethan recognized right away — Jesse and Harold. They used to be his closest friends too. But ever since they made it clear they couldn’t stand Jordan and Natalie, Ethan drifted apart from them. The only reason they still saw each other was because their companies had business together. Otherwise, Ethan suspected, he would have lost them completely.

Jesse and Harold had tried to talk some sense into him. They told him to treat Isabella better, to think about her, to forget Natalie, who was already married to Jordan. Harold was blunt — he told Ethan that Isabella was his wife, and that it was wrong to dote on someone else’s. He even warned him that Jordan and Natalie were just using him. Ethan hadn’t wanted to hear it, and after a huge argument with Harold, they barely spoke anymore.

Ethan remembered his wedding like it was yesterday. Jesse and Harold had been his groomsmen. They’d chipped in to help him pick out Isabella’s wedding gift. They honestly believed he loved her and wanted to spend his life with her. When he’d asked them for help, they welcomed the chance, giving their best wishes and hoping that he and Isabella would have a long, happy life together, filled with love and children.