After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 1038

The next morning, when he woke up without a hangover, Natalie wrapped herself around him. One thing led to another and, well, they ended up spending half the day tangled up in the sheets.

Before either of them ever cheated, their marriage was actually pretty good. They were close, always finding reasons to be together and making each other laugh. When Jordan drank too much, Natalie usually took care of him. Sometimes she’d grumble about his drinking, but she’d never be in the mood for anything more. That was just how she was.

So why this time? Was she trying to cover something up?

Had her night with those other men happened a month ago too? Was the baby in her stomach really his? Or was it someone else’s?

She was only a month along. There was no way to know for sure if he was the father, not until they did a paternity test in a few months. Jordan felt like he was choking on the thought. Waiting sounds easy, but when doubt eats at you, every day is torture.

Right now, Jordan was convinced. The kid wasn’t his.

“Natalie, what’s with you?” He finally looked up. “You’ve been quiet for ages. What’s going on in that head of yours? You look upset. Aren’t you happy? You’re going to be a dad again. Or... is it that you don’t want me to have your baby?”

Jordan didn’t say a word. The silence made Natalie’s nerves stretch thin. Deep down, she was terrified too. She was placing a desperate bet that the baby was Jordan’s, hoping it might heal what was broken between them. Her family wanted her to have a baby anyway, and she knew if they didn’t, Jordan might just have one with someone else.

“Natalie...” Jordan’s voice was low. “Is this baby really mine?”

The words hung between them. Natalie’s face went cold, then turned angry. She slapped him, hard. The sound echoed in the room.

What a mess, he thought, but kept it to himself.

Natalie jumped into the elevator and jabbed at the button to close the doors. She didn’t want to risk Jordan chasing after her, but the doors finally slid shut, trapping her inside. As soon as she was alone, she slid down the wall and started sobbing, her body shaking.

Jordan suspected the baby wasn’t his, and the worst part was, she couldn’t prove it was. She didn’t even know for sure herself. She didn’t remember who those men were, didn’t even know their faces or names. By the time she woke up that night, they were already gone.

York, ever the “gentleman,” had sent someone to buy her a new set of clothes. He tossed them her way, told her to clean up in the bathroom, then put her in a car home.

When she got back, she threw the clothes away without a second thought, terrified Jordan would notice something he’d never seen before and start asking questions all over again.