After I Stopped Loving Him novel Chapter 129

No matter what, Isabella was still his wife. If his family could just treat her however they wanted, it would mean they didn’t respect him at all. It was basically a slap in the face. For Ethan, standing up for Isabella was really about protecting his own pride.

Sophia pulled a face.

Jennifer, worried the argument would just go on and on, quickly tugged Sophia’s arm. “Sophia, if Ethan doesn’t want to take you, then just let it go. Come on, let’s go. Don’t bother him while he’s working.”

“And about Mr. Main, you can forget about him. I’m never going to agree to that.” Dylan Main was way older than Sophia, and Jennifer just couldn’t accept it, not even for a second. Even though nothing had happened yet, she wanted to squash any ideas Sophia might have before they got out of hand.

Sophia let her mom pull her away, annoyed and full of regret. She wished she hadn’t been so honest about her feelings. The only people she’d ever really trusted were her parents and Ethan. She hadn’t even told her closest friends about her crush on Dylan Main.

After Jennifer and Sophia left, Ethan couldn’t help himself. He sent Isabella a voice message. “What are you up to?”

Isabella replied, “At my studio. What’s up?”

“Did my mom talk to you?” Ethan asked, his voice sounding a little dark.

Isabella knew this. She smiled to herself, but Ethan couldn’t see it. She didn’t bother sending another voice message. She just typed out a quick “Thanks” and sent it, then put her phone down, not wanting to talk any more with a man whose heart was never hers.

Laura looked at her with concern. “Jennifer isn’t going to keep making trouble for you, right? I heard rich families have really tough mothers-in-law.”

“It’s not just rich families,” Isabella said with a dry laugh. “Most mothers-in-law are pretty tough. Jennifer’s actually a good person, it’s just that her kindness doesn’t seem to include me.”

It was the same with Ethan. He was the kind of guy who took feelings seriously and was truly devoted—just not to her. All he had for her was indifference. Luckily, she’d finally stopped hoping for his love in this lifetime. Love is love, and if it’s not there, it’s not. She wasn’t going to chase after him, asking why. She wasn’t going to wonder what Natalie had that she didn’t. She was done with that. It was time to accept reality, because that’s the world they actually lived in.