After I Stopped Loving Him novel Chapter 734

Ethan spent the whole night turning things over in his mind. When the staff arrived that morning, they found him sitting alone in the living room and couldn’t hide their surprise.

“Good morning, Ethan.”

After a beat, they greeted him like usual, but the heavy smell of cigarette smoke made everyone tense. Ethan only smoked this much when something serious weighed on him, something he couldn’t fix. The ashtray was already overflowing. Clearly, he hadn’t just woken up early—he hadn’t slept at all.

He didn’t answer their greetings. After the awkward silence, everyone drifted off to their usual routines. The house ran on a schedule. Each person had their assigned tasks, and once those were done, they could clock out or help someone else if they wanted to. Their pay was set, no matter how many hours they worked each day. Once their own work was finished, their time was their own. Susan, the head housekeeper, usually didn’t meddle. She let things slide as long as everything got done.

“It’s morning already.” Ethan’s voice finally broke the quiet, as if he was talking to himself.

A maid, dusting the furniture nearby, answered him. “It is, but it’s still early.”

In Cabinda, summer mornings started before most people were even awake. By half past five, the sky was already brightening. By six, the sun was fully up.

Ethan didn’t say anything else. He put out his half-finished cigarette, stood up, and headed upstairs. After changing into running clothes, he left the house for his morning jog.

He wasn’t the only one with this routine. Isabella liked to run in the mornings too, and he was hoping to bump into her. Just his luck, he spotted her not far from home. She wasn’t alone—Norah, his other neighbor’s wife, was with her. The two women were already heading back, probably having started their run earlier.

They must have been deep in conversation, but both fell quiet the moment they saw him.

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