After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 997

He would rather deal with Isabella’s endless drama than have her gone so young. Now that she was gone, she’d taken his only sister with her too.

After the funeral, Ethan drove Zachary home himself. Zachary didn’t say a word the entire ride. He just leaned against the seat, silent tears running down his face. Ethan wanted to say something to comfort him, but in the end, he couldn’t find the words.

Back at the house, Zachary moved like a ghost, going straight to his room and locking the door behind him. He wouldn’t let anyone in and didn’t speak to anyone, not even his own family. Ethan quietly told his aunt to keep an eye on him, slipped her some money, and left.

As soon as Ethan got home, he went straight for the booze. He twisted off the cap and started drinking straight from the bottle. He didn’t bother with a glass.

Stephanie had wanted to ask about Cynthia, but seeing Ethan like this, she just walked over, her heart aching for him, and reached out to take the bottle from his hand.

“Grandma, please let me drink. I can’t stand this pain. It hurts too much,” Ethan said, pulling the bottle out of her reach.

“I let Isabella down. I let Cynthia down. When I married Isabella, I promised Cynthia I’d make her happy. That I’d take care of both of them,” he choked out, voice breaking. “But I didn’t. Now Isabella’s dead. Cynthia’s dead. Grandma, I killed them. If I hadn’t divorced Isabella, maybe neither of them would have died.”

Ethan’s eyes turned red again. He tipped the bottle back and took another long drink. The alcohol scorched his throat, hit his nose, made him cough and gasp, tears streaming down his cheeks. It was still impossible for him to accept that Isabella was really gone. Just a few days ago she’d been alive, arguing with him. Now she was reduced to nothing more than a slip of paper.

The death certificate. That was all that was left.

Seeing her cremated, turned to ashes and then reduced to paperwork had ripped a gaping hole in his chest. The pain seemed endless. He would give anything to have her yelling at him again instead of this empty silence. How could she just be gone?

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