After I Stopped Loving Him novel Chapter 294

Isabella had never been to any of his other villas. The only place she’d visited, and only twice at that, was his penthouse right in the heart of the city. She’d seen it, sure, but never actually spent a night there. That was Ethan’s private retreat, his own little world. He never let her move in.

The décor in the penthouse was always the same. She figured all his places were styled just the way Natalie liked them.

“I’m not staying there right now, so I was thinking about renting it out. At least I’d get some rent money every month. Better than just letting it sit empty,” Isabella said.

Ethan frowned. “I gave you that place, and you want to rent it out to strangers? Are you that strapped for a few thousand in rent?”

She shrugged. “If I rent out a villa, I can easily get a few thousand a month. Sometimes even ten or twenty thousand, depending. Over a year, that’s a decent chunk of change. And yeah, I could really use the money right now.”

Her dramas were filming one after another, but not a single one had aired yet. The first was supposed to premiere this weekend, but who knew how it would do. She was a stickler for quality, so every show cost a fortune to produce. She had to pay the studio team, the writers, the editors, and the rent. Every single day, it felt like money just flew out the window. With nothing coming in yet, her savings were burning up fast.

Luckily, Linda and Barbara had bought in, so she had a little breathing room. For now. Still, who ever thinks they have too much money? Not her.

“Let’s just go over there now. We can stay the night, have some time to ourselves,” Ethan suggested.

He added, “I know you’re feeling down. I promise, tonight I won’t do anything except keep you company.”

He thought to himself, Look at me, being such a good guy.

“It’s been ages since you cooked for me,” he went on. “You used to bring me breakfast every morning, always making sure I had something healthy. But after we got married, you stopped. The last time you brought me anything was after I got drunk, when you yelled at me.”

Ethan sighed. “Isabella, you don’t have to be so defensive. You’re kind of overreacting.”

“I’m not. Marriage is supposed to be equal. Why should I be the one slaving away in the kitchen? Ethan, you should work on your cooking skills, especially your BBQ ribs. Then, next time Natalie wants some, you’ll be able to make them for her.”

Ethan winced. “Can we not talk about other people right now?”

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to mention her anymore? Not feeling that loyal all of a sudden? I just finished telling you how devoted you are. Don’t make me regret it so soon.”

Ethan fell silent. The truth was, he couldn’t say those words as easily as he used to. Not anymore.