Chapter 7 The Woman He Once Loved

Chapter 7: The Woman He Once Loved

The soft knock echoed through the private reception room.

Ethan remained still for several seconds before speaking. "Come in."

The door slowly opened.

Isabella stepped inside and quietly closed it behind her. For the first time in three years, they were alone without her family, without servants, and without the constant pressure of the Hawthorne name hanging over them.

Neither of them spoke immediately.

The silence between them felt heavier than any argument they had ever had.

Isabella looked at Ethan carefully. He was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window with the city lights behind him. He looked familiar, yet somehow completely different. It wasn't his clothes or his wealth that had changed. It was the confidence he now carried. He no longer looked like a man trying to earn acceptance. He looked like a man who no longer needed anyone's approval.

"I didn't know," Isabella finally whispered.

Ethan gave a faint smile that held no warmth.

"I know."

"I truly didn't."

"I know that too."

She lowered her head.

"If I had known who you really were..."

Ethan interrupted her before she could finish.

"Would you have stayed?"

His question caught her off guard.

She opened her mouth but no words came out.

Ethan looked at her calmly.

"You don't have to answer."

"Because that's the wrong question."

He slowly walked toward the table and poured two glasses of water. He placed one in front of her, just as he had done countless times during their marriage.

Out of habit, Isabella reached for it.

Only after taking the glass did she realize what had happened.

The small act made her chest tighten.

For three years, he had always taken care of the smallest things.

She had simply stopped noticing.

Ethan leaned against the table.

"The real question is this."

"If I had remained the ordinary man you believed I was... would today's conversation even be happening?"

Isabella's grip on the glass tightened.

She wanted to say yes.

She wanted to tell him she had come because she cared.

But deep inside, she couldn't deny the truth.

She had never fought for their marriage.

Not once.

"I failed you," she admitted, her voice trembling.

"I should have protected you."

"When my family insulted you, I remained silent."

"When they looked down on you, I convinced myself they would eventually accept you."

"I kept telling myself there would be another chance."

A bitter smile crossed her lips.

"I didn't realize I was running out of chances."

Ethan listened quietly.

There was no satisfaction in seeing her regret.

Only exhaustion.

"I never blamed you for being ambitious," he said.

"You wanted to build your company."

"You wanted to make your family proud."

"I respected that."

He paused before continuing.

"What hurt wasn't the divorce."

"It was realizing that after three years together... you never truly believed in me."

Those words broke something inside Isabella.

Tears gathered in her eyes.

"I believed you were a good man."

"But..."

"But you believed a good man wasn't enough."

She closed her eyes.

He was right.

Every word was right.

For years she had measured success by wealth, influence, and status. She hadn't realized she was slowly measuring her own husband by the same standards.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

The apology sounded sincere.

It also came too late.

Ethan looked at her with the same calm expression he had worn since she entered the room.

"Do you remember our first apartment?"

She nodded through her tears.

"The roof leaked every time it rained."

A faint smile appeared on Ethan's face.

"You complained every summer because the air conditioner barely worked."

Despite herself, Isabella laughed softly.

"And you tried fixing it three times."

"It never worked."

"The landlord finally replaced it."

For a brief moment, both of them remembered happier days.

Days before pride, expectations, and family pressure had driven them apart.

Then reality returned.

"I wasn't pretending during those years," Ethan said quietly.

"I loved that life because you were in it."

"I would have remained an ordinary man forever if we had been happy."

Isabella stared at him in disbelief.

"What?"

"My grandfather found me months before the divorce."

She froze.

"I knew who I was."

"I knew I could return at any time."

"But I stayed."

Her breathing became uneven.

"I stayed because I believed our marriage was worth more than any fortune."

Every word felt like another knife in her heart.

"You... you already knew?"

Ethan nodded.

"I wanted one thing."

"For you to choose me."

"Not my name."

"Not my money."

"Just me."

Silence filled the room once again.

This time, Isabella couldn't hold back her tears.

She finally understood the weight of what she had lost.

It had never been about billions of dollars.

It had been a test she never realized she was taking.

And she had failed.

A gentle knock interrupted the moment.

Samuel entered after receiving Ethan's permission.

"Young Master, Mr. Victor Graves has just arrived at the gala."

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

"So he finally decided to show himself."

Samuel nodded.

"He requested a private meeting with you."

Ethan smiled faintly.

"Interesting."

He looked toward Isabella one last time.

"Our conversation ends here."

She quickly stepped forward.

"Ethan..."

He stopped but didn't turn around.

"I don't expect you to forgive me," she said, struggling to keep her voice steady.

"But if one day you need someone to stand beside you..."

"I'll be there."

Ethan remained silent for several seconds.

When he finally spoke, his voice was calm and unreadable.

"The person I needed beside me..."

"...was the woman who signed those divorce papers."

With that, he walked out of the room.

The door closed softly behind him.

Isabella stood alone, tears falling freely as she stared at the empty doorway.

For the first time in her life, she realized that regret was unlike any other pain.

There was no medicine for it.

No amount of money could erase it.

No apology could undo it.

Meanwhile, on the top floor of the hotel, Victor Graves stood beside the panoramic windows, swirling a glass of wine in one hand. A cold smile spread across his face as he watched Ethan step out of the elevator.

"So," Victor said quietly to himself, "the lost prince has finally returned."

He set the glass down and straightened his jacket.

"Good."

"It'll be much more satisfying to destroy him myself."

Outside the suite, the elevator doors opened.

Ethan walked into the corridor with Samuel at his side, unaware that the man waiting for him wasn't just a powerful businessman.

He was the first enemy responsible for turning Ethan's childhood into a nightmare.