After I Stopped Loving Him novel Chapter 348

"Jackson, if you really loved me, you would never have cheated. You wouldn't have a child with another woman." Cynthia's voice trembled with shame. "Back when we got married, Jordan's uncle made me get sterilized before he would give his blessing. You talked me into it, swore to him that Jordan would be your only child. I went through with the surgery. I looked after your family, took care of your parents when they were alive. When I came into this house, Jordan was just ten. You were never there for him... I was the one raising him. I kept him in line, but he always fought back. He'd run around saying I was abusing him. Sometimes, you even believed him. You yelled at me, blamed me again and again. Do you know how much I went through?"

"I can't have any more children now. Isabella is my only one. She was five when I brought her into the Lane family. She was just a little girl, her father gone. I tried to be good to her, but you accused me of playing favorites. Jordan always bullied her, never let me care for her. I was scared to even show my daughter any affection. To keep us both safe, I had to teach Isabella to put up with it, to give in, to try to make Jordan happy. Do you know how much that hurt me?"

"It's been twenty years, Jackson. Even if I haven't earned any reward, I've worked myself to the bone. And this is what I get in return? Now my heart is numb, I want to leave, and you still hit me with this nonsense. Do you even have a conscience? No, you don't. If you did, you wouldn't have cheated. You wouldn't have a secret child."

Cynthia's heart was full of resentment. She blamed Jackson, but deep down, she also blamed herself for not being stronger.

Before she met Jackson, she worked hard to support herself and Isabella. They lived in a tiny apartment, barely making ends meet, but as long as they were together, even the tough days felt bearable. What scared her most was the George family, Isabella's father's relatives. They wouldn't leave her alone. They kept trying to take Isabella away.

At preschool, Isabella was picked on by other kids. They teased her for not having a dad. She would come home in tears, begging for a father. It got worse the day the George family showed up at the preschool, trying to drag Isabella away. Cynthia clung to her daughter and screamed for help. Other parents, teachers, and security guards rushed over. Only then did she manage to keep Isabella safe.

She lived every day on edge. That was when Jackson started chasing after her, promising to protect her and Isabella from the George family. He said he would be a real father to Isabella, help raise her, pay for her schooling.

After thinking it over for a long time, Cynthia finally agreed. She married Jackson and brought Isabella into the Lane family. For Isabella's sake, she put up with everything, even when Isabella didn't understand her and thought she loved Jordan more. For a long time, Isabella saw her as a mother who cared more about her stepson. It wasn't until Isabella married Ethan that she finally began to understand her mother. Now, at last, they truly understood each other and stood together, supporting one another, heart to heart.