When He Stopped Loving Me Chapter 14

His friends fell silent, exchanging glances, finally sighing and dropping the subject.

But Ethan knew deep down that his friend's words had planted seeds of doubt.

He downed another large gulp of liquor, trying to numb the increasingly clear anxiety and... regret.

To prove to the world that his relationship with Rachel ran deep, Ethan deliberately chose his and Claire's anniversary date to take Rachel to the exclusive mountaintop restaurant overlooking the city.

This was where he'd proposed to Claire.

Same location, same night view. He even ordered Claire's favorite dishes.

But Rachel sitting across from him seemed completely out of place.

She fumbled with the complicated silverware, utensils clattering harshly. She couldn't stomach the refined French cuisine, complaining about small portions and high prices. She couldn't read the foreign menu, requiring Ethan's repeated explanations. She even spoke too loudly in excitement, drawing disapproving looks from neighboring tables.

Ethan stared at the empty space across from him—the seat that once belonged to Claire. Memory flooded back uncontrollably.

He remembered Claire in an elegant cocktail dress, sitting there smiling, poised and graceful. At the restaurant's center piano, she'd spontaneously played "Dream Wedding," stunning everyone and capturing his heart completely.

Back then, she'd been radiant, perfectly complementing the romantic atmosphere.

And now...

Watching Rachel's clumsy struggle with the sauce, Ethan felt not tenderness but indescribable irritation and... aching regret.

This carefully planned dinner ended in awkward, tasteless silence.

A year later, Rachel went into labor, delivering a son.

As a new father, Ethan experienced momentary joy, but holding the wrinkled infant, looking at the child's unremarkable features so like Rachel's, enormous disappointment washed over him.

He couldn't help remembering long ago when Claire had nestled in his arms, dreamily saying: "Ethan, let's have a daughter someday. She should look like you—bright eyes. She'd be so beautiful."

Now there was no daughter. And the woman who'd wanted that daughter had long since flown far away.

During Rachel's postpartum period, she fully displayed her "petty" and "inconsiderate" nature.

She complained the postpartum meal service was too expensive, secretly ordering takeout and causing huge arguments when the nutritionist discovered it. She'd lose emotional control over the baby's crying, speaking harshly to nannies and servants. She even grew paranoid and possessive about Ethan's work hours, obsessively checking up on him and making unreasonable scenes.

Every time Ethan returned to that so-called "home," he felt not warmth but endless exhaustion and disgust.

He began finding excuses to stay out late, or not come home at all.

Around this time, Ethan began frequently dreaming of Claire.

The dreams were surreal yet intensely vivid.

He dreamed of their sixteen-year-old campus—his clumsy confession, Claire laughingly pushing his hand away, scolding "Ethan Pierce!" with eyes full of joy.

He dreamed of her parents' funeral—her frail body collapsing in his arms, crying with complete dependence.

He dreamed of married life—her little tantrums followed by guilty, tentative glances, waiting for him to coax her...

Each dream was like a dull blade, repeatedly cutting his already tattered heart.

Waking from these beautiful yet painful dreams, beside him was only Rachel's heavy snoring and her postpartum weight gain.

The crushing contrast felt like drowning in icy water.

He finally began to understand what he'd truly lost.