Chapter 4 The End of Us

With trembling hands, I captured the tenderness burning in her eyes, as if the tears she had shed that year had burned straight into my heart, hot and searing. Regina's tears trailed down my neck, leaving thin red marks like brands.

It was time to end this relationship with dignity.

I took a deep breath and said goodbye to Regina in my heart, over and over again.

Finally, on the seventh day of the Christmas-New Year's holiday, the night before we returned to work, Regina seemed to be in a particularly good mood. She cooked an entire tableful of dishes herself and even opened a bottle of red wine.

"Have some more, honey." She smiled as she placed a piece of fish on my plate. I could not help wondering if she was this happy because she was about to see Alex.

"Oh, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," Regina continued.

I suppressed the chill in my heart and looked at her calmly. "What is it?"

"Why don't we… have a baby this year?"

"Why bring this up all of a sudden?"

She looked around the empty house and sighed. "Our careers are stable now, and we've made enough money that we don't have to worry about it anymore. The house is just too quiet. You're home every day with nothing much to do, and you barely talk. It's too quiet. If we had a child, you'd be more lively, and the house would feel more alive too."

The words "too quiet" pierced straight into the most painful place in my heart.

I looked at her, and suddenly, the sumptuous dinner before me had lost all its appeal. "You think it's quiet because when you got your first round of funding, I went to the office and asked if you wanted to give everyone a bonus. You didn't even look up when you frowned and said that I shouldn't need to bother you over such trivial things. I could call the shots myself.

"Three years ago, when we finally paid off our debts, I spent six months saving up to take you to the mall because I wanted to buy you a necklace. I wanted you to try it on, but you just stood at the counter staring at your phone, telling me to pick something quickly so we could get home and look at the samples. You said it was taking too much time. After that, I learned to keep my mouth shut."

Regina froze for a moment. "Why are you bringing up the past again? Things were hard back then, and I was under a lot of pressure. I know I was too harsh. I know that was wrong. But aren't I making it up to you now? Once we have a child, we'll put the company aside for a while. The three of us can go skiing in Helvetia. I'll make it up to you twice over."

"Make it up to me?" A cold smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

That used to be all it took.

As long as she softened her tone and made me a promise, I could swallow every grievance I had, because I believed that, as a man, I was supposed to be the one she could rely on, the one who made her feel safe.

Now, however, things were different.

I took out my phone, opened the picture, and slid it across the table toward her. "This is what you call making it up to me? Spending more than 2,600 hours listening to music with another man?"

Regina stared at the picture, and the color drained from her face instantly.