Last Memory

"You're nothing to me," Regina replied coldly. "You have no right to order me around, and besides, there's nothing more to discuss between us!"

Asher sighed, holding back his irritation. He glanced at his mother and Olivia, who were listening to their conversation.

"Regina, I need to ask you something, and it's important!" Asher said, emphasizing the word "important."

He heard Regina snort. "It's important to you, but it's completely irrelevant to me. Listen, Asher, don't ever contact me again for anything. I'll block your number and—"

"Wait, wait, Regina," Asher interrupted quickly. "Did you see my mother and sister at the boutique earlier?"

"Oh? Two women choosing clothes in the out-of-date clothing section that was on sale for 70 percent off?" Regina asked in a mocking voice.

"Don't mock my family," Asher snapped sharply. "I won't stand by if anyone messes with them."

Magie and Olivia raised their eyebrows simultaneously, curious about what Regina had said.

"Why does it feel like a mockery if it's true?" Regina said. "If I hadn't divorced you, I would have always thought your family was elite, even your mother and sister's clothes always came from famous boutiques. Turns out... Well, at least they did come from famous boutiques, even if they were just sale items."

"Regina, be careful what you say!" Asher hissed. "I won't let anyone insult or hurt my family, especially if it's you!"

"I don't have to. You've already shown me," Regina said with a laugh. "Ah, I almost forgot, have you had your wife's pregnancy properly checked?"

Asher was losing his patience. "What do you mean by that, Regina? Are you jealous because—"

Click.

The line went dead.

Asher stared at his darkened phone screen through gritted teeth. He was angry at Regina's ambiguous words.  He'd been so restless and couldn't sleep because of something like that when Regina divorced him. Now, she'd said it again. Damn it!

"What did she say?" Magie asked curiously. "What did she say about us?"

Asher sighed. "Never mind, Mom, don't worry about it. She refuses to meet, but I'll find a way to ask her about her lies."

"That devil woman needs to be taught a lesson," Magie said angrily. "She's such a sly person. She's been a burden to you for years, and now she's trying to oppress us."

Asher looked at Magie with regret. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you before, Mom. If only I never married her."

Olivia remained silent, but she was thinking about something and smiled faintly as her mother grumbled.

In the dining room of her mansion, Regina snorted softly at her phone before placing it on the dining table.

"What does he want?" Tristan asked.

"He wants to meet. He said he has something to ask me," Regina replied with a sneer. "He thinks I'll still listen to him."

Tristan shook his head. "I didn't know he could be so shameless."

"Neither do I," Regina said with a chuckle. "Well, as long as he doesn't bother me directly, I don't care. I've blocked his number."

Tristan nodded. He stood up and walked out of the dining room. "I'm going to take a shower. I have surgery scheduled for tonight, so I need to rest a bit before returning to the hospital."

"Why are you performing surgery so late at night?" Regina asked, confused.

"My patient is an important person, and no one should know that he's sick until he has to surgery," Tristan said.

Regina nodded and stood up too. "I'll also look through the clothes Aunt Lucia sent me. I think I need to clean out my closet a bit, too."

Regina opened all the paper bags and boxes sent by Gorgeous Lucy and arranged them in the closet, while also emptying the suitcase she brought from Asher's house.

She hadn't touched the suitcase at all since returning home. It only contained a few old clothes, after all.

In the midst of her activities, she stopped and stared at a dress at the bottom of her suitcase. It was her wedding dress. A simple, long gown with one-piece sleeves and silver beading on off-white lace.

Regina picked up the dress and gently stroked it. She noticed a pink stain on her thigh, where Olivia had intentionally spilled wine. She liked the dress Regina was wearing and wanted to try it on, but the makeup artist who was doing Regina's makeup had told her not to.

"It's not right for another woman to wear a wedding dress before the bride herself," the makeup artist had said.

The dress made Regina feel strange. A sense of relief, or emptiness?

In front of her family, Regina had assured them she was done with Asher and his family, but was she really?

She was angry, hurt, and heartbroken by what Asher and his family had done. But she was human, and there was a small corner of her heart that still held some love for Asher.

That man was Regina's first love, love at first sight, and she had once fervently hoped that he would also be her last.

Regina wouldn't deny the fact that she had once dreamed that her family would finally accept Asher as her partner, after the five-year agreement with her parents was over, because they saw that Asher was truly the right man for her.

It had been a joy for her when Asher still wanted to marry her even though he knew she was an orphan, even though Magie opposed it. She had a growing belief that Asher truly loved her.

In fact, when Asher said that he would still prioritize his family because he was the breadwinner for his mother and siblings, Regina accepted it happily.

After all, she worked and earned her own money; she didn't want Asher to have to deal with everything on his own. Marriage was about two individuals working together to create harmony in their lives.

The belief that Asher truly loved her, regardless of Regina's circumstances, gave Regina the courage to dream that she and Asher would be together forever.

Regina had even planned a big surprise for Asher on their fifth wedding anniversary, telling him who she really was and proudly introducing him to her family.

However, her dreams began to crumble one by one as reality hit her. Asher wasn't who she thought he was. Regina began to doubt whether he truly loved her.

Finally, the question was answered clearly, and Regina was forced to accept that she meant nothing to Asher, except as a stand-in for Leika.

Like a coincidence engineered by fate, the truth was revealed just before the five-year agreement Regina had with her parents was up, slapping her in the face with the realization that the love she had fought for and the happy life she had dreamed of with Asher was nothing but a mere fantasy.

Even after their divorce, Asher still tried to hurt her, as if Regina had wasted HIS five years, filling HIS days waiting for Leika to return, with a miserable life.

Love is like a black ink stain on a white shirt. It doesn't easily disappear and is difficult to wash away, even when betrayal and lies are used to wash it away.  There will always be a trace left behind, even if it is only as thin as a shadow.

Damn it!

Regina's tears flowed freely. No one can easily move on from their first love, even when it hurts them deeply. Women who can instantly be strong and rise up to seek revenge for their shattered love only exist in novels.

Even though she was the one who dropped the bombshell on Asher first, divorcing him bravely before being divorced in disgrace, she still didn't win.

She lost too. From her feelings of betrayal, from her dreams being crushed, from her beliefs being shattered.

Regina wiped her wet eyes and cheeks. After all, she had loved Asher so much, to the point of abandoning those who also loved her, and that still lingered even now, even though she had tried to bury it deep.

Tristan had just finished showering and was about to go to the kitchen to make coffee when his ears caught a soft, familiar voice.

"Regie?"

Tristan pushed open Regina's bedroom door, which wasn't fully closed, and looked at his sister sitting on the bed, crying silently. Only her eyes were wet and her cheeks were puffy.  She held a white dress in her hands.

Tristan sat next to Regina and looked at the dress in her hands, understanding.

Gently and carefully, he took the dress from her hands and placed it in the suitcase at Regina's feet, then pulled her into his arms.

Regina sobbed, her hands gripping Tristan's shirt tightly.

Her brother didn't say anything, but his actions filled Regina with a sadness she hadn't felt in the months since the divorce.

"I'm stupid, aren't I?" Regina said, after a few minutes of crying, and then her tears began to subside. "I don't know what I should be crying about."

Tristan put his arm around Regina's shoulders and smiled. "Hey, I understand. Don't feel stupid for crying over your divorce, for you're crying over that jerk. You're human, and human love doesn't disappear as easily as pouring water on sand in the Sahara desert, where it instantly evaporates in the heat."

"I've put everyone in this family in trouble because of my selfishness," Regina murmured.

Tristan kissed the side of Regina's head. "The only one in trouble is you, princess. We could only watch and not help. Now, if you don't mind, you can allow us to help you get over any lingering feelings you have for that man and start a new path."

Regina looked at Tristan gratefully. "Whoever your future wife is, she's a very lucky woman, brother."

Tristan laughed. "Let's get this settled, and then I'll make you some delicious coffee to go with the tiramisu cake that Cousin Erwin made yesterday."

Regina nodded. She stood up and reached for her wedding dress in her suitcase.

"But first, do me a favor," Regina said.

"Hm? What are you going to do?" Tristan asked.

"Burn the last memory of the futility of my life," Regina said.  "Come on, get me some gasoline and matches. You'll help me, won't you?"

Tristan laughed. "Gladly, princess."