Her Return, His Regret

Cold water splashed over her face.Lilian gasped, jerking awake as her body trembled violently. The tiled floor beneath her was freezing, slick with water. Her hair clung to her cheeks, her thin clothes soaked through.Through the blur of her vision, she saw him.Ethan Brook.He stood beside the running shower, sleeves rolled up, expression carved in stone.“Why are you pretending to be noble?” His voice was low, deadly calm.He grabbed a fistful of her hair and forced her to look up at him. “You went to that place to disgrace me, didn’t you?”“N–No—”“Listen to me,” he snapped, his grip tightening until she winced. “If you ever humiliate me like that again… you’ll regret it.”His words sliced through her like knives.Her lips trembled. “E–Ethan…”He crouched slightly, his shadow falling across her face. His eyes were dark, emotionless.“Do you think you’re worthy of my sympathy?” he murmured, each syllable dipped in contempt. “You disgust me, Lilian.”The words hit harder than the wa

The sound of the heart monitor echoed faintly through the hospital room. Lilian sat frozen beside her mother’s still body, her fingers trembling as they brushed against the cold hand she’d once held for comfort.“Mom… please,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Please wake up. I’m here now…”But there was only silence.Her mother’s chest no longer rose. The steady beep that had once given her hope had gone flat.Lilian’s breath hitched. “No,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. “No, this can’t be happening.”Her knees gave out, and she collapsed beside the bed, sobs tearing through her chest. The nurses tried to lift her, but her body refused to move. The world around her blurred into a whirl of white coats and soft murmurs.“Doctor! She’s losing consciousness!”Darkness swallowed her.---When she woke again, the sharp scent of antiseptic filled her nose. Her body ached, her head heavy. The doctor was standing beside her bed, checking her vitals, his expression tense.“Mrs. Bro

The morning light crept weakly through the clouds, spilling a dull gray across the quiet streets. Lilian’s footsteps echoed faintly, each one slower than the last. Her body ached — not just from exhaustion, but from the kind of pain that burrows deep, beneath skin and bone. She clutched her coat tighter around her trembling frame. The chill in the air bit through her clothes, but it wasn’t the cold that made her shiver — it was the emptiness that followed her home like a shadow. When the tall gates of the Brook mansion finally came into view, her knees almost gave out. That place — once her safe haven — now felt like a battlefield she was too tired to fight on. Her fingers shook as she reached for the front door. The moment it opened, a scent of fresh coffee and polished wood filled her senses. And then she saw him. Ethan. Standing at the entrance, his tie perfectly knotted, his expression unreadable, the weight of his presence still commanding. He looked every bit the powerful

At the bar, Ethan stared into his glass, lost in the golden swirl of whiskey.For once, the liquor didn’t taste like relief — it tasted like guilt.He couldn’t focus on anything the men around him were saying. Their laughter, the clinking glasses, the low hum of music — everything faded into background noise.All he could think about was her.Lilian.Her voice when she said the word divorce still echoed in his mind.It wasn’t the usual tremble, the pleading tone he was used to. It was quiet. Steady. Final.He gripped his glass tighter.“She wouldn’t dare,” he muttered under his breath.“She’s just trying to get my attention again.”But even as he said it, something inside him shifted — a faint unease, a whisper that refused to be silenced.What if she meant it this time?He ran a hand through his hair, the thought haunting him more than he wanted to admit.He knew her better than anyone — or at least he thought he did.She was fragile, emotional, foolishly in love with him.But lately