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CHAPTER 26
publish date:
2026-07-05 03:32:06
Latest chapter
The Goodbye he regretted CHAPTER 132
"A recent photo," Richard said again, jaw tight. "In case something happens to you. For the memorial portrait." Charles almost laughed. Cursing him the second they were in the same room. Classic. "Not necessary," he said, voice flat and unbothered. "I'll stay alive. Just for you, old man. Otherwise nobody in this family's got the guts to pull the plug when the time comes — you'll still need me around for that." Richard's face went from red to purple in under two seconds. "You bastard—" He spun toward the hallway. "Finley! Bring me the whip!" He was already reaching down, yanking one handmade leather shoe half off his foot like he meant to throw it straight at Charles's smug expression. Michael got an arm across Richard's chest before the shoe left his hand. Ethan grabbed Charles by the shoulder and hauled him back a full step. "Enough," Michael said, not loud, but final. Mila and Susan crowded in on either side of Richard, murmuring, patting his arm, trying to talk him down.
The Goodbye he regretted CHAPTER 131
Lucas realized what he'd said a half second too late and clapped a hand over his own mouth. Damien didn't look at him. His eyes stayed fixed on the mansion beyond the gates, dark and reflecting every light spilling out of its windows. Faint laughter drifted across the grounds, carried on the night air. He could just barely make it out. Cold settled into his chest, the kind that had nothing to do with the weather. Selene. Michael's girlfriend, apparently, if the whispers were true. And this family — this many wives, this many children by different mothers, decades of tangled loyalties under one roof — Damien had assumed it would break her. He'd assumed the mess of it would be exactly the kind of thing that made a woman quietly give up and walk away. Instead she sounded like she belonged there. The laughter kept coming, easy and warm, proof enough on its own. They liked her. Actually liked her. His face went pale. Something bitter climbed up his throat and sat there, thick enoug
The Goodbye he regretted CHAPTER 130
The Rolls-Royce rolled through the antique gates of the Ashford mansion, wheels crunching over gravel worn smooth by a hundred years of traffic. Word of their arrival moved faster than the car. By the time Maureen and Michael stepped out, Brew the butler and a line of servants were already waiting on either side of the entryway, backs straight, heads bowed. "Welcome home, Ms. Maureen!" "Ms. Maureen, may you live a long and healthy life!" Maureen pressed two fingers to her forehead, holding back a laugh. Immortality. Sure. She'd take it if anyone was offering. Before she could take another step, two women came rushing down the front steps toward her. "Maureen!" Aunt Mila reached her first, hands already out. "We missed you so much." Behind her, Susan khores closed the distance in three long strides — shoulder-length hair swinging, purple satin blouse with a silk bow at the collar, wide-leg black trousers that made her look even taller than she already was. "Aunt Mila. Aunt Su
The Goodbye he regretted CHAPTER 129
Evening settled over the Ashford Hotel entrance, and Michael Ashford's Rolls-Royce sat parked out front, plate reading 8965. Doormen straightened their posture just standing near it. Passersby slowed down to stare. In a corner of the lot, tucked out of the light, a black Maybach waited.Damien sat in the back seat, lips pressed into a thin line, eyes fixed on the Rolls-Royce like a hawk watching something it couldn't decide whether to hunt. The hotel's glass doors slid open. Maureen walked out with Steven a step behind her. Damien's gaze sharpened, noticing Selene's breathtaking look. Light makeup. Hair down, loose over her shoulders. A pale blue silk dress that moved with her, cinched at the waist, hem catching the breeze — soft, graceful, nothing like the sharp-shouldered pantsuits and blood-red lips she'd been wearing lately. He hadn't seen her dressed like this in a long time. Something behind his ribs pulled tight. She could wear anything. Any designer, any label, any co
The Goodbye he regretted CHAPTER 128
In the general manager's office of Ashford Hotel, the supposedly very busy Maureen had a chainsaw in her hands and three screaming survivors to catch. She leaned into the monitor, thumb mashing the trigger button. On screen, her butcher character kicked down a door and let out a roar loud enough to make the office speakers crackle. One survivor down. Two left. Beside the keyboard sat a cold beer and a half-eaten box of fried chicken, grease soaking through the paper. She grabbed a piece without looking, took a bite, eyes still locked on the screen. Nothing beat this. Summer barbecue on the rooftop. Winter cheese fondue with her brothers arguing over the last dumpling. Fried chicken and a controller in her hand. Simple things. Good things. Her character cornered the second survivor. She pressed the button a beat too hard, teeth grinding. Three years, she thought. Three years she'd spent chasing something that never once turned around to look at her. She'd had a smoke allergy
The Goodbye he regretted CHAPTER 127
Damien picked up the graduation photo album and opened it from the first page. The masked man's moves kept replaying in his head. The footwork. The angle of the strikes. And the eyes — he knew those eyes from somewhere. He went through the album slowly, covering each face with his palm, leaving only the eyes exposed. Comparing. Discarding. Moving to the next. Lucas stood by the window, watching him work. Damien stopped on one page. His hand hovered over it. Thick eyebrows. Sharp, charming eyes staring straight into the camera lens. He stood up so fast the chair scraped back. "You found something," Lucas said. Damien didn't answer right away. His eyes were fixed on the name printed under the photo. *Charles Adams.* "Selene Adams." He said it slow, like he was tasting the words. "Charles Adams." His pulse picked up. "No wonder he called her baby sis." He remembered him now. Military academy, second year. The only student who ever came close to beating Damien in hand-to-han
The Goodbye he regretted chapter 9
The question hung in the air between them, heavier than anything Richard had said so far.Maureen forgot how to breathe for a second. She had known this moment was coming the instant her father started flipping through the report. She'd known he would find the name eventually. She just hadn't expec
The Goodbye he regretted chapter 8
Damien barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the same scene: the private café, the birthday display, Michael Ashford standing beside Selene. No, beside his ex-wife. The image irritated him more than he cared to admit, and it made no sense, because none of this should have mattered to
The Goodbye he regretted chapter 7
The moment the black Escalade rolled through the towering iron gates of the Ashford estate, Maureen felt her chest tighten. She had been gone for three long years.The familiar fountain stood proudly in the center of the circular driveway, illuminated by soft lights. Beyond it stretched the grand m
The Goodbye he regretted chapter 6
Aurora had not only been Damien's first love — she was the daughter of a longtime family friend of the Vances, a connection that guaranteed her a seamless invitation to a private dinner at the estate. Even so, the mood at the table remained suffocating. Damien sat rigid, a hard crease pressed betw
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