All Chapters of Loving and Letting Go Without Regret: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

...The silence in the hall was deafening.The marketing managers, who had never approved of my relationship with Ivan Knowles, snickered behind their hands.Their judgmental looks cut deep, but I held my head high, glancing at Ivan.His face was sullen, but he didn't bother to call them out.With a bitter smile, I grabbed the microphone and addressed the crowd. "That's all for today's party. Please enjoy the food and drinks. You can get your gifts back from Mr. Knowles and Ms. Lawson as you leave. And if they'd like to announce their engagement, I'd be happy to witness it."I set the microphone down and turned to leave.Ivan grabbed my wrist. "What are you doing? It's our big day. Don't cause a scene and embarrass both of us.""Cause a scene?" I pulled my arm free and gave him a cold stare. "Care to explain the ring on Alba's finger and the bracelet on her daughter's wrist?"Ivan cringed, looking away."No? I'll answer for you," I smirked. "You said the ring was customized f

Chapter 2

As Alba passed me, she whispered, "You lost."I grabbed her arm. "Say that again."She gave me an innocent look, and Ivan barked, "Enough!"A sharp pain stabbed my abdomen, as if my baby was protesting, too, but I knew I couldn't break their bond.In the end, I fled the hotel, humiliated.My best friend, who arrived late, rushed to my side, steadying me as I stumbled.From my dazed expression, Savannah Hart could tell the engagement had crashed and burned."I knew you'd get hurt," she sighed. "I should have done anything to break you two up. That jerk doesn't deserve you.""Yeah, he doesn't," I murmured....Savannah drove me home.She wanted to keep me company, but I needed to be alone.After she left, I sank into my bed. The faint scent of Ivan's cologne lingered in the air, bringing tears to my eyes.I recalled our seven years together. He used to love me wholeheartedly.After my parents passed away, enemies came after me. Ivan stepped in, fighting them off alone and c

Chapter 3

Ivan rubbed his temples and softened his tone. "Alba had a fever today while helping me clean up the mess. She has got Nettie to care for. I'll check on her and be back to talk."He left in a rush, not noticing the blood dripping from my hand, cut by the broken glass.Thunder rumbled outside, and, as expected, Alba's message arrived.I knew it would hurt, but I opened it anyway.[How does it feel to wear my leftover ring? You always get my hand-me-downs. Here's a secret, since I'm in a good mood. Remember your appendicitis surgery before you got pregnant? Ivan wasn't there because he was with me. That client wasn't as important as he told you. I was.]She then sent over a voice message. In it, Ivan was humming a lullaby.[He sang this to my daughter that night he stood you up. Isn't it beautiful?]My heart broke at the revelation.I scheduled an abortion for the following Monday, packed my things, and left the house....The next evening, Ivan called.He didn't ask where I w

Chapter 4

A saleswoman walked over with a smile. "This is our promotional video, showing our members' daily lives and class snippets."My grip tightened on the phone as I watched Ivan in the video, braiding Alba's hair during a post-pregnancy recovery class."Isn't it sweet?" the saleswoman said. "He's an entrepreneur but always makes time for his wife, no matter how busy."I hung up, rubbing the mark on my ring finger. My tears started to fall uncontrollably.The saleswoman looked flustered. "Are you okay, ma'am?""Yeah," I said, forcing a smile, and left.As I passed a corner, Ivan's car passed by.Through the window, I saw him hand a piece of durian-flavored candy to Alba.I recognized the wrapper. It was my favorite.I pressed my hand against my chest and wandered down the street, but I couldn't shake the memory of how Ivan had grimaced when I ate that candy."This stuff tastes awful," he had said.Because of that, I'd stopped eating them. But now, he doted on Alba with them....

Chapter 5

...They rushed me back into surgery.This time, Ivan, who'd missed every prenatal visit, waited outside.It was ironic.After the surgery, I was sent to the hospital room.Ivan followed, his conscience stung as he looked at my pale face. He stammered, "I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd miscarry. I thought...""What? That I'm as strong as a horse?" I scoffed. "You're mistaken. You didn't cause the miscarriage. I did. The bleeding was because I was weak after the procedure. Your push just made it worse."He paused, clenching his fists. "What did you say? Say it again!"I looked at the ceiling, laughing bitterly. "I can repeat myself, but it won't change anything. Ask the doctor if you don't believe me."My indifference and defiance pricked his macho pride. His voice shook with anger. "How could you? That was our baby!"Honestly, I didn't expect him to react like this. He was hurting too.I turned my head and quietly watched him, savoring his pain and frustration.He didn't unde

Chapter 6

Ivan saw the resolve in my eyes and looked away. "I'll honor my promise. Take a rest. I'll check on you later."He hurried out.I wiped the tears from the corner of my eyes and muttered to myself, "No, you won't."...Not long after, Alba walked in and sat down gracefully on the sofa closest to me.She propped her chin up and sneered at me. "You're something. Aborting the baby to win Ivan's affection? I'm impressed."She clapped mockingly.Unperturbed, I gave her a cold stare. "If you're here to gloat, leave. Ivan and I are done. If you want the trash, he is yours."She froze, then smirked and left.The next day was Nettie's 100-day celebration.Bored, I scrolled through social media when I came across a live stream of the party.After a closer look, I realized the venue for the celebration was the same place where we had our engagement.The whole place was decorated in dreamy pink hues, gathering a large crowd. Among them were reporters from top news agencies.Then there

Chapter 7

I forced a smile, fighting the nausea.After Ivan left, I got up and hurried to the bathroom to wash my hands eight times before I felt better.Then I grabbed my packed bags and headed to the airport earlier than planned.Just before the flight took off, I got a text from Ivan.He asked what I wanted to eat the next morning. I didn't reply and just blocked him.After I told Savannah about my plans, I set off for my journey abroad....Ivan stared at his phone, waiting for my reply, but it never came.On the seventh time he checked his screen, Alba's voice broke through the silence, nasally from her cold."If you're so worried about Betsy, go check on her. I can manage alone," she said.Ivan looked up at Nettie, who was still crying from the fever, and hesitated. "I'll make a call. Will be back soon."He didn't know why, but ever since leaving the ward, he had been feeling uneasy.He grew even more anxious as he thought about how cold I had been to him recently and how my at

Chapter 8

The thought that I left because of Alba made Ivan furious."Nettie is your daughter, not mine," he snapped. "Don't call me again. Also, go to HR tomorrow and handle your resignation. Get out of my company."This was the first time he had rejected Alba for me.It wasn't so hard. But just because he hadn't done so, he lost me.At home, he stared at the empty house and crouched down. He held his head, crying uncontrollably.In the kitchen, the oven still held the cranberry cookies I had baked.I loved cookies so much, but Ivan scolded me every time, calling them rubbish with no nutritional value.He picked up one, put it in his mouth, and chewed it along with his tears. He cried, "Betsy, come back! I was wrong!"The people he sent out to look for me came back with nothing.Frustrated, Ivan lay on the bed I had once slept in and stared blankly at the ceiling.Suddenly, something occurred to him, and his body jerked up. Losing no time, he rushed to Savannah's house.Savannah wasn

Chapter 9

He looked at me with swollen eyes. "Betsy, it's been so long."My first reaction was to grab Savannah and get out of there fast. But Ivan was like the plague. He wasn't going to let me slip away that easily.He didn't touch me, just followed me around and repented his mistakes until his voice cracked. He couldn't even get the words out, but even so, he refused to give up.That night, it snowed.Savannah and I curled up in my little rented apartment, having grilled cheese and tomato soup to warm up.Through the gap in the curtain that wouldn't quite close, I saw Ivan's pale face.He stood in the snow, begging me to meet him. Not interested, I let him wait outside all night....The next day, the snow stopped.The sun shone brightly, but it was still cold.I was running late for work and forgot to grab a jacket. Ivan stumbled after me, took off his suit, and draped it over my shoulders.I turned to look at him, and he forced a smile."Put it on. I'd hate for you to catch a co

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