Semua Bab A Regret too Late: Bab 261 - Bab 270

Lately, Trent had been dealing with a lot for Richard. Not only did he have to move the branch office here, but he also needed to arrange for Jonathan to come over.There were a lot of details that he needed to settle, and he didn't have the energy to worry about Richard's emotions or comfort Richard.Trent hurried off to take care of everything, went to scout the area near Brooks Jewelry in person, and planned to rent an entire floor of office space so he could temporarily relocate the company's operations there.-Meanwhile, Maria sat at the table, too restless to sleep as she thought about everything that had happened recently.Unable to sleep, she simply got up and opened her laptop, then logged onto a website to see whether any cello-related events were coming up.To her surprise, she found a cello competition.The schedule suited her, and the program requirements were a perfect match. She could even use a few new pieces she had never published before, so she signed up wi

Hector could see a hint of sorrow in Richard's eyes.Hector paused for a moment. He had to admit that Richard's desire to win Maria back was real. Richard would probably willingly pay any price to get her back, even if that price was death.The problem was that too much had happened between Richard and Maria. Richard had hurt her far too deeply. Now that he finally wanted to make amends, it was already too late. It was too late for both the belated apologies and the attempts to fix anything. Who needed them when it was already too late?When Maria's heart was breaking piece by piece, and she couldn't let go of the pain, Richard couldn't see it. Now, he would simply have to live with the consequences and pay the price of not being forgiven.The more Hector thought about it, the angrier he subconsciously felt for Maria.He snorted coolly and said, "Can you please stop lying to yourself for once? Are you still blind to your reality? No matter what you do now, Marina is not Maria,

Just as Maria was ready to leave, three women blocked her path outside.There was no one else outside the competition venue. Everyone had gone in to register.Seeing the three women suddenly walking straight toward her, Maria became alert. She kept her expression neutral. "What do you want? Isn't it enough for you to harass me just now?"The three musicians closed in with cold eyes and a half smile."Why are you here exactly? Are you really disfigured? Or are you just using this to get attention?""Don't think I can't tell you're just trying to stand out using that fancy mask of yours. If your face was really ruined, would you still care about dressing up?!"Maria took in a deep breath as she listened to those words, a cold light in her eyes. "After my disfigurement, am I no longer allowed to care about my aesthetics? My face is already ruined, so what's wrong with putting some effort into my mask? What rule did I break that makes you stop me here just to pick on me?"She turn

Richard's eyes burned with passion as he looked at Maria. "I helped you today. A simple thank you isn't enough. You should pay it back."Maria raised an eyebrow. "Did I ask you to help me?""You still owe me in the end," Richard said shamelessly, refusing to back down no matter what she said. Maria couldn't be bothered to argue back with him. She got out of the car, intending to leave.She had only taken two steps when his voice came from behind her. "I'm not trying to force you. I just want to be your friend. That's all."Maria stopped.After a moment, she turned around and looked straight at him. "Fine. I'll treat you to dinner. Tonight."Richard was stunned. He wasn't expecting her to actually agree. Before he could respond, Maria had already gone back inside.-"You are having dinner with him tonight?!" Willow practically shouted on the other side of the line when Maria told him, his voice full of disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me. Tell me you're joking. Don't sca

Maria demanded Richard in a cold voice.Richard didn't dare to say anything more. He only picked up a few pieces of meat and placed them on Jonathan's plate. In a low voice, he said, "If you don't want to talk anymore, then forget it. I was out of line. Just eat. I won't disturb you anymore."Maria ignored him, lowered her head, and hid all her bubbling emotions deep into herself.Seeing Richard was bad enough. Seeing Jonathan made it even harder for her to keep her temper in check.Out of everyone, Jonathan had hurt her the most.Her own child had betrayed her step by step, called another woman mother, and had humiliated her again and again.If she had to say who disgusted her most, other than Richard, it would be Jonathan.Jonathan was her own flesh and blood. She had raised him and poured all her effort into him. His betrayal was the one thing she couldn't accept. Even now, she felt no stir of sympathy for him at all despite knowing he repented in front of a tombstone for s