All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Regret After His Daughter Died: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

38 Chapters

The Weight of Her Hatred

Damien's POVI had come here with genuine intentions.To apologize to Lily. To make things right.She was just a child, after all. Five years old. My harsh words yesterday had been unfair.But Elara's claims about Lily being dead were impossible.Just yesterday morning, Lily had been alive. Running around our patio. Calling me "Daddy" with that bright smile. Playing with her dolls.Children didn't just disappear overnight.Isabella had been understanding about the pool incident. Generous, even."I won't hold grudges against a five-year-old," she'd said when I called her this morning. "Children don't have bad intentions. But they can learn... unfortunate behaviors from the adults around them."Her words had struck me. If Lily was becoming rude and impulsive, perhaps it was learned behavior.Perhaps Elara was teaching her these things.It wasn't impossible. Elara had always been jealous of Isabella. Maybe she was turning Lily against her.But as I stood in our hallway, watching Elara's

Let Me Go

Elara's POVWhen I opened my eyes and saw Damien kissing me, I pushed him away immediately.The thought of where those lips had been made my stomach turn. Isabella's lips. Isabella's skin. Isabella's bed.Just hours ago, he had been with her. I could still smell her perfume on his shirt.I rolled to the side and dry heaved. Nothing came up. I hadn't eaten in days."What's wrong with you?" Damien asked. His voice was sharp with confusion and irritation.I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. The taste of him made me sick."I want a divorce.""A divorce?" He stared at me like I'd spoken a foreign language. "You're being ridiculous.""I'm being realistic."Damien's expression hardened. His jaw set in that stubborn line I knew so well."A divorce is disruptive to a child's development," he said. His voice took on that lecturing tone he used in business meetings. "I won't have Lily growing up in a broken home. She needs stability."He crossed his arms. "And if we're getting divorced

The Final Blow

Elara's POVAfter I said those words, the bedroom fell silent.Damien stared at me. His face went through several expressions. Confusion. Disbelief. Then something that might have been panic."Let you go?" he repeated slowly."Yes.""I don't want to let you go."The words should have meant something. Once upon a time, they would have meant everything to me.Now they felt empty."What you want doesn't matter anymore," I said quietly."It does matter." He stepped closer. "We matter. Our marriage matters."I almost laughed at the irony. After six years of treating our marriage like a burden, now he wanted to claim it mattered."Isabella is back now," he continued. His voice grew more confident. "I can finally make things right with her. Give her proper compensation for all the years she lost because of our forced marriage."Even in his attempt to save our marriage, Isabella came first."Once I've settled things with Isabella, I can focus on being a better husband to you. A better father

The Last Gift

Elara's POVI ignored Isabella's call completely.As for whose baby she was carrying, that didn't require guessing.I dressed carefully that morning. Black suit. Simple jewelry. I looked like a woman attending a funeral.In a way, I was.The law office sat downtown in a gleaming tower. All glass and steel. Cold and professional.Perfect for what I needed to do."Mrs. Blackwood?" The receptionist smiled brightly. "Mr. Richardson will see you now."David Richardson looked exactly like his website photo. Silver hair, expensive suit, kind eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses."Please, have a seat." He gestured to the leather chair across from his mahogany desk. "You mentioned divorce proceedings on the phone.""Yes. I need papers drawn up.""Of course. What type of settlement were you hoping to negotiate?""I don't want anything."He paused, pen halfway to paper. "I'm sorry?""No money. No property. No alimony. I just want out."Richardson set down his pen entirely. "Mrs. Blackwood, in a divorc

Warm Hands

Elara's POVThe handbag sat on my dresser like a cruel joke.Isabella had picked it out. Not Damien.Every gesture of appreciation, every moment of seeming thoughtfulness, had been orchestrated by his mistress.I stared at the expensive leather until my eyes burned.Then I walked to my closet and pulled out the old suitcase I'd brought to this marriage six years ago.I packed with deliberate care.My own clothes, the simple dresses and comfortable sweaters I'd worn.Everything from my life before I became Mrs. Blackwood.A photo of my foster parents on their wedding day.The ceramic mug Lily had painted for me at school last Christmas. Her handprint preserved in clay, now the only proof she'd ever existed in this house.I left behind every designer gown hanging in my walk-in closet.Every piece of jewelry locked away in velvet boxes.Every expensive handbag and shoe that had been purchased to dress me up like a doll.None of it had ever been chosen with love. None of it had ever been t

Childhood Shadows

Elara's POVThe voice behind me was gentle. Concerned.I turned slowly, pain shooting through my injured knee.Dark hair with threads of silver at the temples. Kind brown eyes that crinkled at the corners. A face that had matured but remained essentially unchanged."Liam?"Liam Carter stood behind me. My childhood neighbor. My first friend in this neighborhood."My God, Elara. What happened to you?"He looked older now. More refined. Success had given him confidence and polish.But his eyes were still the same. Still warm. Still safe.We'd grown up together on these streets. Walking to school every morning. Coming home together every afternoon.He'd eaten dinner at my foster parents' table more nights than I could count. Always welcome. Always part of our little family.Until we were sixteen. Until everything changed."Someone stole my purse," I managed. "Knocked me down."Liam's expression darkened with anger. "Are you hurt? Can you stand?"I tried to put weight on my left leg. Sharp

The Perfect Performance

Elara's POVDamien’s gray eyes bored into mine with laser intensity.I looked at this man.He had spent our daughter's final hours in another woman's bed.He had chosen Isabella's dog over his dying child.He had refused to believe Lily was gone even when I held her ashes in my hands.Six years of hoping.I believed that someday he might see me.But he treated me like an unwanted obligation while he pined for someone else.The bitterness rose in my throat like poison.I wanted to disgust him. Wanted him to feel what it was like to be discarded for someone else's happiness."Yes," I said clearly. "If you can have Isabella, why can't I have Liam?"The lie came so easily it surprised me.But watching Damien's face go pale with shock and rage, I felt a dark satisfaction I hadn't expected.Good.Let him know how it felt.Let him experience the knife-twist of betrayal.Of course, it wasn't true.Liam and I were nothing more than childhood friends reunited by chance.But Damien didn't know th

A Second Chance

Elara's POVIsabella's barely concealed joy hung in the air like perfume.Too sweet. Too obvious. Too triumphant.But then Damien's expression darkened. His jaw clenched with familiar stubborn anger."You're doing this on purpose," he said coldly. His voice cut through the hospital room like ice. "You know perfectly well that Grandmother's eightieth birthday is coming."I blinked in surprise.Of all the objections I'd expected, this wasn't one of them."You're deliberately trying to cause a scene right before the most important celebration of her life," he continued. His gray eyes burned with accusation. "How selfish can you be?"Selfish. The word would have once sent me spiraling into guilt and self-doubt.Now it just felt ridiculous."We can hide it from her," I said calmly. "You can divorce me quietly. I can still play the part of the perfect granddaughter-in-law for one night."The offer was generous. More than generous.Most women in my position would have demanded he explain the

The Cruel Truth

Elara's POVI laughed and gently pushed Liam away."Don't joke around like that."His expression was serious. Not joking at all.But I couldn't handle that conversation. Not today.Liam drove me back to my small house in comfortable silence. He helped me inside and made sure I was settled on the couch."I can take care of myself," I told him. "You should go home and rest.""I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone. Not after today."His concern was genuine. Protective without being possessive.So different from what I was used to."I'll be fine. Really."We exchanged phone numbers. I carefully saved his number, typing his name, Liam, into my phone."Call me if you need anything," he said. "Even if it's just to talk.""I will.""Promise?""I promise."Only then did he seem satisfied enough to leave.The house felt peaceful after he was gone. Quiet in a way that soothed rather than oppressed.I was about to make some tea when someone knocked on the door.Probably Liam returning because

Reclaiming My Life

Elara's POVOne month later, the wounds on my body had finally healed.The scrapes from the motorcycle incident were now just faint pink lines. My knee no longer throbbed with every step.But the deeper wounds, the ones that couldn't be seen, were taking much longer to mend.I spent those weeks in my small house. Surrounded by the quiet comfort of my childhood home.No marble halls echoing with loneliness. No expensive artwork staring down at me with cold judgment.Just peace.Liam called every day. Sometimes twice. Always checking if I needed anything.His concern was steady. Reliable. Never demanding more than I could give.During our conversations, I mentioned my college studies. Architecture. The designs I'd abandoned when I became Mrs. Blackwood."You studied architecture?" His voice had brightened with genuine interest. "I didn't know that.""At university. I even designed some projects for the government.""Really? Which ones?"I told him about the landmark building downtown. Th

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