All Chapters of The Bad Boy’s Regret: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

MONICAI kept gagging until nothing came out except air that burned my throat.When I finally sat back, wiping my mouth with my sleeve, he looked at me with this softness that made me want to cry even harder. “Are you okay?”I nodded even though I wasn’t. “Just… just take me home please.”He didn’t ask anything else. He helped me into the car gently like I was made of something fragile, like glass, like thin ice, and he drove me home without saying another word.My house was dark except for the kitchen light, which was never a good sign because my dad only stayed in the kitchen when he was replaying a thousand worries in his mind and pretending chopping fruits or wiping counters made them go away.He turned when he heard the door open, his hands still on the dish towel. “Monnie? You’re back.”I swallowed, trying to breathe normally, trying not to look like the world had eaten me alive.He sighed softly. “I don’t want to argue.” He leaned against the counter, looking older than usual,

MONICA The air outside was cold and I inhaled like I’d been drowning inside that house but the moment the gate clicked shut behind us, Gabriel groaned and rubbed his jaw with his thumb, his face twisted in pain and regret all at once. “Okay I screwed up,” he muttered, his voice low but rough like gravel and I could tell he was replaying everything in his head too, the way he swung back at Damian like he just couldn’t help himself. “I shouldn’t have taken the bait, Monica, I know I shouldn’t have punched him back, I just—he pissed me off and I’m sorry, okay? I’m really sorry.”I stopped walking because the anger inside me was boiling too fast and too loud and I turned to him, my hair sticking to my face with sweat and frustration and my chest lifting in quick sharp breaths, and I shook my head. “No,” I snapped, even, “don’t apologize for defending yourself. He hit you first. Anyone would’ve reacted. It’s not your fault.”Gabriel blinked at me like the words surprised him but relieve

MONICAI smacked his arm. “You hooked up with Dominic Sullivan? Do you want to die? Do you want his dad to personally cancel your entire bloodline?”He scrunched his nose. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not like he cares. He totally snubbed me the next day, pretended he didn’t know me in front of his friends, and I swear I almost punched him in the throat.”I sighed. “Jules…”“I hate it when guys act like that,” he muttered, glaring at the windshield. “Why hide it? Why act like they’re too good to be themselves?”I shrugged, softer now. “Because his dad is… well, you know. He’s the definition of alpha-male monster. And his mom literally owns the biggest makeup empire in the country. Dominic probably didn’t get bedtime stories growing up, just business lectures and protein shakes. Definitely protein shake because... that body”Jules huffed. “Yeah.... That body. Fuck. Whatever. He’s a red flag.”“The reddest,” I agreed.“He’d break my heart,” he added.“He absolutely would,” I nodded.“But da

DAMIAN Gabriel wiped the corner of his lip, scoffing like he wasn’t the one who started acting all righteous two minutes ago. “Funny hearing that from you,” he said, all cool and cocky and fake. Then he turned his head—toward where Monica had been. Or maybe where he thought she was. I didn’t know. I didn’t care. All I knew was the professor was still talking and Gabriel was still breathing and Monica was gone.The hands on me tightened when I tried to go after him again.“I said enough!” the professor yelled.I ripped myself out of her grip finally, shrugging her off with so much force she stumbled a step back. “Get off me,” I snapped, already storming through the hallway because I didn’t care who was yelling or staring or recording, I was done with this circus.I needed to find answers. And unfortunately that meant finding Zoey.I found her where girls like her always were, against her locker with her little fan club of low budget mean girls casts, showing them her phone like she w

MONICA The crowd murmured. Some confused. Some annoyed. Some clearly entertained because rich people loved mess when it wasn’t theirs.Gabriel froze in his seat, eyes widening just a little before he stood too late to stop her.Zoey flipped her hair, leaned into the mic and let out a fake laugh. “So, like… I’m sure everyone noticed that my project with Gabriel was obviously—obviously—the most expensive.”Someone coughed loudly. Another donor shifted uncomfortably.She kept going. “Like, come on. You can tell just by the look of it. The materials alone—wow. But somehow theirs—” she pointed directly at ours “—that thing made out of garbage finds, got the highest bid?”Julian muttered, “Oh my God she’s actually doing this. Live. Worldwide humiliation arc.”I wanted to hide my face. Damian’s fist flexed but he stayed seated, jaw locked.Zoey smiled wider, too wide. “I’m not saying theirs isn’t… nice. Cute. Very arts and crafts. But the value? The cost? You all really put more money into