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Home / Romance / Too Late for Regret: My Husband and My Son / Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

All Chapters of Too Late for Regret: My Husband and My Son: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

226 Chapters

71

Julian's POV I closed my eyes for a moment. Maybe she was right. Maybe my leaving wasn’t about distance, but about a heart that had long been cracked and finally shattered today.I lifted my gaze again, exhaustion drowning whatever resistance I had left. My head throbbed, my body begging to stop. And before this argument turned into something irreversible, I chose to retreat not as a winner, but as someone who had run out of strength.“I’m dizzy,” I said at last. “I want to sleep. If you want to leave, then go.”I walked past her, but Ophelia suddenly grabbed my hand. Her grip was strong, almost painful.“Julian,” her voice was low, trembling, “have you forgotten what you said yesterday?”I stopped. I closed my eyes. I knew this was coming. And I wasn’t ready.“You said I’m your wife,” she continued. “It’s recorded. You said I am your wife.”I swallowed hard, my lips numb.Ophelia stared at me sharply, hurt and anger twisting together. “And now

72

Julian's POV How could I ask Ophelia to understand when I myself couldn’t understand the direction of my own heart?I shifted farther into the room, closing the door quietly, as if even the smallest sound could shatter something already fragile. I lay back on the bed without turning on the light. The ceiling above me was only a vague shadow, but my mind was too bright and too loud.Ophelia.Her name spun in my head along with memories that once felt certain. Light laughter in the mornings. Short conversations that felt sufficient. Simple plans I thought were the future. All of it was real. And precisely because it was real, the guilt cut deeper.I had hurt her. Not with shouting or obvious betrayal, but with something far crueler: emotional absence. By choosing to be elsewhere when she was standing right in front of me.I exhaled and closed my eyes. Vivienne’s image appeared uninvited, her pale face, her trembling embrace, the tears I held against my shoulde

73

Ophelia's POV I sat beside Maximilian’s small bed, watching his face as he slept soundly. His breathing was steady, his chest rising and falling now and then with a faint sound like a soft little snore. He was utterly exhausted after a full day of playing.I gently brushed my fingers through his fine hair, trying to calm myself through that small warmth.But what I felt instead was an emptiness that swallowed me from the inside.At last I had truly been replaced.And the one who replaced me was no stranger just Vivienne, the woman who should no longer have had a place in our lives.I slowly withdrew my hand from Maximilian’s hair, afraid the touch might wake him. This child had done nothing wrong. He never asked for this messy adult world. He only wanted to sleep feeling safe, believing that the people around him were all right.I stood and walked quietly toward the bedroom window. The curtains were half open, revealing the dim glow of the city lights o

74

Ophelia's POV I wiped my tears quickly when I heard Julian’s footsteps outside the room. A soft knock on the door made my chest tighten.“Ophelia?” he called.I stood, staring at his silhouette behind the frosted glass door. My body trembled faintly. Part of me wanted him to pull me into his arms, apologize and reassure me that I still mattered most.But another part of me felt unready to hear anything at all.Because whatever came out of his mouth next might destroy me even more.I looked at Maximilian one last time, then whispered, “I just want to be loved. That’s all ”I wiped away the remaining tears, steadied my breath, and walked toward the door, hoping I still had a place in Julian’s life. Yet deep down, I was afraid the answer would no longer be what I hoped for.Hesitantly, I opened it.Julian looked exhausted, like someone who had just lost his sense of direction. But his expression changed the moment he saw my face. His eyes, once co

75

Ophelia's POV Julian's answer didn’t ease the weight in my chest. It made it heavier. Because I knew what that fear meant: Vivienne still held a place too large in his heart. Not just as the mother of his child. But as someone he had once and perhaps still loved.I closed my eyes for a moment. A shameful, cruel envy crept in. Envy because Vivienne received the most honest version of Julian. The one who cried. Who regretted it? Who set aside his ego just to be by her side. A version that somehow had never fully been mine.When I opened my eyes again, my gaze fell on his hands. The same hands that once held mine with promises of a future. Now they trembled, as if they didn’t know where to hold on anymore.Inside my head, questions spun endlessly. Was I selfish for feeling hurt? Was I cruel for being jealous of a dying woman? Was my love strong enough to stand in the middle of this reality?I took a deep breath, trying to calm the tremor in my chest. Julian’s face

76

Julian's POV I woke up far earlier than usual. It was still dark outside, the curtains untouched, the room cold. But what pulled me from sleep wasn’t the air, it was the weight in my chest, the sense that whatever I had done last night hadn’t truly resolved anything.I had been honest with Ophelia. I had told her the real reason Vivienne was sick. A brain tumor. That was why I couldn’t walk away from her, even while trying to build something with Ophelia. That should have been enough, right? It should have made everything clearer. And yet, somehow, it didn’t feel that way.I stared at the ceiling, letting my thoughts drift without direction. The clock ticked softly, each second a reminder that time was moving forward while I remained stuck caught between two lives I couldn’t merge.Honestly, I had hoped that telling Ophelia the truth would bring some relief. Like loosening a knot that had been tightening around my chest for too long. Instead, what remained was a sha

77

Julian's POV Ophelia gave a faint nod and went to the bedroom to get ready. I stayed seated, staring at her untouched cup of coffee. Cold like her heart this morning. Flat, silent, and somehow making me feel like I was losing something I couldn’t fix with words.About half an hour later, Ophelia emerged, neatly dressed. Without much to say, she took her car keys and stood in the doorway.“Don’t forget Maximilian’s breakfast,” she said briefly.“Ophelia,” I called before she could leave completely.She looked at me for a moment. I wanted to tell her that I appreciated her. That I was sorry. That I didn’t want our relationship to fracture like this. That I wanted to do everything right. But no words came out.Because whatever I said would only sound like an excuse.“Take care,” I finally said.Ophelia gave a small, forced smile, trying to look fine. “You too.”Then the door closed, leaving behind a silence too large for this small living room to c

78

Julian's POV I hugged Maximilian, feeling his small body shake with emotion. “Yes, Maximilian. Today.”He hugged me back tighter than usual. As if he were afraid that if he let go, my words would disappear like a morning dream.“Dad, I miss Mom Vivienne,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “I miss her so much.”My chest tightened. I know, sweetheart. But I couldn’t say it. I could only rub his back and nod slowly.“Me too,” I finally said. “That’s why today we’re going to Mom’s place. We’ll see Mom Vivienne together.”He lifted his face, wet with tears he hadn’t realized were falling. “Really?”“Really.”But beneath that certainty, I felt nervous. Afraid. A mix of emotions I couldn’t fully explain.Because I didn’t know how Vivienne would react to seeing both of us. I didn’t know if it would make her happy or only make things harder for her. I didn’t know whether this was the right decision, or one driven by guilt that never stopped gnawing at m

79

Vivienne's POV This morning arrived with a gentle light too gentle for a body that still felt unbearably heavy. I moved slowly around the small apartment, as if every step had to be negotiated first with the pounding in my head. Sea air slipped in through the slightly open window, carrying a salty scent that clung to my skin and hair. I usually loved it. Today, it tasted bitter. I took my morning medication with a glass of warm water, waiting for the nausea that always came late but never failed to arrive. I sat on the edge of the bed for a long while, counting my breaths, waiting for the world to stop spinning. When I finally stood up, my legs still felt foreign, as if they didn’t belong to me. I let the wall support me, moving slowly toward the living area. The apartment was quiet. Too quiet. There was no small laughter. No hurried footsteps. No innocent questions filling every corner. I swallowed the sting in my chest and forced

80

Vivienne's POV “Max.” That was all I could manage. In an instant, he was running toward me. His small body wrapped tightly around my waist so tightly I almost lost my balance, but I didn’t care. I held him, stroked his hair, felt his heart racing like that of a child terrified of losing something precious. I closed my eyes. Tears spilled freely. I missed him. God, I missed him so deeply. “Mom, really?” he asked, looking up at me, his face wet, his voice shaking. “Is this really Mom?” I smiled through my tears. “Yes, sweetheart. It’s Mom.” Maximilian cried harder, hugging me again. “Mom, I missed you. I missed you so much ” I bit my lip, holding myself together so I wouldn’t completely fall apart. “I missed you too. So much.” Then I felt his small hand move gently, touching my cheek, as if he needed to make sure I wouldn’t disappear. “Mom’s sick, right?” he whispered.

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