All Chapters of The Billionaire's Regret: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

53 Chapters

Not a Coincidence

Luc was still looking confused, Julien adjusting his headset, Claire pretending to check her notes while very obviously sharpening her ears. Everyone was waiting for me to speak.Great.Fantastic.This is the moment, Jasmine. You’ve presented in front of a board. You’ve yelled at contractors. You pushed a human being out of your own body. One ex-husband with a beautiful jawline should not be allowed to make you look stupid on Zoom.I felt every micro-expression on my face trying to escape at once. Panic ready to surge, anger lining up behind it, hysterical laughter waiting its turn. I shoved them all back. I kept only one: the safe thin smile I used to wear for Belsky family photos.“Yes,” I said, voice surprisingly steady. “The world is very small.”Claire smiled, thinking it was a light comment about the rich-people network. Luc gave a little laugh. “Apparently,” he said. “Well, that makes this easier. There’s… familiarity.”Sebastian rested his elbow on the table, his large frame l

Last Updated : 2026-02-07

A Week Away, A Past Too Close

The restaurant chose soft lighting instead of dramatic darkness. Thank God. I’d had enough drama for one night.We sat on a small terrace facing the sea; the wind carried salt and a hint of overexcited tourist perfume. The lights in the port shimmered below, boats swaying lazily. Our table was small, white tablecloth, a tiny candle in the middle. The perfect date-night setting if my brain wasn’t packed with TNT.“This is really good,” Adrian said, setting down the menu. “Thanks for kidnapping me from my laptop.”“I’m saving you from becoming an urban legend. ‘The programmer who fused with a coworking chair’,” I replied. “They’re about to put a plaque there.”He laughed, the lines at the corner of his eyes appearing.The waiter came, took our orders: I chose seafood pasta, and Adrian, for reasons unknown, always ordered something involving potatoes. One bottle of white wine. Safe.Once the waiter left, Adrian leaned back in his chair, turning his glass slowly on the table. “I have to t

Last Updated : 2026-02-08

What We Choose to Carry

Adrian lowered his head, staring at his plate as if the potatoes could offer answers more polite than anything a human mouth could give. His fingers turned the stem of his wineglass slowly, slowly, until the candlelight began reflecting in restless fragments across the surface.“I’m not trying to sound defensive,” he muttered. “I’m just… tired.”I didn’t interrupt. I let the silence work, let him choose where he wanted to start unraveling this thread. There was something different about Adrian whenever he talked about them. His shoulders tightened, barely an inch, the weight of something old pulling at him.He rubbed his jaw, then gave a humorless puff of laughter. “I grew up with a father who… was there,” he said. “And that sounds like the most normal thing in the world. He was affectionate with my mom. He woke me up in the mornings. He sat at the edge of my bed when I had a fever. He came to my stupid little sports games even when I was benched the whole time. He lived with us, Jas.

Last Updated : 2026-02-09

No Romano on the List

The sun was already high over the Monaco sea when I decided to pretend I didn’t see it. The blinds in my office were half-lowered, letting thin slashes of light cut through the room like highlights in an editorial photo.On my desk, three Montreux layout sets lay spread out: hand sketches, CAD printouts, and a digital moodboard staring back at me like it was demanding rent.My second coffee stood next to the mouse, already cold. I drank it anyway. Still better than swallowing thoughts about the Romano brothers.Emails lined the screen neatly, most of them labeled with wonderfully boring things like revised timeline and attached please find. Good. My brain needed boring. Things without blue eyes or a last name that helped prop up the European economy.The phone beside my keyboard buzzed once. Group notification.Rhea: Poppy just convinced a French baker to give her an extra croissant “because I am growing, it’s biology, you know.”Hazel: She corrected his pronunciation of her name. In

Last Updated : 2026-02-10

Work Hard, Daddy

Airports always have their own way of making people look slightly more exhausted than they should.We pull up to the drop-off lane. The driver opens the trunk. Adrian steps out first from the other side, his black jacket falling neatly over his shoulders, laptop backpack in one hand, carry-on in the other. He looks like a business traveler ad: calm, efficient, faintly sleep-deprived.Poppy jumps out of the car with Hazel’s help, her little pink jacket open, bangs half covering her round green eyes. Her chubby cheeks are flushed from the car’s AC.“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!” she wiggles in place because… too excited.A small alarm goes off in the back of my head. Usually this is where the pouting lips show up, the glassy eyes, the accusation: why are you leaving me, it’s illegal.Hazel steps out on the other side, sunglasses still perched in her hair. Rhea follows, her long coat fluttering dramatically. Both of them look more prepared for a street-style photo than for sending someone off at

Last Updated : 2026-02-11

Night Ritual

The front door closed softly behind us, the click echoing off the marble foyer. Rhea immediately dropped the car keys into the ceramic bowl on the console, already halfway out of her jacket. Hazel kicked off her heels one by one toward the rack with sniper precision.“I’m ordering food before my metabolism files a complaint,” Hazel muttered, digging for her phone. “There’s a Lebanese place open till midnight. And pizza. And maybe sushi. And—”“—and we are not feeding a soccer team,” I cut in, peeling Poppy’s coat off before it could sweep the floor. “One small human, two New York humans, one me. That’s it.”“New York humans count twice,” Rhea called, already drifting toward the living room, her skirt swaying. “Trust me. We’re existentially hungry.”Poppy wrapped one arm around my left leg. “Mommy, I no sleepy.”“Of course not,” I said flatly, hanging up our coats. “That’s why your eyes are about to meet your chin.”She blinked hard, trying to prove me wrong. Her eyelids still drooped.

Last Updated : 2026-02-12

Cocktails, Crystal, and a Last Name

The next night, Monaco looked far too polished for someone who was only attending a “small networking party.”The car stopped in front of Luc’s building. Its glass façade reflected the city lights, the sea behind it gleaming black like something expensive and slightly dangerous.I took a breath and smoothed the skirt of my dress over my thighs. Simple, Daniella had said. It fell softly to mid-calf, thin straps, black that was never truly simple in this city. My makeup was natural. The “I woke up like this” version, if the person waking up happened to own concealer, highlighter, and generational trauma.Beside me, Daniella checked her lipstick one last time using her front camera. Her hair was softly blown out, satin blazer draped over her shoulders, cream slip dress underneath. The “supporting creative team” version who could absolutely steal someone’s job if she felt like it.“Hazel sent a new Poppy photo,” she said, angling her phone toward me.On the screen, Poppy sat on the sofa i

Last Updated : 2026-02-13

Hint Point : Locked

Luc was still leaning against the glass railing, “Trust me,” he chuckled. “If there’s anyone allergic to small talk, it’s Sebastian. The man can sit through a three-hour board meeting without saying a word, then walk out with everyone agreeing with him. And now he suddenly wants to… socialize.”I said nothing, because I’d seen Sebastian at parties before. Not the “socializing” version. The version that held a room without touching anyone. He’d stand like an expensive statue in the corner, accept greetings with a single nod, then leave before dessert was served. He never came for people. People came for him.But, Daniella did not come with a mute button.“This makes no sense,” she hissed. “Yesterday Adrian literally said Sebastian can’t even be bothered to show up for family dinners. He’d rather send an expensive gift and an excuse.”Luc nodded, agreeing. “Exactly. That’s why I’m saying this is… unexpected.” He glanced at me, eyes narrowing slightly as he studied my face. “And you… yo

Last Updated : 2026-02-14

Muscle Memory

“I heard there’s something here worth seeing.”Luc laughed a little too quickly. “If you mean my champagne, I’m offended,” he said. “If you mean… the project, yes, we have plenty to discuss. Would you like me to—”Sebastian shifted the glass in his hand, his fingers brushing the crystal without a sound. One brow lifted slightly.“Is your CFO here?” he asked.His tone shifted just a fraction. Cooler. Drier. Business mode. I knew that voice. It was the one that could make an entire room start calculating losses before the meeting even began.Luc turned instinctively, scanning the space. “Julien?” he called.Julien, who’d been standing near the bar, looked up. He excused himself from the small circle around him and walked over, drink in hand.“Boss,” he said to Luc. Then, “Mr. Romano.” A nod. Sebastian returned it with a one-centimeter dip of his chin.Luc made a small, sweeping gesture between them. “Well,” he said brightly, “since we’ve managed to gather both the financial brain and th

Last Updated : 2026-02-15

My Undoing

Luc lifted his glass toward me, then turned to Julien. “Come on, CFO. Let’s go pretend to be friendly to the other guests before they realize we only care about numbers.”Julien shot me a relieved smile, then disappeared into the crowd with Luc.My chest was still rising and falling, slow and sharp enough to make the thin straps on my shoulders feel tight.Cold air grazed my neck, trailed along my jawline, raised a line of goosebumps. Sebastian’s cologne still clung to the air here, threaded with sea salt. The combination nudged something in my head, like a tiny hand flipping on a projector.Flash: another balcony, another city.Our old New York penthouse. The Hudson lights across the river, the stream of cars on the West Side Highway. I’d been leaning against the railing, swallowed in a baggy hoodie, hair a mess, mouth full of an argument about ceiling height and sense of scale. Sebastian stood a step behind me, one hand holding his whiskey glass, the other braced on my waist, keepin

Last Updated : 2026-02-16

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