All Chapters of My CEO Husband Regretted After I left: Chapter 21 - Chapter 27

The front door of my rustic seaside B&B was locked tight.Hanging on the brass handle was a wooden sign, hand-painted in elegant cursive: "No Vacancy. Closed for the Season."Alexander’s heart sank, but he refused to give up."Leo, Mia, Mommy is probably just napping inside. We’ll wait right here. When she wakes up, she’ll open the door for us."So, the three of them sat on the limestone steps of the porch, waiting from the bright afternoon sun until the sun dipped below the horizon.Night fell. The coastal wind turned damp and biting, and a cold drizzle began to fall from the sky.Alexander took off his Burberry trench coat and held it over the children’s heads, trying his best to keep them dry.The scene mirrored the rainy afternoons when I used to pick them up from their private school. Back then, I was the one tilting the umbrella entirely over them. My shoulder would be soaked, my body shivering in the cold, just so not a single drop would touch them."Dad, I'm cold..." Mia curled

The community center director, unable to withstand Alexander’s pathetic begging any longer, finally cracked and gave him a temporary burner number I was using.Alexander held the slip of paper, his hands shaking so hard he nearly dialed the wrong digits.He took a deep breath and handed the phone to Leo and Mia."Leo, Mia, quick. Call Mom."Hearing that they could finally reach me, the kids lunged for the phone.Mia grabbed it first. Her tears started flowing instantly, and she wailed into the receiver:"Mommy! It’s me! It’s Mia!""Mommy, I want your Shepherd's Pie. Auntie Chloe's cooking tastes like garbage... actually, it tastes worse than garbage!""Mommy, please come back. Leo and I will be good, I promise. We’ll do our own laundry. We’ll clean our rooms. We won't call you annoying anymore..."Leo squeezed in, shouting desperately at the speakerphone:"Mom! I made the Honor Roll! I got straight A's on my midterms! I don't want to show Dad; I only want to show you!""Mom, don't thro

The months following my departure were the darkest of Alexander's life.Inside the company, Chloe turned witness for the prosecution, tearing into him like a rabid dog to save her own skin. Outside, the IRS and the SEC were tearing apart his financials.And at home, he was left alone to deal with two spoiled, insecure children who were terrified of the world.Because of the scandal, Leo and Mia were pariahs at their exclusive private school."Your dad is a dirtbag!""Your mom ditched you guys!"When they got home, they screamed at Alexander, throwing their designer backpacks on the floor in a rage."It's all your fault! If Mom were here, she wouldn't let them bully us! She would have gone to the Principal's office and ended them!"Alexander looked at the sobbing children and had no words. He just took it.He realized that when I was there, I had been a shield, protecting the children so perfectly that they never felt a drop of rain.Now, the storm had arrived.Just then, Grandfather St

Twenty years passed in the blink of an eye.Alexander kept his word. For twenty years, he never disturbed me. He never remarried.He turned himself into a machine, using endless work to numb the silence in his soul.Leo and Mia grew up.In the years without a mother, watching their father live in daily repentance, they were forced to mature early. They finally learned gratitude.Leo became a devoted husband who respected women. He cooked dinner for his wife every night and was attentive to her every need, terrified of repeating his father's sins.Mia became an independent, powerful woman. She didn't rely on anyone, living the vibrant life I had wanted for myself.They knew their father was suffering, but they also knew it was his penance.When Alexander turned sixty, he finally retired.He handed the reins of Sterling Enterprises to Leo and booked a solo ticket to France.Twenty years later. He just wanted to see me one last time before he died.The sun in Nice was as bright as ever.A