Lahat ng Kabanata ng Regret Is Just The Beginning: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

Moments later, Diana shut down her computer and gathered a few documents neatly into a folder. The laboratory floor was spotless as usual, polished to a shine under the bright white lights overhead that hummed faintly. Researchers moved quietly in the background, their footsteps measured and deliberate, their voices low and professional as they discussed data and results.She stepped away from her desk, adjusting the sleeve of her lab coat with practiced ease.That was when she noticed it.A crumpled piece of paper lay beside one of the waste bins near the hallway corner. It was small, barely noticeable but out of place in an environment where precision and order mattered above all else, where everything had its place.Diana paused.Without thinking twice, she walked toward it and bent slightly, picking it up between her fingers. She straightened and dropped it neatly into the bin where it belonged."Diana."The voice came from behind her.Deep. Familiar. Unwelcome.She froze for a

“Let’s go to the conference room.”Merlin’s voice was flat. Controlled. Professional.He didn't wait for a response. He simply turned and began walking down the corridor, his polished shoes moving steadily against the glossy floor.Henry stood still for a brief second, feeling the weight in the air — the shift in atmosphere that had happened the moment Diana walked away. He slipped his hands into his pockets and followed, his face carefully neutral.Martins adjusted the file he was carrying and trailed behind his boss. Lauren followed too, though her steps were slower, her eyes restless.They were halfway down the hallway when Lauren’s gaze drifted through the glass partition of an adjacent office space.She saw Diana.Diana was bent slightly over a desk, reviewing a stack of files. Her hair fell gently over one side of her face as she flipped through papers, focused and undisturbed.Lauren stopped walking.Her heels halted sharply against the tile.Henry and Martins continued a few

"Look, Henry," Lauren said urgently, her finger pointing sharply toward the lawn below, her voice rising with excitement. "Is that Mrs. Golding dating Merlin Eastwood?"Her voice carried shock, but beneath it was something sharper, accusation mixed with vindication.Henry stepped forward, his polished shoes stopping at the edge of the concrete steps. He leaned slightly, narrowing his eyes as he looked down at the two figures laughing beneath the tree on the institute grounds.Diana.And Merlin.They stood close, too close for Henry's liking.Merlin said something again, his expression animated, and Diana laughed freely, genuinely, her hand resting briefly against his arm before she withdrew it naturally. The sunlight filtered through the branches above them, catching in her hair, making it shine. She looked lighter somehow. Unburdened. Happy.Henry's jaw tightened visibly."Is that why she hasn't come home to you?" Lauren pressed, her tone lowering as if revealing a scandalous secr

"I'm not coming."Diana's voice carried a firmness that surprised even her. The words felt heavy, as though they had been sitting in her chest for weeks, waiting patiently for release.On the other end of the call, Selena's eyes widened. She stood frozen in the quiet corner of the classroom, her small fingers tightening around the phone until her knuckles turned white."But why?" she asked, her voice trembling with confusion and hurt. "I need you there. I want you to come."There was no childish pride in her tone now. Just raw pleading, desperation.Diana closed her eyes briefly. The memory of the pool flashed again; the cold water closing over her head, the panic, the voice that had chosen someone else over her when she needed help most."Just take Lauren with you," Diana snapped, her voice sharp, tired, final.Selena opened her mouth to argue, to beg, to protest—But the line went dead.The call had ended abruptly.Selena slowly pulled the phone away from her ear. She stared at the

"Uncle Merlin had a crush on you for a long time," Emma said again, as if she wanted to make sure the words fully landed this time; that they had traveled the full distance between her mouth and Diana's understanding.She counted them on her tiny fingers, nodding proudly at her own bravery for revealing such important and highly classified information.Diana looked away immediately, her cheeks warming in a way she hadn't felt in years. A soft blush spread across her face before she could stop it, and she tried to hide it by adjusting the cushion behind her back with unnecessary focus, as though the cushion had been the problem all along.Emma noticed.Her smile widened mischievously, the way a child's does when they realize they've discovered something useful."He still does," she added, her voice dropping into a dramatic whisper that was somehow louder than her regular speaking voice.Diana pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to laugh. Her heart was beating faster than she