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Home / Front Seat Stolen: My Girlfriend's Biggest Regret / Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Lahat ng Kabanata ng Front Seat Stolen: My Girlfriend's Biggest Regret: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

10 Kabanata

Chapter 1

I sat down on that damp seat, the icy cold liquid instantly soaking through my expensive suit pants.The chilling sensation spread from my skin all the way to my heart, cold enough to make me gag.The entire way, Ruby Carrington hummed a tune I'd never heard before. She was in a great mood, completely indifferent to how I felt.When we arrived at the restaurant—an award-winning restaurant that was almost impossible to get a table at—she still hadn't apologized for what she'd said earlier, nor did she make any attempt to reassure me.Halfway through the meal, she suddenly pulled out a velvet box that had an engagement ring nestled inside. The velvet around the box was already somewhat worn, as if it had been handled and fidgeted with too many times."Put this on, Bruno. It's been seven years. The family has waited long enough."She sat there and casually tossed the ring to me without even lifting her eyes.The moment I slid the ring onto my ring finger, my heart sank. It was a fu

Chapter 2

The cuffs of the shirt were rolled up, and the collar was opened very low. That was the spare shirt I kept in the office lounge for emergencies."Mr. Keaton, you're here."But Emmett didn't get up. Instead, he just flashed me a brilliant smile. "Ms. Carrington said you weren't feeling well, so she asked me to help organize your files first."As he spoke, he deliberately waved the cup in his hand. "This cup is really pretty. Ms. Carrington said I can have it. You won't mind, right?"I stared at him, the suffocating pressure from my mysophobia making my fingertips go numb."Put it down," I said, my voice icy.As if startled, Emmett's hand jerked. The scalding coffee poured straight onto the financing proposal I'd just printed out last night. The brown liquid instantly spread across the papers, ruining three consecutive all-nighters' worth of my work."Oh, no! I'm so sorry!"He jumped up in a panic, babbling apologies, but his eyes sparkled with provocation.Colleagues around us

Chapter 3

"Help me get in touch with that investment bank that's been trying to poach me. I'm ready to jump ship," I told the headhunter.At the same time, I started going through all the assets we held jointly. Since everything was already tainted, I might as well destroy it all.…The company's semi-annual team-building dinner was held at an upscale seafood restaurant.Ruby insisted on bringing Emmett along and had him sit to her right. Meanwhile, I—the so-called soon-to-be fiance—was squeezed into a corner at the far end of the long table.Throughout dinner, Ruby's attention never left Emmett. She peeled shrimp for him and tended to him with meticulous care.No one mentioned me. I might as well have been an extra on the scene.Suddenly, Emmett looked up, his eyes landing on one of the restaurant's signature dishes on the table—shrimp croquettes coated in thick, fruity sauce.He spooned one up himself and, in front of everyone, placed it onto my plate."Mr. Keaton, this is the restaur

Chapter 4

"Ruby, I nearly died," I said, my tone low and flat, without any inflection.There was a pause on the other end of the line, followed by Ruby's scoffing laugh."Enough already. Stop playing the victim. That trick gets old when you overuse it."There's a meeting at 2:00 pm. If you're not there, I'll deduct your year-end bonus."I calmly hung up the phone. No anger, no making a scene. Then, I called the moving company and told them to be at the house at 2:00 pm on the dot.…I went back to the office, but it wasn't to help Emmett with his proposal. No, it was to wait for the real show to begin.Today was the signing ceremony for a multinational project, one that was very important to the company. When I walked into the conference room, Emmett was smugly presenting his so-called "accomplishments"—a data report that he had altered on his own. To show off his capabilities, he'd lowered several cost items, making the profit margins appear sky-high.But that was illegal and would in

Chapter 5

Enduring the agonizing pain, I went to the police station first to file a formal report and submit all the evidence.Only after giving my statement did I head to the hospital to get my wound treated.The doctor said that if the cut had just been less than an inch deeper, the nerves in my hand would have been completely severed. Although they managed to repair the damage, in the future, it would be basically impossible for me to lift anything heavy or draw detailed designs ever again.Staring at my hand, thickly wrapped in gauze, I unexpectedly felt a strange sense of relief.At the same time, Ruby was calling me nonstop, as if she'd lost her mind. I simply powered off my phone and threw it into the trash.She thought I was still the same as before—throwing a little tantrum, and in the end, I'd come crawling back to her.After all, I'd once loved her so deeply that I had lost myself in the process.At the moment, Ruby was throwing a "victory party" at the house with Emmett. Even

Chapter 6

"Rue, what do these numbers even mean? I don't understand them…" Emmett whined.For the first time, Ruby found his soft, needy tone so grating that it made her want to kill someone.…Six months was more than enough time to drag an arrogant, untouchable woman down into the dust.Because of a tax audit and the loss of its core talent, Ruby's company had become nothing more than an empty shell.Investors pulled out one after another, and creditors camped outside the building every day.To cover the tax debt, she sold the company and the house. In the end, even her million-dollar watch ended up in a pawnshop.Now, she was crammed into a dark, damp basement in a low-income neighborhood in the city. The air reeked of mold, and the walls crawled with cockroaches. For someone like her who'd once lived in comfort and luxury, this was basically hell on earth.As for Emmett—the man who once swore he'd rebuild everything alongside her—the moment he realized she was well and truly broke, h

Chapter 7

My voice was low, but it cut like ice."I have mysophobia, and not just with things. When a person is filthy, even glancing at them makes me feel like my eyes have been sullied."I motioned for the security guards to drag her out. As she was pulled away, she continued screaming my name.But my new business partner only asked gently, "Do you want to step outside for some fresh air?"I smiled and nodded. Yes, the air outside would be much cleaner than the air in here.…Ruby didn't stop even after she was thrown out.She registered an account online and started posting about our "seven-year love story". In her videos, she portrayed herself as the victim, packaging herself as a pitiful woman who had lost her lover due to a momentary lapse in judgment.She called me heartless and ruthless and claimed that when her company was in trouble, I ran off with all her money and staff. She asserted that all my current success was built on her sweat and blood.As my name had recently skyroc

Chapter 8

Ruby wrote, "Bruno Keaton, if I die in front of you, will you forgive me?"I let out a cold scoff when I read the message. Did she think that her good-for-nothing life could still evoke anything in me emotionally?My fingers danced across the screen, and I replied with just four words. "Don't dirty the floor."People like her even wanted to make their death dramatic. Too bad I had no intention of looking at her even once again.…Ruby didn't actually have the courage to kill herself. Selfish to the core, she valued her own life more than anyone else's.But living became far worse than dying.Because of the video exposing everything, she became the laughingstock of the entire city. No company dared hire her anymore.She could only deliver food at the docks or clean public restrooms. Ironically, the woman who would lose her temper over a single wrinkle in her shirt back then now spent every day dealing with filth.Due to the terrible living conditions and long-term heavy drinkin

Chapter 9

I still had mysophobia, but I'd learned to make peace with myself.One day, I was sitting in my studio, sketching out ideas for a new collection, when my phone rang. It was an unknown number.The caller identified himself as someone from a police station in one of the suburbs."Is this Mr. Bruno Keaton? We have an unclaimed body here. We found your contact information among her personal effects."My hand stilled, and the pen dragged a long, dark streak across the paper."Who?""Her name is Ruby Carrington. The cause of death was organ failure triggered by a pulmonary infection."The officer's voice sounded slightly distorted over the line."She was clutching a photo of you until the very end. And… a rusted metal ring."I fell silent for a long time.A flood of images flashed through my mind, finally freezing on the damp water stain on the passenger seat from that day many years ago."Mr. Keaton, would you be able to come by and handle the arrangements?"I looked out the win

Chapter 10

I listened to Emmett's accusations, only finding them absurd."Emmett Stone," I said. "Have you forgotten who wore my shirt and lay in my bed just to taunt me?"And who deliberately altered the data and then tried to send me to prison?"I walked toward him step by step. I hated the dust around here, but my presence alone forced him to stumble back several paces."If you were so devoted to her, why did you run off with the last of her rainy day funds when she went bankrupt and ended up living on the streets?"His face instantly went deathly pale. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. People like him always demanded that others be saints while never examining their own ugliness.He suddenly squatted down and burst into sobs, trying to wring sympathy from me with his performance."I'm broke… That woman hit me and kicked me out…"I looked at him, but nothing in me stirred.Once, I'd thought he was the biggest stain on my life. But now, it seemed like he wasn't even worth an

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