บททั้งหมดของ Once His Wife, Now His Regret: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

The world seemed to tilt.It took a long moment for my mind to catch up with what he had just said.I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn’t come. It felt as if something had lodged itself in my throat.“A… I…” My voice failed me completely.Maybe it was the suddenness of it.Or maybe it was the fear.The thought of letting myself grow close to a child who wasn’t mine. Not after what I had been through. Not after loving a child I had no right to claim. And at the end of the day, she still chose her real mother over me.I drew in a slow, steady breath, forcing my thoughts into order, forcing my heart to quiet.“I don’t want this to sound…”“I don’t expect an answer right now,” he cut in gently. “I know it’s sudden.”I nodded, taking in my lower lip as I looked down on my fingers.He turned his gaze back to Hailey and we stood there together, side by side, watching her through the glass, while I kept stealing glances at him as if trying to memorize his expression.By the time the docto

I stood in front of the mirror, one hand smoothing back a stray strand of hair, while the other holding my phone to my ear as it rang out. And surprisingly, she picked up just as the call was about to drop. Not making her call her severally."Did you sleep at the hotel again?” I asked.Surprisingly, she picked up just as the call was about to drop—saving me from having to call her several times.“Did you sleep at the hotel again?” I asked.“Yes. It was late by the time I was done, so I stayed at the nearest hotel,” she replied.A part of me knew she was lying. It felt like she was avoiding coming home because Flora was staying in our bedroom.I let out a soft sigh as I hated the thought of her spending the night alone in some hotel room, with men looking at her like she was within reach.But…My eyes drifted to Flora.I couldn’t ask Flora to stay in the guest room. She had already endured too much. Telling her to move into another room while I stayed with another woman would be too

***FLORA’S POV***Charlotte’s lips curved into a small smile. One that seems so strange and for a moment I felt as if I was staring at a completely different person. The Charlotte I remembered could barely hold eye contact for more than a second. She apologized for things that weren't her fault. And even shrank from confrontation as if the very air around it were poisoned.But the woman standing before me now was something else entirely.She spoke calmly. Confidently. Like someone who had already won and was simply waiting for me to realize it.“We’ve been married for eight years, Flora,” she said. “How could I not know what my husband is thinking?”I forced out a laugh, “Well, it’s good that you know,that you have been married for eight years. And still, he still has me in his heart.” I sneered. “At least now you understand your place. And where you belong.”Charlotte straightened, smoothing the fabric of her dress. “Yes,” she said quietly. “I know exactly where I belong.”Then her

***CLYDE’S POV***By the time I pulled into the driveway, the house had already settled into that particular stillness it took on after midnight.I sat in the car for a moment, my head thrown back into the seat as I thought about what happened today.“Charlotte.” I frowned.What exactly is wrong with her? Today, she seemed like a completely different person. Even the way she dressed felt…strange. The dress clung to her body, hugging every curves in all the right placesI shook my head, as I knew something was definitely wrong somewhere because I still couldn't wrap my head around it. Her attitude and then the penthouse. She had made me sign over the penthouse before dinner had even ended, smooth as anything, as if she'd been planning it for a long time. But when had she become like this? The Charlotte I married would never have dreamed of asking me for something expensive. She wasn’t materialistic—never have been—and in eight years of marriage, she had never asked me for anything.

***CHARLOTTE’S POV***“Charlotte,”As I turned around, his smirk was the last thing I saw before his palm slammed against my chest. And I found my body stumbling backward, arm flailing in the air as if to catch something for support. But nothing.Then his hand suddenly found my wrist, catching me just right before I landed in the pool. Our eyes met and my breath came in fast.“What the hell was that for? I thought I was going to fall.” Seeing him saving me, I thought he did it unintentionally, maybe just pulling a trick on me but when I saw his smile growing wider and slowly and deliberately his finger started uncurling from my wrist as if he was letting go of something that didn’t matter again.I realised...it was intentional.“No…” I tried to say but the word never came before his grip finally released from my wrist and I watched my own reflection in his eyes as I fell.The water swallowed me whole. And in a blink, the surface closed over my head, thick and heavy, trapping me b