All Chapters of The Mistake He Regrets.: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

It came back to her in flashes—sharp, unwanted and cruel.Elysia stumbled up the stairs, gripping the railing so hard her fingers ached, her chest tightening like something inside her was breaking all over again.She had been on the phone earlier that evening with her mother.“Honey, it’s time to let go and come home,” her mother said, her voice tight with worry. “You can’t continue like this.”She sighed, then told her she was fine. She even lied—lied that Declan was starting to come around, lied that he spent some nights home with her now.Her mother didn’t believe it but refrained from pushing further.“Your father wouldn’t allow you to suffer like this if he were alive.” Those were her mother’s last words before they said goodnight.In the last five years of her marriage to Declan, she had told a lot of lies—lies built to cover what she never had.Just the day before, she had lied to her best friend. She said she was no longer a virgin, that she and Declan had finally consummated

“What’s that?” Declan asked.Elysia didn’t answer immediately. She slowly stepped back down the stairs and bent to pick up the paper, her movements calm and controlled.Panic would only draw suspicion, and right now that was the one thing she couldn’t afford.She slipped the folded paper back into her bag.“Nothing important,” she said quietly.Declan frowned slightly.That response alone felt strange coming from her. Usually, Elysia would have rushed to explain herself. To reassure him. To ease whatever tension existed before it even had the chance to grow.But now she just looked… tired.Victoria suddenly rose from the sofa and walked toward her with concern written across her face.“Elysia, are you okay?” she asked softly, reaching for her hand.The moment their skin touched, Victoria’s nails dug painfully into Elysia’s palm.Elysia winced and instantly yanked her hand away.Victoria gasped and stumbled backward slightly.“Victoria.” Declan was already on his feet.Elysia stared at

Declan slowly lifted his eyes, confusion etched across his face."What do you mean you only found one body?" he asked, frowning.The firefighter looked at him for a moment before shrugging."This was the only body we found in the house," the man repeated. "But the back door appears to have been left open."Declan immediately pushed himself to his feet.Another firefighter stepped forward from behind the first. He was shorter, holding his helmet underneath one arm."Maybe your wife escaped through the back door," he suggested in a heavy Hispanic accent.Declan stared at both men for several seconds. Then, without another word, he began searching for his phone.His hands were shaking.He finally found it in his left pocket and hurriedly dialed a number.The call connected after a few rings, and a sleepy voice immediately came through."Boss? Do you need something?" the voice asked.Declan didn't waste any time."I need you to go to the office and retrieve the laptop connected to my hous

What the hell was this doing here?An abortion consent form?Declan stared down at the paper in his hand, his brows pulling together.His mind immediately flashed back to earlier that evening.Elysia standing at the top of the staircase.The piece of paper that had slipped from her bag and rolled down the steps.He remembered asking about it.He remembered Elysia quietly picking it up and telling him it was nothing.At the time, he hadn't thought much about it. In fact, he hadn't thought about it at all.There had been no curiosity. No concern. No reason to question her further.He had simply moved on.Now, staring at the abortion consent form in his hand, Declan found himself wondering if that had been the very same paper as realization slowly began to settle over him.His eyes widened slightly.Suddenly, the white object protruding from beneath the debris near the cabinet didn't seem so insignificant anymore.Still holding the consent form, Declan crossed the bathroom and bent down.

Kai turned.He stared at her for a moment before answering."You called my old number," he said.Elysia frowned.For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.When his phone had rung that night and her name had flashed across the screen, he'd genuinely thought he was imagining it.At first, he'd wondered if she'd called him by mistake. If she'd been trying to reach someone else.Or if, after all these years, she had actually intended to call him.He'd kept the number. His old number.Truthfully, he didn't even know why.Maybe because changing it had never seemed necessary.Or maybe because a small part of him had never wanted to let go of anything connected to her.Whatever the reason, he had been genuinely surprised when he saw her name appear on the screen.Even more surprised that she still had the number.Elysia looked away.It was the first time since she'd woken up that she did that—looked away first."I'm sorry," she muttered.Kai frowned slightly.Sorry?He wasn't sure what she wa