All Chapters of She Regretted Losing Him: Chapter 11 - Chapter 17

Sunlight streamed through the glass, spilling lazily across the floor.By my second month in California, I had fully adjusted to the climate.Even so, I still felt cold more often than not. It was probably a lingering effect of the electric shocks and being trapped in that walk-in freezer.The apartment door swung open, and Zac walked in."You look pretty good. Guess you've finally gotten over that toxic woman."Eloise was not exactly a toxic woman. After all, I wanted her money, and she wanted my body. We had been clear from the beginning that she never needed to pretend she was deeply in love with me."Zac, when are you taking me to meet my savior? I still don't know who pulled me out of that freezer. I don't want her thinking I'm some ungrateful jerk."Zac burst out laughing."It's not that I don't want to. She's just been busy. I heard her flight lands tonight. If you're really that eager, I can help arrange a time for you two to meet.""Then do it now."I wanted him to s

When we met up, Zac noticed how distracted I looked and grinned even wider."What are you so upset about? If anyone should be annoyed, it's Natalie. Nobody even knows who you are. They're all trying to figure out who you are and how you managed to get a workaholic like Natalie to put aside her job and have a meal with you."It seemed Sarah had recognized me but had not revealed my identity to anyone else.Even so, Zac's words did not make me feel any better.I had gone to see Natalie to thank her, yet I somehow seemed to have caused her trouble instead."Luke, stop worrying. Natalie can handle herself. If the rumors ever get out of hand, she'll shut them down herself. Whenever gossip about her starts spreading, she's always the first one to clear things up. If she hasn't said anything this time, it just means she doesn't care."Concerned that I would keep overthinking things, Zac dragged me into a luxury boutique."Didn't you say you wanted to buy Natalie a gift? Let me give you

Eloise suddenly stepped closer and reached out to touch my face.I took a step back and avoided her hand."Eloise, I never liked these things. Haven't you noticed that I never touched the things you gave me? Real estate and cars don't interest me. As for the cash, you already paid me more than enough back then. That money was compensation for the five years I spent with you. I don't feel guilty about taking it."But there's no need for you to do all this now. We never said it out loud, but we both knew what was going on. You wanted to get under Aiden's skin, and so did I. There wasn't much genuine affection between us, so why pretend we were in love?"Eloise seemed unable to understand why I had suddenly become so difficult."Luke, I've gone this far for you. Can't you stop being difficult?"I smiled as her expression grew darker and darker."You've always done this. You think money can buy every part of me. That's why you let me take the blame and apologize to Aiden. You even h

Annie was gentle. She showed concern for me, but she never crossed any boundaries.By the end of the meal, a pleasant warmth had settled in my stomach.I had not felt that way in a very long time.During the five years I spent with Eloise, I had always spent Christmas Eve alone.The Russell family had strict rules. Every Christmas Eve, Eloise had to return home and stay there until midnight.I could not even remember the last time I spent Christmas Eve with so many people."Luke, when do you and Natalie plan to get married?" Annie suddenly asked with a smile.The question caught me completely off guard.I instinctively turned to look at Natalie.However, Natalie seemed completely unfazed. She did not deny our relationship. Instead, she rubbed her temples and frowned."Mom, you're getting ahead of yourself. I'm a woman, after all. Could you stop being so proactive on my behalf?"My heart skipped a beat.A strange feeling spread through my chest.Annie seemed to have already