When I Was Gone The Regret Began Novels & Stories

From now on, I'll truly make it up to both of you. I shook my head a little. Mom, there is no 'from now on.' Caleb is already dead. But even if I were still alive, she probably would not really make anything up to me. She did not like Caleb. I understood that the moment the truck crushed me and I desperately reached toward the direction she had driven away, while she never once looked back. In her heart, Caleb mattered less than Adrian's dog. Maybe it was because I had become a ghost, but I suddenly felt so cold that I shivered.

He turned his back on her once again, completely ignoring her existence and leaving her to scream in frustration alone inside the silent office. Deep within his heart, Mike knew that he had become trapped in an endless labyrinth of regret. His thoughts remained entirely fixated on Elara's name, mourning the departure of the woman he now realized had taken every piece of his soul with her.

He would never beg for his life. I sighed. “Matt, please just go away. I don’t have time to deal with all this now. I don’t want to have lunch with you, and there’s nothing to talk about or make right between us. I’m beginning to get irritated by all this.” “Meadow, there’s a lot to talk about between us, and you know it. I know I messed up seven years ago. There hasn’t been a day when I haven’t thought about you. Please, I just need another chance to make it up to you. I just want us to start afresh,” he said, walking closer to me.

The air grew suddenly thick, charged with an undeniable, suffocating awkwardness. "Was it because of me?" His voice was rough, dropping an entire octave. It wasn't an accusation; it was a profound, heavy realization laced with a dark, masculine regret. I kept my head bowed, completely unable to meet his eyes. The tips of my ears felt like they were literally on fire. I was certain my entire face had flushed a brilliant, humiliating shade of crimson. The memory of that wild night rushed back into my mind, vivid and intoxicating. I remembered the scorching, desperate heat of his breath heavily panting against the sensitive skin of my neck.

For a moment, the muffled bass from upstairs seemed to fade, and all I could hear was the frantic, heavy sound of my own pulse pounding in my ears. Then I looked away, breaking his gaze. “You don’t understand,” I muttered, the words meant more for myself than for him. He tilted his head, considering me. “Maybe not. But I understand what happens when you lose something you didn’t think you’d care about until it’s already gone. I know that particular flavor of regret.”

Seeing her shoulders shake made him remember her words that he didn't contemplate on before. 'She was talking about being kidnapped. Did I really misunderstand her?' His eyes flicked to her tensed back. It was trembling and she was also rubbing her arms. Regret flooded in his veins as he tilted his head to catch a glimpse of her face. "Listen, I'm sorry. I went too far." He spoke softly.

"I messed up. You're better than this. Just let me go!" Eric yanked her back a step, pale and wrecked. "Lena, I screwed up." I stepped out of the elevator, baby bump out, Shelby and my legal team right behind me. Briana lost it. "Lena, I swear I've changed! I'm begging you!" I stopped. Looked down at both of them. Zero sympathy. "Briana, I'm not a rehab center." Calm. Cold. She stepped closer, jaw tight. "We've paid enough. I got kicked out, Eric too. We're broke. What else do you want?"

"Aurora! I told Damian I wanted to apologize, and I can't believe he brought you here. I know I was wrong that day. Will you forgive me?" I looked at Damian, but he just kept flipping through the auction catalog in silence. So that was the real reason for this trip. So Clara could apologize. The whole “clearing my head” excuse had just been a cover. I felt empty inside, as if something inside me had been hollowed out, but I didn't even have any tears left to cry. Clara reached for my hand, her eyes full of regret. "I really didn't mean to hurt you. I was just so excited. After being away so long, it's nice seeing everyone again, and I can't help but feel happy about it."

Somehow, she’d read it in me — the secret hope I’d been trying to drown all day. “I never—” “Don’t lie,” she whispered. “It’s already ugly enough.” And then the door closed, leaving me with my own reflection in the polished wood — a face I barely recognized. I stayed outside until the night insects started their chorus. For the first time, I realized that regret wasn’t the same as redemption. Regret just meant you saw the wreckage; redemption meant you picked up the pieces. And right now, Clara was the one bleeding from all the glass I’d broken.

“You don’t get to demand a place in our lives just because you feel guilty now. Guilt isn’t love, Alex. And I won’t let my son be a casualty of your regrets.” His expression shattered, but she didn’t let herself care. Not this time. “Goodbye, Alex.” And with that, she walked past him, leaving him standing in the shadows of the life he had lost. "I know I could have handled things better, and I deeply regret not being smarter about it. I also knew there was a chance that Jasper was mine, but fear made me turn a blind eye to the possibility. It was selfish and easier to believe you had an affair with someone else.