When Regret Comes Too Late Novels & Stories

Adrian gets up and starts leaving. He can feel the weight of her words echoing in his mind. The bitterness in her voice cuts deep. “People forget after committing mistakes, but they definitely get the fruits of their deeds; I see only regrets in your fate.” she screamed. He knows she's right. As Adrian walks away, he can't shake off the feeling of guilt and regret that now consumes him. He knows he has hurt her deeply, and the consequences of his actions are now staring him in the face. The harsh reality of his mistakes hits him like a ton of bricks, and he realizes that he may never be able to make things right again. The words of the woman he once loved haunt him as he walks away, knowing

I treated Judy like shit when we were married to each other under the lies which I believed from Claire. Every memory of it came back sharper when I was alone, like my instincts refused to let me forget. Later in the years, I married Claire to divorce Judy. Then later even after that, I found out the truth. How wouldn’t I try everything I can to rectify the wrongs I have done? Regret was not even a strong enough word anymore. It felt deeper, like something that stayed in the bones. For this movie premiere and knowing fully well that Judy would be in attendance, I made sure to be there before the event began.

“I know how hard it is to be around me sometimes, for everybody, and I know it must be especially difficult for you. But I like you, you see, and I just want to be by you. I want to press my cheek against your jacket and see what your hair feels like. I love to listen to you play, and I pretend sometimes you wrote a song just for me. And all of this, it isn’t fair to you, and for that I feel regret.” Regret. What an unusual choice of words. It isn’t wise to regret, not really, and it usually doesn’t do any good either. You regret things that happened and which you no longer have control over. You don’t regret the present, and you don’t regret the future. Bryony tended not to regret at all, i

The door closed softly behind him. Silence expanded. Heavy. Absolute. For the first time in decades, there was nothing to control. I stared at the ceiling. Ninety days. Ninety days to secure succession. Ninety days to preserve reputation. Ninety days to prepare for absence. The arithmetic of mortality was brutally efficient. Regret arrived quietly. Not dramatic. Not overwhelming. Just persistent. I regretted never traveling simply to wander. Never seeing the world without agenda. I regretted not visiting an amusement park since I was ten years old, the last time joy existed without strategy.

Maybe both. I swallow hard, tasting copper and shame. Too late. The words are already loose in the world, already heard by the stone walls that keep no secrets. The regret rushes in like winter flood—cold, fast, devastating. It stings worse than the outburst itself, cutting deeper than any physical wound.

he said gently, his words a whisper of remorse. I swallowed hard, my throat dry, my heart a jumbled mess of emotions. I looked into his eyes, searching for something more, a deeper apology, a promise of something more, but there was nothing. He just said, "Sorry." I started to dress, my movements slow and deliberate, my body still trembling from the intensity of the experience. I had nothing to say to him, because we were nothing. It may have been foolish, but I am only human, and if I regret my decision, there is nothing I can do about it. Because I know that regret always comes last, and no one regrets at the beginning, only in the end.

I use that to propel me forward. Those voices of yours are drowned out by the loud thumps of my beating heart, the thumps that are my own cheerleading squad telling me just to try. Just. Try. Just Try. And I know myself now just as I am knowing more about you, is that what I don't want to feel, more than you in my head and my heart, is Regret. Fear, you come and go. But Regret, well, Regret stays forever. And Regret is the most unwelcome guest because, in most cases, I can prevent Regret from coming into my home.

I calmly started washing up after Austin left. There was no need for me to cry aloud or make a huge fuss about my broken heart like the last time anymore. One could only get used to the pain, and then, it wouldn't have any significance to them anymore. In fact, I found it a waste of energy to even shed a single tear for a jerk like him. I fell asleep right after that. Sometime past midnight, I heard someone knocking on the door in my haze. The raps on the door were loud and urgent.

while my tears continued to fall. I gasped, "If only I knew...," I looked up, trying to fight back my tears. I took a deep breath again, "If only I knew that this would happen to you... I wish I never said those words to you," I said full of regret. Maybe they're right about what they said, that regret always comes last. Because look at me now, I'm filled with regret because of what they said, regretful for this opportunity. I'm so regretful to the point that I want to create a time machine so that I could turn back time and make things right.

"It was my own foolishness… One moment of greed, one wrong thought, and I reached for something I never should have. And now, my children suffer for my mistakes. Regret comes too late. The world truly does repay what it is owed." Carissa hesitated for just a second, then continued on her way without a word.