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CHAPTER SEVENTY
Last Updated:
2024-12-05 22:10:33
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Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE
"Okay, that's it!" Seth said, picking up the dinner plates. "You guys have been here for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. I love you all, but I need some alone time with my girlfriend."Isabella felt her face get hot. Like, seriously Seth? Edward grinned from his chair. "Aw come on, there is no such thing as overstaying when it is family!" He stretched out dramatically. "Actually...maybe I should just grab my bags and move in. How about that?"Seth looked like he was about to smack him, and Edward ducked away laughing. “Alright, alright! I am leaving.”Isabella bit her lip to hold back a laugh, but her amusement faded when she caught Seth watching her mouth. The heat in his gaze made her breathe catch.Diana saved her from spontaneously combusting by pulling her into a goodbye hug. "I enjoyed our time together," she murmured. "Next time, better circumstances?"She nodded, grateful for her warmth. It was nice having someone who felt like a mother. "Yeah, I would love that."Diana gave he
Last Updated : 2024-12-06Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO
Isabella stood in front of the company apartment door, her heart practically trying to jump out of her chest. Seth had gotten a call right as they pulled into the parking lot, and the look he gave her clearly said, go ahead without me. Which was great. Because walking in there alone wasn't terrifying at all.Her palms were sweaty, and she found herself thinking about turning back, waiting for Seth. The uncertainty of what awaited her behind this door was eating her alive. But no—she was a big girl. She could handle this. You're tough, she told herself, the internal pep talk a lifeline against her rising nerves.She kept second-guessing herself, her hands moving toward the door, then retreating. Back and forth. Come on, Isabella. Just knock.Finally, she did. Not a timid little tap that screamed uncertainty, but not a aggressive slam either. Just a solid three-knuckle rap that said exactly what she was feeling: I'm here. And I'm serious.For a moment, nothing. Then shuffling. The sound
Last Updated : 2024-12-07Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER SEVENTY THREE
Isabella's hands trembled as she gathered her presentation materials, her mind replaying Mr. Harrison's words over and over: "Excellent presentation, though I must say...the recent publicity is...concerning."The conference room felt too big now that everyone had left. Too quiet. Like the silence was just waiting to be filled with all the thoughts she'd been pushing away."Hey." Seth's voice was soft behind her. "You were incredible in there."She couldn't turn around. Couldn't look at him. For if she did, she was going to cry— and she had grown so weary of crying. "Thanks," she managed, shoving papers into her folder with shaking hands."Izzy." His hand touched her shoulder, and god, it hurt how much she wanted to lean into that touch. "Talk to me.""I can't." Her voice cracked. “Because if I start talking, I will start thinking, and if I start thinking—’ She gasped and put her hand to her chest as if to restrain herself.""Then think," he said quietly. "Whatever it is, we can figure
Last Updated : 2024-12-08Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER SEVENTY FOUR
“Wear something that makes you happy," Seth's text read. Isabella stared at her closet, clothes scattered across her bed like evidence from a fashion crime scene. Four outfit changes and two minor meltdowns later, she still could not decide what to wear. Everything felt wrong.Her phone buzzed again.Seth: Stop overthinking itSeth: I can literally feel you overthinking from hereSeth: You could show up in sweats and I would still think you are the most beautiful person I have ever seenIsabella smiled despite herself, typing back:Isabella: Sweats it is thenSeth: Don't you dareSeth: I mean you would look amazing but I have PLANS womanIsabella: Oh so NOW you are dress coding me? 🤨Seth: I plead the fifthSeth: But also please hurry I miss your faceShe caught herself grinning at her phone like an idiot. God, when did she become this person? This stupidly, ridiculously happy person who smiled at text messages?The emerald dress caught her eye - the one she had bought months ago an
Last Updated : 2024-12-09Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER SEVENTY FIVE
There's a special kind of poison that comes with sudden wealth – the kind that seeps into your bones and rewrites your DNA until you can't remember who you used to be. The Riveras had tasted that poison the day Richard Stone married their daughter, and they'd been addicted ever since.It wasn't just about the money, though God knows Richard had plenty of that. It was about belonging to a world they'd only glimpsed through magazine pages and reality TV shows. About trading their cramped apartment for a house in the right neighborhood, their off-the-rack clothes for designer labels, their mundane problems for sophisticated ones.Richard had given them everything they'd ever dreamed of, and all it cost was their souls.Even after everything Richard had done—things that should would have destroyed lesser families – the Riveras didn't crumble. They polished. They positioned. They smiled wider, laughed louder, clinked champagne glasses with even more enthusiasm.Their daughter's broken hear
Last Updated : 2024-12-11Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER SEVENTY SIX
Desperation, Isabella had learned, looked different from the outside. For her parents, it was the frantic attempts to cling to Richard Stone's world. To her, it was the daily work of rebuilding a self that had been carefully dismantled, piece by painful piece.They were both fighting for survival. Just in very different ways.Her mother would scheme. Her father would negotiate. They would do anything to maintain the illusion of the life they'd grown accustomed to. But Isabella? She was done with illusions.Some days, survival felt like a middle finger to everything that tried to break her. A silent "fuck you" to the world that thought it could define her, box her in, tell her who she was supposed to be. Each small "no" was a revolution. Each boundary was a battle won.Growth wasn't about winning. It was about people choosing their own lives – their hopes, their dreams, their fears and doubts – time and time again even when the whole world appeared to wait in anticipation for their fa
Last Updated : 2024-12-12Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER SEVENTY SEVEN
The thing about chaos is that it loses its power once you stop fearing it.Isabella had learned this truth somewhere between her mother's dramatic performance at the restaurant and the hundredth whispered conversation that died when she walked past. The sidelong glances and hushed voices that followed her through the office hallways barely registered anymore. Either she'd grown a thicker skin, or Seth's steady presence in her life had become an armor strong enough to deflect the worst of it."Seriously, put the phone down," Seth said for what felt like the millionth time that week, reaching across his kitchen counter to snatch her phone. "GossipWatch will still be there tomorrow. And the next day. And probably until the heat death of the universe."Isabella rolled her eyes but let him take it. "I wasn't even looking at that. I was checking emails.""Uh-huh." Seth's skeptical expression made her laugh despite herself. "And I'm secretly a circus acrobat.""That would explain the flexibi
Last Updated : 2024-12-13Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER SEVENTY EIGHT
Victoria held up a hand, cutting off Eliza’s outburst. Maria looked nervous, caught between Victoria's cold stare and Eliza's explosive anger."Sit. Down," Victoria said quietly to ElizaBut she couldn't sit. Her whole body was shaking. "You can't be serious right now," she whispered, her voice coming out all choked. "Mom!"The baby kicked hard like it was trying to remind her what was at stake here. As if she could forget. Maria wouldn’t even look at her—typical coward. She’d betray anyone if it meant getting what she wanted. She just sat there, staring at her shoes. Just a few days ago, Maria was kissing Eliza’s ass. But now? Now she’d seen a bigger opportunity and decided to play a different game. Typical Maria—always chasing the next post to hang her ambitions on."It could literally be anyone else," Eliza said, her voice rising again. "Why does it have to be Richard?"Victoria just raised one perfect eyebrow at Maria. "Yes, enlighten us. Why him specifically?”And then Maria got
Last Updated : 2024-12-14
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Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY FOUR
James pulled out his phone. "I can call them. Set something up for tomorrow, if you want."Isabella nodded slowly. "Tomorrow then." She looked at Seth. “Is that okay with you?""Of course," he assured her. James stood, wiping his face one final time. "I'll let them know. And Izzy?" He hesitated at the doorway. "Thank you. For listening. For giving me a chance to explain."After he left, Isabella collapsed against Seth, finally allowing her tears to fall. "All these years," she whispered. "I thought I must have done something terrible to make them hate me so much. And it turns out...it turns out I just wasn't theirs."Seth held her tighter, his voice fierce. "You are worth so much more than their prejudices, Isabella. So much more than their narrow definition of family."She nodded against his chest, then straightened, wiping her eyes. The Rivera’s dining room felt too small, too intimate for the weight of the moment. Isabella strode in, her heels clicking against the floor, Seth's s
Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THREE
Seth's overly large living room felt smaller with James in it. Isabella sat rigidly on the couch, watching her brother pace back and forth. The silence between them was heavy with years of hurt."Izzy," James finally began, using her childhood nickname. "I've been trying to reach you for weeks.""I know." Her voice was flat, controlled."I saw everything on the news. The Stone case, Victoria's death..." He ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "It made me think about a lot of things. About what I did. About who I became."Isabella remained silent, her hands clasped tightly in her lap."I was wrong," James continued, his voice cracking. "So wrong. When Richard offered me money..." He shook his head. "I convinced myself that you were the one who was wrong. That you weren't living up to his expectations.""Expectations," Isabella repeated softly. "What kind of expectation requires a man to beat his wife to a pulp, lock her up for days, sleep with her cousin, and talk down on her consta
Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO
The common room of the women's correctional facility was quiet except for the droning of the television. Victoria Stone sat alone; her greying hair pulled back severely, her prison uniform neat despite its wear. Her eyes were fixed on the screen where her son's face filled the frame."Breaking news," the anchor announced. "Richard Stone, once considered untouchable, has been sentenced today. The business mogul faces forty years before the possibility of parole..."Victoria's hands began to shake. The paper cup of coffee she held slipped from her fingers, spreading a dark stain across the linoleum floor. No one moved to help her clean it up."My boy," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Oh, my Richard."The news showed footage of him being led away in handcuffs, and Victoria pressed her hands to her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs. She saw what others might miss - how he held his head, just like his father used to. The same proud tilt of the chin, even in defeat."I taught him that,"
Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY ONE
Frederick stood at the podium, his earlier confidence now radiating through the courtroom. "Your Honor, I'd like to call Special Agent Tara Winters to the stand."A sharp-featured woman in a crisp jacket strode to the witness box. After being sworn in, she met Richard's gaze unflinchingly."Agent Tara, please tell the court about the Operation.""For three years, we tracked Mr. Stone's network of influence. I was in charge of cracking codes, following the trail and everything techy. We got encrypted USB drives detailing payoffs to judges, politicians, and law enforcement officials across five states; we got videos of Richard's trafficking of human, arms and drugs, which were labelled as medical supplies." Frederick collected all the said evidence and handed them to the bailiff.Richard's face was drained of color. He had always been too careful, but Louis and his team had somehow gotten to the root of his operations.Next came Marcus Reynolds, one of Richard's former enforcers; he jus
Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY
Isabella, Seth, Louis, and Frederick gathered in a little corner out of sight during the break. There was enough tension in the room for a knife to pierce it. Isabella paced while her heels clicked on the ground. "I do not like this," she said, running her hands through her hair. "Barrett is too confident. What if Richard actually walks free?"Frederick leaned back in his chair, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "That's exactly what I want them to think."Seth raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?""I'm playing dumb," Frederick explained, his eyes gleaming. "Let them attack our evidence. Let them think they're winning. They have no proof of Richard's innocence - not a single piece. But me?" He tapped his briefcase. "I'm just getting started."He turned to Louis sharply. "Tell me you collected everything by the book. We can't have any of it thrown out on technicalities."Louis shifted uncomfortably. "About that evidence...There's something else you should know," he said, his voice
Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN
“Take this and deliver it to my son,” Victoria said, more as a command than a request.“Ma…” his objection was cut short by Victoria's steely gaze and commanding presence that left no room for argument.Barrett carefully folded Victoria's letter and tucked it into his briefcase. Her intensity was unchanged, even behind bars - she was a woman who always found a way to exert control.Two days later, Richard sat in his cell, looking like a shell of his former self. “Your lawyer is here to see you,” the guard announced as he banged on the gate rails of Richard's cell“Richard, it's nice to see you, how are you holding up?” Barret asked although he already knew the answer to that one just by looking at him. He tried talking to Richard about their court hearing happening the next day, but he seemed lost and resigned, so Barrett resorted to his last option. He discreetly handed him the letter his mother had written.“What's this?” Richard asked uninterested“Something from your mother, She
Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN
Isabella walked into the hospital cafeteria and looked around the room until she saw Eliza seated in a booth in the corner. The woman appeared smaller than Isabella could recall, and a frightening vulnerability had taken the place of her normal self-assured manner. Eliza had a mixture of desperation and hope in her eyes as Isabella drew closer. "Thank you for coming," She said in a voice that was almost audible, a little bit above a whisper. "Start talking," Isabella responded, sliding into the seat across from her. "What's going on? Why I'm I here?"Eliza's story spilt out - the medical crisis, Jackson's abandonment, Richard's rejection. She explained JJ's critical need for a blood transfusion and how she'd exhausted every possible option. "You're AB negative," Eliza concluded, "and you're his only hope."Isabella listened carefully, her initial anger slowly giving way to concern for the innocent child caught in this web of adult complications. She thought about JJ - a child who ha
Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN
Barrett straightened his suit and took a deep breath before stepping into Richard's room. The man was sitting upright on the hospital bed, his wrists cuffed to the rails, his face a mixture of frustration and concern."Finally," Richard snapped as Barrett entered. "What took so long? Where’s JJ?""I’ve made arrangements for you to see him," Barrett replied, his tone calm and measured. "The guards will unlock you, but there are conditions. No outbursts. No arguments with Eliza. You’re here for JJ, and that’s it."Richard scoffed. "I’m not a child, Barrett. Just get me to my son."The guards, standing at the doorway, exchanged glances before stepping forward to unlock the cuffs. Richard flexed his wrists as soon as they were free, his movements sharp and impatient.Barrett gestured toward the door. "Follow me." Barrett led Richard to the waiting room where Eliza sat, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. She looked up as they entered, her face paling when she saw Richard."What is h
Regrets From Ex Won't Win Me Back CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN
The night was endless, a fight Eliza couldn't win. JJ's fever raged like a fire, his tiny body too hot, his cries piercing. Her designer blouse—once a symbol of her old life—was now wrinkled, stained, and clinging to her as she darted back and forth, wet napkins in hand, trying to cool him down."Shh, baby," she whispered, though her voice was barely there. "Mommy's here."But nothing worked. JJ’s cries only grew louder, echoing off the thin motel walls. The cheap room felt smaller and smaller, closing in on her with every minute. No money for a doctor. No help. Just her and her sick little boy.She tried everything she could think of—cold clothes, gentle rocking, soft lullabies. The tricks she used to pay others to do were now her last hope. The hours dragged, heavy and cruel.Finally, sometime before dawn, JJ’s cries stopped. His fever eased, and his breathing slowed. Eliza sat on the edge of the bed, completely exhausted. She had not slept, nor even rested her eyes even for a secon
