Chapter 6: The Road of Regret

As Casey stepped out of his car, the cold wind that swept across the driveway mirrored the unsettling storm inside him. The large mansion loomed before him, its grand appearance a symbol of everything his new life with Linda was supposed to be—a life filled with comfort, luxury, and the promise of happiness. Yet, as he stood on the polished steps of his home, the sense of unease gnawing at his heart only grew stronger. He could feel it in every breath he took, the bitter realization that he might have made the biggest mistake of his life.

Linda was everything he had once believed he wanted. She was beautiful, sophisticated, and alluring in ways that had drawn him in like a moth to a flame. She’d made him feel alive, like the world held infinite possibilities. And yet, the more time he spent with her, the more he realized how different she was from Barbara—her sister, the woman he had left behind.

Barbara. The name alone sent pangs of guilt through him, though he tried his hardest to push it away. The love they had shared had been deep, built on years of trust and companionship. Barbara had never been as outwardly dazzling as Linda, but her beauty ran deeper. She had been kind, thoughtful, and always attentive to his needs. While their relationship hadn’t been perfect, it had been real.

Casey shook his head, trying to dispel the memories. What was the use of thinking about Barbara now? He had made his choice. He had chosen Linda, and now, he was married to her. There was no going back. But the truth, as harsh as it was, stared him in the face every time he saw Linda’s cool, disinterested expression.

At first, their marriage had seemed like a whirlwind of excitement. They went to glamorous parties, rubbed elbows with people Casey could never have imagined meeting, and indulged in all the luxuries money could buy. But behind the shiny veneer, the cracks in their relationship began to show. Linda, who had seemed so passionate and affectionate during their hiding escapades, now seemed distant. She spent more time with her friends and at events than she did with him. Her interests lay in her appearance, her social circle, and maintaining her image as the perfect wife. Yet, there was little care in her eyes for him beyond that.

Casey’s heart ached as he recalled the tenderness he used to share with Barbara. Barbara had always asked how his day had been, genuinely wanting to know. She had a way of listening that made him feel seen, as if every word he spoke mattered. But Linda—she hardly ask. And when Casey tried to talk about his feelings or share something about his day, he was met with short, dismissive answers, or worse, an uninterested silence.

One evening, a few months into the marriage, the reality of his mistake hit him harder than ever before. Casey had just returned from a long, exhausting day at work. He was mentally drained and all he wanted was a quiet evening, maybe a home-cooked meal or just to sit and talk with Linda. But as he walked into the grand living room, the sound of laughter greeted him. There, sitting on the couch with a glass of wine in hand, was Linda, surrounded by a group of her friends. Their loud chatter filled the space, completely oblivious to his presence.

Casey stood awkwardly by the door, waiting for her to notice him, to offer a smile or an invitation to join them. But she didn’t. Linda glanced at him briefly, her eyes barely registering his presence before she returned to her conversation. It was as if he didn’t exist, as if he were nothing more than a ghost passing through.

He turned away, retreating upstairs to their bedroom, but the emptiness in his chest only grew. How could it have come to this? How had he gone from being the center of someone's world to feeling like a stranger in his own home? As he lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, the memories of Barbara flooded his mind once again. She would have noticed. She would have asked if he was alright. And even if her day had been busy or she was tired, she would have made an effort, because that’s what they did for each other.

That night, as the laughter from downstairs echoed through the halls, Casey felt the full weight of his decision. He had left the woman who had cared for him, who had loved him without condition, for someone who barely acknowledged his existence beyond what it did for her own image.

Days turned into weeks, and the distance between them only grew. Linda's disregard for their relationship became more evident with each passing day. She spent hours at the spa, planning parties, or talking with her friends about the latest trends, but she barely spent any time with Casey. When they did speak, it was always about superficial things—what color the drapes should be, where they should vacation next, or what dress she was going to wear to her next antenatal. Nothing about them. Nothing about their lives together.

He tried to confront her one evening. After another long day, he sat across from her at dinner, watching as she scrolled through her phone, barely acknowledging his presence.

"Linda, can we talk?" he asked, his voice strained with the effort to hold his frustration in check.

She looked up briefly, her fingers still tapping on the screen. "Sure, what's up?"

"I just... I feel like we haven’t been connecting lately. I mean, we’re married, but sometimes it feels like we’re living separate lives."

Linda sighed and set her phone down, but the irritation in her eyes was clear. "Casey, I don’t know what you want from me. I’m busy. I have a lot going on right now, it could be because of this pregnancy."

"Busy with what? With parties and shopping? We don’t spend time together anymore. I feel like I barely know you."

Her eyes narrowed. "You knew what my life was like when you married me. This is who I am. If you can’t handle it, that’s not my problem."

Casey felt the sting of her words, but what hurt even more was the lack of care in her voice. She wasn’t even trying to understand. She wasn’t even willing to meet him halfway.

"I made a mistake," Casey muttered, more to himself than to her.

Linda arched an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

He shook his head, standing up from the table. "Nothing. Forget it."

But it wasn’t nothing. The words lingered in the air, in his mind, and in his heart. He had made a mistake, a terrible mistake, and now he was trapped in a life he didn’t want, with a woman who didn’t love him. The realization gnawed at him every day, growing heavier with each interaction.

Barbara wouldn’t have dismissed his feelings like that. Barbara would have cared.

The thought of her made his chest tighten with guilt and longing. He had left her, shattered her heart, all for a fleeting fantasy. And now, he was the one left feeling empty, wondering if he could ever fix what he had broken.

Months passed, and the coldness between Casey and Linda only deepened. They were married in name, but in reality, they were two people living separate lives under the same roof. Casey spent more and more time at work, trying to drown himself in tasks and projects to avoid coming home to a house that no longer felt like a home.

And Barbara, she was never far from his thoughts. He tried not to think about her, tried to push away the memories of their time together, but they haunted him. He wondered how she was doing, if she had moved on, if she was happier without him.

One evening, after another silent dinner with Linda, Casey sat in his study, staring at the photo on his desk. It was a picture of him and Barbara, taken on their last vacation together. They were smiling, arms around each other, looking carefree and happy.

A lump formed in his throat as he looked at her face, her warm eyes full of love. How could he have let that go? How could he have traded that for what he had now?

The regret was overwhelming, suffocating. He had thought that marrying Linda would make him happy, that she was everything he had wanted. But now, all he wanted was Barbara—her kindness, her laughter, the way she had made him feel like he mattered.

He knew it was too late to go back, too late to undo the damage he had done. But the regret, the guilt, it would never leave him. He had made his choice, and now he had to live with it, no matter how much it hurt.

And it did hurt, more than he ever thought it would.

As Casey sat in the quiet of his study, the weight of his decisions pressing down on him, he knew one thing for sure: he had traded true love for a hollow fantasy, and now he was paying the price.