HIS REGRETS.

Author's Point Of View

The whiskey in Ethan’s glass was the same shade of amber as Lexi’s eyes—back when she used to look at him like he was her entire world, like he was all that mattered, like there was no one else, nothing else.

Back before she was sent to prison like a criminal, before betrayal, before his father’s wedding ring was placed around her finger.

He swirled the ice cubes absently, watching them clink against the glass. The bar around him was glinting with neon lights and filled with the sounds of drunken laughter, but Ethan barely heard any of it.

Not when his mind was filled with a lot of memories, old memories that have come back to taunt him after three years. Lexi's smile, the way she tucked her hair behind her ear when she was nervous, or the way she fondled with her fingers like a puppy whenever she wanted him to do something for her, the sound of her voice whispering ‘I love you Ethan's in the dark.

And the other memories. The arrest. The trial. The way she had looked at him in the Courtroom like he was a stranger, like he had betrayed her.

“Maybe I did.” Ethan muttered under his breath. Of course he has failed her beyond words.

"Come on, man, that’s your fifth drink." His best friend, Daniel, reached out and gripped his wrist, as he tried to stop him from raising the glass to his lips again. "You are gonna regret this tomorrow."

Ethan smirked, though there was no humor in it. "I regret a lot of things, Daniel and trust me, this isn’t one of them." He yanked his arm free and downed the whiskey in one burning gulp. The alcohol did nothing to dull the ache in his chest.

He had always had a high tolerance for alcohol—Lexi used to tease him about it, back when they would sneak bottles of wine onto the rooftop of her mother’s estate and drink under the stars like the true lovers they were.

Lexi.

Just thinking about her name made his jaw tighten, made his chest clench in pain. He had failed Lexi. He had broken her trust and he needed no soothsayer to tell him that it'll be hard to win her back. Heck, he doubts that he'll ever be able to win her back.

At least not now that she was married to his father.

A sigh escaped Daniel's lips and he brought a hand to his face and rubbed on it absently. "Look, I get it. This is messed up. But sitting here and drowning yourself in whiskey isn’t gonna change anything. It isn't gonna make things right again.”

Ethan’s fingers tightened around the empty glass. "So tell me, Dan, what would you have me do, huh? You want me to go say congratulations to them or what?" His voice was low, dangerous. "Or send a fucking wedding gift and pretend to be happy for them when I'm not?"

Daniel hesitated, then leaned in closer. "I’m just saying—maybe there’s more to this. You don’t know why she married him. I mean Lexi wouldn't just wake up and decide to marry your father, someone who's as old as her father, don't you think?”

Ethan let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Oh, man, I know exactly why she married him. I don't need a soothsayer to tell me." He signaled the bartender for another drink, ignoring Daniel’s disapproving look. "It’s revenge. Pure and simple. She wants to get back at me for everything. She wants to spite me.”

Because that was Lexi. Fierce. Unforgiving.

And he had given her every reason to hate him.

The TV above the bar flickered with the evening news— Lexi’s triumphant release out of prison and her upcoming trial again. She was supposed to be dead by now, because he knows more than anyone that Claudia had asked the prison wardens to kill her and of course, the prison warden had sent a corpse, which turned out to be fake.

But Claudia and her daughter were so excited that they failed to check the corpse, to see who was really in there.

Ethan’s stomach twisted. Of course. His father had helped her. His father had manipulated the guards to send a fake corpse. Julian, with his endless resources, his ruthless business acumen. His father, who had somehow managed to sink his claws into the one person Ethan had ever truly loved.

Was this her plan all along?

The thought gnawed at him. Is she trying to use his father to get her company back? In fact, had she ever loved him at all, or had he just been a pawn in her games? If she fucking loved him, she wouldn't have hated him for just one mistake. ‘She'd have stood by him.’ He thought as he continued to stare at nothing in particular.

A drunk man stumbled into him, sloshing beer onto his sleeve. "Watch it," Ethan snarled, as he shoved the man back harder than necessary. The guy mumbled an apology and scurried away.

Daniel exhaled as he saw how furious his friend looked and he needed no one to tell him that it was all because of Lexi. She was occupying his senses already. She was making him go crazy all of a sudden. He could vividly remember how he had tried to talk senses into Ethan when she was first announced to be a murderer.

Daniel didn't believe the news. He never did, because he sees no reason why anyone would just wake up and decide to end their mother's life. It just didn't make any sense to him. He saw that raw emotion in her eyes, screaming that she was innocent, but no one ever believed her.

Earlier on, Daniel had this strong feelings that she was being framed by her step mother and father, so they could seize the company from her and he told Ethan about it, but he waved him off, telling him that he couldn't be with a murderer, that one day she might wake up and decide to end his life the same way she did with her mother.

"You need to calm down, Ethan.” He whispered to his friend, but Ethan ignored him, his mind still racing. He could still hear Margaret’s mocking voice from earlier that day, dripping with false sympathy: "Your ex traded up, Ethan. Must sting."

He had wanted to strangle her. But Margaret wasn’t the problem. She never was. Not really.

The problem was none other than his father. The problem was Lexi. They were the two problems he had now.

Daniel’s phone buzzed on the bar, lighting up with a text. He glanced at it, then at Ethan. "It’s getting late. Let me drive you home."

But Ethan shook his head, standing abruptly. "No. I’m going to see my father." He wanted to have ‘a word’ with his father, the same man who dared to marry his girlfriend, despite knowing who she was to him.

Daniel’s eyes widened at the words. "No, Ethan, you are not in any state to meet the old man right now. Maybe you should go some other time, but just not today.” He of all people knows how much Ethan hates his father and he knew that Ethan's father despised him too with the same amount of hatred….. if not more. And who knows if they'll fight when Ethan gets there?

"I’m fine." He threw a wad of cash onto the bar, more than enough to cover his tab. The alcohol hummed in his veins, but his mind was clear. Clear enough for this.

He has to meet his old man. Not for anything, but because he needed answers. And he was going to get them tonight. No matter what it takes.

The night air was cold as he stepped outside, the wind biting at his skin. He barely felt it. His car was parked a few feet away, sleek and black, just like the one his father drove. The irony wasn’t lost on him.

He slid into the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

The mansion loomed in his mind—his childhood home, now hers . Was she there right now? Was she in his father’s bed, warming it up, wearing his father’s ring, his father's big shirt, playing the perfect wife?

The thought made him want to punch something.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Margaret again. He didn’t even bother to check the message. He wasn't in the mood for any shits right now.

“Fuck you.” He growled angrily as her call came and he switched off his phone. To him, she was the reason why he lost someone he loved dearly, but he didn't mind. He was going to win her back. No matter what it takes. He turned the key in the ignition, and the engine roared to life.

Tonight, someone was going to tell him the truth. He was going to make sure that she tells him her main reason for getting married to his father out of everyone in the world. She was going to tell him if she loved him, hence her reason for using this means to get back to him.

She was going to tell him everything.

And God help them if they lied.