Billionaire’s Regret After Losing Her (Aurelia) novel Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Trouble in Paradise

Dominic had planned to see Aurelia tonight.

But Lauren kept crashing. Over and over. So he stayed by her side.

It wasn’t until 2 AM that Lauren finally stabilized.

Lauren looked at him, guilt written all over her face.

“Dominic, I’m sorry. I keep making things difficult for you. I’m

sor-”

Before she could even finish, Dominic cut her off with an

ice–cold voice.

“Adrian is gone. Nothing left of him.”

Even his gaze toward her was completely frigid.

Both Lauren and Eleanor–who’d been slouched in exhaustion

nearby–froze.

Eleanor’s heart lurched. She shot up from her chair.

“Dominic, what the hell are you doing? Why are you telling her this now?”

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She immediately looked at Lauren with deen concern.

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Lauren’s face grew paler and paler.

Panic seized Eleanor. She rushed forward and pulled Lauren into her arms.

“Don’t listen to that brat’s nonsense. Adrian, he…”

Dominic’s voice cut through, cold and deliberate.

“Six months ago, he died in a plane crash. Nothing left to bury.”

He didn’t let Eleanor finish.

Eleanor practically exploded. “What is WRONG with you? Are you trying to kill her?!”

In Eleanor’s arms, Lauren went pale as a ghost, her body starting to tremble.

Eleanor was terrified. “Lauren, Lauren–don’t listen to him. He’s lying.”

“Accept reality,” Dominic said flatly. “He’s never coming back.”

Eleanor: “…

What the hell was this bastard trying to do?

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Lauren’s face went from white to translucent. Her eyes filled with pure terror.

“No. No, he’s not dead. He’s here. He’s always been here. Adrian–Adrian…”

Her voice cracked, then shattered into sobs.

Dominic’s words had broken something in her. “I need to find Adrian. I need to find him—”

She started struggling frantically.

If Eleanor hadn’t held her tight, she would’ve jumped straight out of bed.

“Lauren, calm down, you…”

“I need to find my Adrian! Adrian! ADRIAN!”

“Stop moving! You’ll tear your stitches open.”

The thought of her wound reopening made Eleanor’s heart

ache.

She whirled on Dominic, fury blazing in her eyes.

“What are you DOING?! Do you want her to follow Adrian into

the grave? Is that it?!”

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Dominic stayed silent. His eyes locked onto Lauren, dark and unreadable.

From the moment he’d started talking, he’d been watching every micro–expression that crossed her face.

Watching her emotions spiral out of control until finally, he called for the doctor.

Over an hour of chaos later, Lauren finally quieted down.

Eleanor soothed her to sleep and stepped out of the room.

She shot a look at Dominic–leaning against the cold wall, his face like stone.

“Why are you doing this to her? Adrian is dead. She carried that pregnancy alone, suffering through every moment.

“She just gave birth. Is it really so wrong that she wants to see your face for a few minutes?”

Eleanor was a woman too. She knew the hell of pregnancy.

She understood why Lauren couldn’t accept Adrian’s death.

She also knew that Lauren was mentally fragile right now, mistaking Dominic for Adrian.

4/11 But so what?

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Adrian was gone, but Lauren still had their child. She’d been loyal, devoted. Couldn’t they give her time to recover?

Dominic’s voice was flat. “She has to face reality eventually. It’s not right for me to keep showing up in front of her like this.”

“But not NOW. Not when she just gave birth. She’s at her most vulnerable.” Eleanor’s voice shook with fury.

“Then when? After she recovers? And then what–we’ll say the baby’s too young? There’ll always be an excuse.”

They’d already agreed that once Lauren gave birth, this would end.

Eleanor’s breath caught. “Are you really in that much of a rush?”

She was already furious, but Dominic pressing like this made her blood boil.

“I get it now. It’s because of Aurelia, isn’t it?”

“She KNOWS Lauren’s situation. And what could happen between you and Lauren anyway? What’s she even throwing a fit about?”

Thinking about all the chaos Aurelia caused since yesterday really made Eleanor’s anger boil over.

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Aurelia. She has to pay. I can’t let this go.

“I never should’ve let you marry her. Raised in an orphanage, no mother to teach her–how could she have any class? I should never have-”

“If you’d given her even one percent of the attention you give Lauren, I’m sure she’d have plenty of ‘class.“”

“You—what are you—”

Dominic didn’t want to keep arguing and just turned and left.

Eleanor was livid.

“So you’re saying I’m playing favorites with Lauren? Dominic, you ungrateful! Do you even know how many specialists

I found for Aurelia these last two years when she couldn’t conceive?”

At the mention of those specialists, Dominic’s retreating figure went even colder.

Seeing him walk away without looking back, Eleanor stomped her foot in fury.

She turned back into the room. Lauren–who’d been sleeping peacefully moments ago–now had her eyes wide open.

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Eleanor walked over. “Lauren, why are you awake again? Get some more sleep. The doctor said you need rest right now.”

Lauren’s hand reached out, clutching Eleanor’s sleeve.

“Mom… did Adrian leave again?”

Eleanor fell silent. Seeing her mistake Dominic for Adrian so completely broke her heart all over again.

“Sleep first, okay?”

“Mom, could you call Adrian for me? Tell him not to be so busy. I just had his baby–can’t he spend more time with me?”

“Of course, sweetheart. I’ll call him soon. Now sleep.”

Eleanor carefully tucked the blanket around her.

Lauren nodded obediently. “Thank you, Mom.”

A smile curved her lips. But beneath that smile–hidden where Eleanor couldn’t see–was a flash of triumphant satisfaction.

******

Dominic’s head was a mess.

After leaving Lauren’s room, he didn’t go to Aurelia’s room but 7/11

went straight to the Mirage Club.

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The moment he sat down, he started throwing back drinks. One after another.

But the alcohol did nothing to kill the chaos in his chest.

Ethan Reed and Lucas Caldwell looked at each other.

Then they heard Lucas’s playful taunt. “Trouble in paradise that you can’t handle?”

At those words, Dominic’s expression stiffened.

Then he got even more agitated and downed several more

drinks.

Lucas continued, “I warned you before, but you never listened. Aurelia isn’t exactly known for her sweet temper.”

At the mention of Aurelia, Dominic felt like his head was about to explode.

Grant Fletcher, who’d just walked in and heard about Dominic and Aurelia’s fight, didn’t say anything. He sat directly in a

corner.

He lit a cigarette by himself.

The fingers holding the cigarette were noticeably tenser than

usual. 8/11

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Dominic’s eyes met Grant’s briefly before he snapped back at

Lucas.

“Don’t you know whether I can handle it or not?”

Lucas and Aurelia were tight. Over the past six months, while Dominic kept showing up with Lauren, Lucas kept warning him. He said women can be petty and to watch out for Aurelia causing drama.

Well, looks like she finally did—and it’s big.

“Lucas kept warning you, but you wouldn’t listen,” Ethan said.

“She’s going to sue Lauren.”

Dominic downed another drink.

Lucas and Ethan went silent.

Grant, sitting in the shadows, looked at Dominic with deep, meaningful eyes.

He crossed his long legs, holding an unlit cigarette that had burned halfway down.

Those eyes, from the moment he’d heard about Aurelia and Dominic’s fight, had grown more and more intense.

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He wasn’t surprised at all that Aurelia would sue Lauren.

Lucas and Ethan were pretty shocked, especially Ethan.

“Sue Lauren for what? Stealing her man?”

Now Dominic was really annoyed.

He glared at Ethan, who felt uncomfortable under that stare.

“Then why is she suing Lauren?”

Dominic lit a cigar and took a deep drag. “Over the Maplecrest project.”

At this, Lucas and Ethan were even more confused.

Grant, who had stayed silent, looked completely unsurprised.

Lucas jumped in. “Well, you can’t blame her for that. She almost got buried in a mudslide surveying that natural zone. She risked her life for that design, and Lauren slapped her name on it. Of course she’s pissed!”

He’d said it from the start–once Maplecrest got developed, there was no way Aurelia wouldn’t recognize her own work.

And he still had no idea what the hell Dominic was thinking, handing it over to Lauren like that. 10/11

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