Divorced CEO's Forgotten Wife Strikes Back (Riley and Bryce) novel Chapter 408

Chapter 408 Tears of Regret

Riley bit down hard on her lip. How could she pretend she hadn't heard any of that?

"What kind of nightmare were you having? Was it about when we broke up? Does our breakup still mess with your sleep?"

He turned his head away with a bitter laugh.

"So what if it is? And it's not just our breakup—it's also about how I failed to save Samuel back then!"

These scenes had become his new nightmares, replacing the old ones from childhood—his father's abuse and witnessing his mother's suicide.

He pulled Riley's hand away and stood up. "Now you know what my nightmare is. Do you regret it? Regret how cold you were back then? No matter how hard I begged you to stay, you still insisted on breaking up. But no—you don't regret it, do you?"

He looked at her, his eyes full of bitter self-mockery.

"I asked you before, and you told me straight up—no regrets. Because you never loved me enough. One mistake was all it took for you to walk away without looking back."

He'd told her one lie, and it had cost him everything.

Riley felt her throat close up, fighting back tears.

Yes, that's exactly what she'd told him back then.

But she had no idea those moments would become his nightmares.

Watching him like this, trapped in his pain and apologizing over and over—it was like being transported back to the day they broke up.

In those nightmares, was he reliving that day again and again?

She'd rarely regretted anything in her life.

But now, that crushing weight of regret was spreading through every part of her body.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Sorry?" He laughed coldly. "You feel bad because you know I have nightmares? But Riley, if you don't regret leaving me, then don't apologize."

He turned toward the bathroom, planning to splash cold water on his face and calm down.

But after just two steps, Riley suddenly wrapped her arms around him from behind. "What if I do regret it? Can I apologize then?"

His body went rigid. "What?"

"Back then, I didn't regret it. But now I do," she said quietly.

Because now she understood just how deeply this man loved her.

Now she knew what kind of pain their breakup had caused him.

If she'd known her harsh words would become his nightmare, would cause him this much suffering—she never would have been so cold.

She could have chosen a gentler way.

"I know exactly what I'm saying, Sebastian. If I could turn back time, I wish I had never broken up with you!"

"You—" His eyes widened. Then he leaned down, kissing the tears from her cheeks.

The salt lingered on his lips.

These were... tears she was crying for him?

Every time he'd woken from those nightmares about the breakup, he'd been drowning in it—but now, with every tear she shed, that pain seemed to ease.

Riley looked at Sebastian through her blurred vision. "I—"

His lips crashed against hers without warning, cutting off her words.

Riley's eyes went wide. His face was suddenly right there, his lips on hers.

He was kissing her?

He hadn't kissed her first—not once—since they'd gotten back together.

The kiss was desperate, almost hungry, like he was trying to tell her something he couldn't put into words.

She could barely breathe.

"Sebastian... I..." She managed to pull back slightly, trying to speak.