His Regret Arrived Three Days Late novel Chapter 179

Yazmin was filled with regret for asking Annika to come with her.

"Mom, let's go," Annika suggested, feeling uneasy under the silent, watchful eyes of the other guests, all of them treating the scene as entertainment.

"No," Yazmin said, her voice firm. "He protected her like that, Annika. I feel like dying."

Recalling the earlier incident, Yazmin began to recount Zander's sins to Annika. "Zoey came to provoke me on her own. I barely touched her glass by accident, and the wine spilled on her. Then that vixen started her little act."

It was clear that Yazmin couldn't let it go. Annika realized the reason she refused to leave was not just to pick another fight with Zoey. She was waiting, hoping against hope that Zander would have a change of heart. But if a man was going to change his mind, would he have waited until now?

In this smokeless war, Yazmin had lost long ago, just as Annika had lost to Serena. Zander had likely wanted to host Conrad and his own father, Zoltan; Yazmin’s presence was an unwelcome disruption, which was why he treated her so coldly. And Yazmin, who could have chosen not to come, had shown up anyway.

Her purpose in coming was her lingering affection for Zander. Annika could see it clearly in the way Yazmin looked at him just moments before. Despite her rage, her eyes were filled with love. She didn't just love Zander; it seemed she had been waiting for his return all this time. Why else would she have dressed so meticulously just to see him? Yet, all of Yazmin's devotion had curdled into resentment.

As an outsider, Annika saw the truth with painful clarity: Zander had no feelings for Yazmin. Not even a shred of pity remained, only extreme aversion.

To love someone who doesn't love you back is a form of self-torture, a painful, agonizing existence like that of a walking corpse. That person occupies your every thought, every worry. You can't forget them, yet you can't have them. It's the most excruciating pain, a slow poison that corrodes body and soul.

Annika understood this feeling better than anyone. She had been through it herself.

Since Yazmin wouldn't leave, Annika had no choice but to sit beside her, enduring the strange looks from everyone while offering her quiet company. But Annika was tense, her eyes darting toward the place where Zander had disappeared. She dreaded Zoey's sudden reappearance, knowing Yazmin would immediately charge over to confront her.

After a moment of hesitation, she excused herself to go to the restroom and left her seat.

So he really didn't know his father was back. Annika took a breath, gave Conrad the address, and hung up.

When she returned, Yazmin was still dabbing at her tears with a tissue. Seeing Annika, she spoke through stifled sobs, "Annika, did you call Conrad?"

Annika hesitated. “No.”

"Does he not know his father is back?"

"He doesn't. I didn't tell him."

Yazmin had received the invitation and had come behind both Zoltan's and Conrad's backs. Of course, Conrad wouldn't have known.