His Regret Arrived Three Days Late novel Chapter 36

No matter how much Annika wanted to leave, she had no choice but to stop.

Conrad pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, placed one between his lips, and lit it with a flick of his lighter. After exhaling a slow ring of smoke, he spoke.

“You saw for yourself—my mother doesn’t want us to divorce. When she found out yesterday, she wouldn’t stop calling, demanding I come home. I didn’t know how to face her, so I stayed at the office. Then you showed up, and she called again, insisting I return no matter what. Annika, we may be divorced, and you may not be her daughter-in-law anymore, but you’re still the daughter of the man who saved her. You know how seriously she takes that debt. Lately, she’s been telling me she can’t sleep, and if that brain tumor of hers comes back…”

“What do you want me to do?” Annika cut him off, her voice like ice.

“Call my mother and tell her it was a temporary separation. Move back into Scent Haven. I’ll have my lawyers arrange for your father’s medical parole, and I’ll take care of the Sargent Group.”

As if sensing her hesitation, he added, “I don’t have time to manage my mother’s emotions on top of everything else. The Beryl Group is demanding enough as it is.”

Annika fell silent, weighing her options. She had to admit Conrad was a master negotiator—ruthless, precise, and always ready to exploit a weakness. The terms were tempting. If she agreed, not only would the Sargent Group be saved, but her father would receive the best possible medical care.

“I’d like to know why you’re doing this,” she asked.

Just as he’d expected, Annika wasn’t like other women, who would have jumped at the offer. “I already told you,” Conrad said, his impatience showing. “I don’t want to deal with my mother. She’s relentless, and you saw how she reacted to the divorce.”

“You could just tell her the truth—that what Serena said was right, that the baby I’m carrying isn’t yours. Once Yazmin knows that, she won’t pressure you anymore.”

After all, what grandmother would want to raise a grandchild who wasn’t biologically hers?

Her words ignited a fury in Conrad that he could no longer contain. “Annika,” he growled, “my mother is a kind woman. Could you really bear to hurt her like that?”

“I don’t want to hurt her, but the truth will come out eventually.”

With that, Annika had essentially confessed that the child wasn’t his. When she’d first said it, Conrad had dismissed it as a cruel joke. But now, her words were like a knife twisting slowly in his heart, extinguishing the last ember of hope he’d been clinging to. His fingers curled into a fist, his nails digging into his palm. “So that’s what you want, Annika?” he bit out. “For my mother to have a relapse and end up a vegetable in a hospital bed?”

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