My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 100

Chapter 100

Almost

Instead I cross slowly toward the liquor cabinet near the fireplace and pour whiskey into two glasses without asking whether

she wants one.

She takes it when I hand it to her anyway.

Good sign.

Still functioning.

Still herself.

She sits on the edge of the sofa while I remain standing near the fire.

The amber light flickers across her face.

Tired woman.

Beautiful woman.

My wife.

The realization still catches in my chest sometimes even in the middle of catastrophe.

Lila studies me over the rim of the glass.

“What are you thinking?”

I swirl the whiskey once before answering.

“I think someone spent months studying us.”

The sentence settles heavily into the room.

Not dramatically.

Worse.

Quietly.

Because she knows I mean it.

Lila lowers the glass slowly.

“The leaks.”

“Yes.”

“The order.”

“Yes.”

Her expression tightens slightly as realization sharpens.

“The emotional escalation.”

Exactly.

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Chapter 100

1 nod once.

“First they establish suspicion. Then emotional intimacy. Then private vulnerability.” I look at her directly. That is not random media behavior.”

The fire cracks softly behind me.

Lila goes very still.

“And the audience changes with each release,” she says slowly, thinking aloud now. “The first leak targeted gossip consulne The second targeted people emotionally invested in romantic betrayal narratives.” Her eyes narrow slightly. “The email targeted empathy.”

I stare at her.

God.

This woman..

Even exhausted and publicly humiliated, her mind still cuts cleanly through chaos.

She notices my expression immediately.

“What?”

“You’re profiling the whole thing.”

A tiny humorless smile touches her mouth.

“Well, someone should.”

I walk closer slowly until I’m standing directly in front of her.

“You should not have to.”

“And yet here we are.”

There’s no self-pity in her voice.

That somehow makes it worse.

I kneel in front of her instinctively, one hand settling against her knee.

“Lila.”

She looks at me.

“You are handling this frighteningly well.”

That gets an actual laugh.

Short. Disbelieving.

“Interesting interpretation.”

“I mean it.”

“No,” she says softly. “I’m just trying to break it down.”

Chapter 100

The honesty lands hard.

Because I know exactly what that costs.

Her fingers tighten slightly around the whiskey glass.

“I can feel myself separating parts of this emotionally,” she admits quietly. “Like if I fully experience all of it at once, I’ll lose

it.”

Jesus Christ.

I take the glass gently from her hand and set it aside before she spills it from exhaustion.

Then I pull her upright from the sofa and directly into me.

She comes immediately.

No hesitation.

Her forehead presses hard against my chest while my arms lock around her instinctively.

For a moment neither of us speaks.

I just hold her.

Feel her breathing.

Feel the tension still vibrating through her body.

Feel how hard she’s trying not to collapse emotionally while the internet dissects her character in real time.

“I’m angry,” she whispers finally against my sweater.

“I know.”

“No, like…” Her voice shakes slightly now. “Violently angry.”

Good.

That relieves me more than it should.

Because anger means she still feels powerful somewhere underneath the humiliation.

“What part?” I ask quietly.

She laughs once softly against my chest.

“All of it.” Then after a beat: “But mostly the manipulation.”

I close my eyes briefly.

Yes.

Exactly.

Not just the leaks but how calculated they were.

Whoever orchestrated this understood human reaction patterns disturbingly well.

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They antu ipated silence

Anticipated emotional retaliation.

Anticipated shame.

And worse

They anticipated Lila specifically.

I pull back slightly so I can look at her.

“What’s bothering you?”

She hesitates.

Then finally:

“The email,”

My chest tightens instantly.

“What about it?”

She looks away.

“I keep thinking about someone reading it before me.” Her throat moves visibly. “Someone turning a private emotional moment into strategy material.”

Something dark moves through me immediately.

Not abstract anger.

Specific anger.

The kind that feels almost physical.

Because suddenly I picture some stranger opening archived files containing her private thoughts and selecting emotional fragments like ammunition.

No.

Absolutely not.

My hand slides slowly into her hair.

“You wrote that because you were trying to protect both of us.”

“That’s not how people are reading it.”

“I don’t care.”

“But I do.”

The immediate honesty in that answer hits hard.

Of course she cares.

Lila spent years building competence carefully enough that no one could reduce her to stereotype easily.

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And now strangers are romanticizing her emotional suffering while simultaneously questioning her professionales

Cruel combination.

I tilt her face gently upward.

“You know what I see when I read that email?”

Her expression softens slightly despite herself.

“You’ve already answered this.”

“I’m answering again.”

A pause.

“I see a woman trying desperately to maintain integrity while falling in love.”

Emotion flashes quickly across her face.

Then she whispers:

“It didn’t feel noble at the time.”

“No,” I say honestly. “It felt terrible.”

That surprises her slightly.

“You knew?”

I almost laugh.

“Lila, there were weeks where you barely looked directly at me.”

Her eyes widen faintly.

“You noticed that?”

“Jesus Christ.”

A real laugh escapes her then.

Small.

Warm.

Necessary.

And suddenly I remember exactly what it felt like back then.

The tension.

The restraint.

Watching her professionally avoid me while simultaneously being unable to fully emotionally withdraw.

At the time it nearly drove me insane.

Now apparently it’s internet entertainment.

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Wonderful.

1 brush my thumb lightly against her cheek.

“You know what’s terrifying?”

“What?”

“That recording they leaked?” I pause. “I remember exactly what dress you were wearing that night.”

Her face changes immediately.

“Aidan.”

“I’m serious.”

“That is not helping our case.”

“It was dark green.”

She actually groans.

“You are emotionally useless during crises.”

“Objectively false. I’m excellent in crises.”

“You’re reminiscing.”

“Maybe.”

She shakes her head at me, but some of the tightness around her mouth eases slightly.

Progress.

Then my phone vibrates again.

Thomas.

I answer immediately.

“Yes.”

His voice comes clipped this time.

“We found the originating server for the archive breach.”

Every muscle in my body tightens.

“And?”

A pause.

Then:

“It came from inside Harlow Capital.”

The study goes completely silent.

Lila watches my face carefully.

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Chapter 100

I turn slightly away instinctively while Thomas continues.

“The access trail bounced through three private security layers before hitting Storm archival systems. Whoever did it knew exactly what they were looking for.”

“Meaning?”

“They searched specifically for anything connected to Lila.”

Cold settles sharply through my chest.

Not me.

Her.

My grip tightens around the phone automatically.

“What exactly did they access?”

Another hesitation.

Bad sign.

“Thomas.”

“Personnel reviews. Internal recordings. Archived executive scheduling.” He exhales quietly. “And private executive correspondence.”

Rage arrives so fast it almost steadies me.

Because suddenly this becomes something different entirely.

Not scandal.

Violation.

I look at Lila standing barefoot in the middle of my study wearing my sweater while strangers comb through years of her life searching for emotional leverage points.

Absolutely not.

“Shut the entire archive system down,” I say flatly.

“We already started.”

“Legal?”

“Already prepping injunctions.”

“Security?”

“We’re escalating our efforts.”

I look toward the windows.

Snow still falling

Peaceful morning outside while something ugly unfolds underneath it all.

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Chapter 100

Then another thought hits me.

Sharp.

Immediate.

“Thomas.”

“Yes?”

“How did Harlow know she mattered before the marriage became public?”

Silence.

Long enough that I already know he’s thinking the same thing.

Because that is the real question.

The timing is wrong.