My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Lila

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“Inside,” my father commands. “Now.”

“No.” I step into the hallway. Keep the door to my suite closed behind me. “Whatever you have to say, say it here.”

“Don’t be ridiculous…”

“Here or not at all. Your choice.”

His jaw tightens. But he stays. “What you did yesterday, that interview, was terrible.”

“I told the truth.”

“You humiliated this family. Do you have any idea the calls I’ve been getting? The questions? The…”

“I don’t care about your calls. I don’t care about your reputation. I don’t care about…’

“Of course you don’t care!” His voice rises. “You’ve never cared about anyone but yourself. Always so selfish. Always making everything difficult…”

“I was selfish?” The words burst out. “I stayed silent for two years while Mark abused me. I worked as a waitress through college while you paid for Natalie and James’s tuition. I married who you told me to marry. I’ve spent my entire life trying to earn your approval. How is that selfish?”

“You had everything with Mark,” Patricia interjects. Ice cold. “A beautiful home. Financial security. Status. And you threw it away because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut and be grateful.”

“Grateful?” I laugh. Bitter. Broken. “Grateful for what? For being belittled? For being cheated on? For being treated like a servant in my own home?”

“Every marriage has difficulties,” my father says. “You work through them. You don’t air your dirty laundry on national television and destroy a good man’s reputation…”

“Mark Knight is not a good man. He never was. And you know it. You knew exactly who he was when you pushed me toward him. You just didn’t care because his father’s money saved your company.”

“That’s not…”

“It is. I was a transaction to you. A way to secure funding for Stark Construction. You sold me, Dad. You literally sold me. And you’re angry now because I refused to stay sold.”

He steps closer. “You will retract everything you said in that interview. You will issue an apology. And you will make this right before you destroy…”

“No.”

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Chapter 59

“Excuse me?”

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“No. I won’t retract anything. I won’t apologize for telling the truth. And I certainly won’t let you guilt me into protecting Mark Knight’s reputation.”

“Lila, be reasonable…”

“I am being reasonable. For the first time in my life, I’m being reasonable. I’m choosing myself. My truth. My future. And that future doesn’t include you.”

Patricia scoffs. “You’re throwing away your family over this? Over your pride?”

“You were never my family. Family doesn’t treat people the way you treated me. Family doesn’t favor some children over others. Family doesn’t…” My voice breaks. “Family doesn’t make you feel like you have to earn love.”

“We gave you everything-” my father starts.

“You gave me scraps and expected gratitude. You gave Natalie and James everything and expected me to be thankful for what was left over. You let your wife treat me like hired help while pretending you didn’t notice. You sold me to Mark Knight to save your failing company. That’s not giving me everything. That’s using me.”

“How dare you…”

“How dare I?” My voice rises. “How dare you! How dare you come here, and demand I protect the man who abused me. How dare you prioritize your reputation over my wellbeing. How dare you…” I stop. Breathe. “I’m done. With you. With this. With pretending we’re a family when we’ve never been one.”

“If you do this,” my father says quietly. Dangerous. “If you cut us off, you’re on your own. No family support. No help when things go wrong. No…”

“I’ve been on my own my entire life. This changes nothing.”

“You’ll regret this…”

“The only thing I regret is not doing it sooner.” I look at Patricia. “You wanted me gone from the moment you married my father. Congratulations. You win. I’m gone.”

I turn toward my suite door.

“Your mother would be ashamed,” my father says.

I freeze. Turn back. “What did you say?”

“Your mother. Elizabeth. She would be ashamed of what you’ve become. The lies you’re telling. The family you’re destroying…”

“Don’t.” My voice is shaking. “Don’t you dare speak about my mother. Don’t pretend you knew what she’d want. You remarried within a year of her death. You let Patricia replace every photo of her in the house. You never even told me about the trust fund she left me. You were going to let it sit there forever, hoping I’d never find out. So don’t you dare tell me what my mother would think. You lying, despicable cheat.”

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Chapter 59

He looks shocked. “How did you-”

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“I know about the trust. I know you were contacted when it vested. I know you deliberately kept it from me. Why? Because if I had financial independence, I wouldn’t need you? Wouldn’t need Mark? Wouldn’t be desperate enough to accept scraps?”

“That money was supposed to help the family…”

“That money was supposed to be mine. My mother left it to me. Not to you. Not to save your company. Not to fund Natalie and James’s lifestyles. To me.” I step closer. “And now I have it. And I don’t need you anymore. I don’t need Mark. I don’t need anyone who makes me feel like I have to earn the right to exist.”

Silence. My father stares at me like he’s seeing me for the first time.

“You’ve changed,” he says finally.

“I’ve grown. There’s a difference.” I pull out my phone. “Security is waiting at the end of the hall. If you’re not gone in thirty seconds, I’m having you escorted out.”

“Lila…”

“Twenty-five seconds.”

“You’re making a mistake…”

“Twenty seconds.”

Patricia grabs my father’s arm. “Riley, let’s go. She’s not worth it.”

They turn. Walk toward the elevators. My father looks back once.

I don’t look away. Don’t flinch. Just stand there until the elevator doors close.

Then I go back into my suite. Lock the door. Slide down to the floor.

And I cry.

Not sad tears. Angry tears. Relieved tears. Tears that feel like letting go of something heavy I’ve been carrying for twenty-five years.

I cry for the little girl who tried so hard to be loved. For the teenager who worked double shifts while her step- siblings got everything. For the wife who stayed silent hoping things would get better. For every version of myself who thought she had to be smaller to deserve kindness.

I cry until I can’t cry anymore.

Then I stand up. Wash my face. Look at myself in the mirror.

“You did it,” I tell my reflection. “You stood up for yourself. You told them no. You chose yourself.”

My phone buzzes. Text from Aidan: Marcus told me your father showed up. Are you okay?

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Chapter 59

I type back: I’m better than okay. I told him to leave. I meant it.

Three dots appear immediately.

Proud of you. That took courage.

It felt good. Scary. But good.

That’s growth. Want company? Or do you need space?

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I stare at the message. Think about the empty suite. About the silence. About how easy it would be to spiral.

Think about Aidan saying he’d be there if I needed him.

Think about learning to let people support me instead of always handling everything alone.

Company would be good. If you’re free.

Give me 20 minutes.

I spend those twenty minutes cleaning up. Washing my face properly. Changing into something more presentable. Ordering coffee.

The knock comes at exactly twenty minutes. I check the peephole, Aidan, holding a bag from my favorite Thai place.

I open the door. “You brought food.”

“You stress-eat. I stress-eat. Seemed practical.” He steps inside. “How are you?”

“I stood up to my father.”

“I heard. Marcus said security had to escort them out?”

“I asked them to leave first. They didn’t listen.” I take the food to the table. “Thank you. For this. For checking

on me. For…”

“Stop thanking me all the time Lila.”

“I’m trying. Old habits.” I open the container, pad thai, extra vegetables, no peanuts. He remembered. “Did you see the articles? About the people corroborating my story?”

“I did. Five people now. All former Knight Group employees. All saying Mark was exactly as you described.” He sits across from me. “It’s working, Lila. The narrative is shifting.”

“But there are still people who don’t believe me.”

“There always will be. But more people do believe you than don’t. That’s what matters.” He pulls out his tablet. “Look.”

He shows me article after article. Think pieces about corporate abuse. Op-eds about emotional manipulation.

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Chapter 59

Interview requests from major publications wanting to talk to me about workplace toxicity.

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“You started a conversation,” Aidan says. “About things people usually stay silent about. That’s powerful.”

“It’s terrifying.”

“It’s both.” He sets down the tablet. “How are you really? After your father?”

“Angry. Relieved. Sad. All of it.” I eat a bite of pad thai. “He wanted me to retract the interview. Apologize to Mark. Protect their reputations.”

“What did you tell him?”

“No. Just… no. And then I told him I was done. With him. With pretending we’re a family. With everything.”

Aidan is quiet for a moment. “That’s huge.”

“I know.”

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