My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lila

I ended the call.

How did he know where I was and who I was with?

1 gradually lowered my right hand with both the palm facing up (which is how I typically answer), and still with beating in my ears from excitement. The man who was opposite me was Aidan Storm. He was looking at me quietly like a person that does not rush through anything.

I lowered my hand slowly, my pulse still thundering in my ears. Across the table, Aidan Storm watched me with the stillness of a man who never rushed outcomes. Candlelight cut sharp lines across his face, accentuating his eyes.

“You didn’t reply,” he said.

“I made a choice not to.”

When I spoke, my voice sounded far away to me. Like I was someone else.

Aidan finally I reached for the folder.

The sound it made when it slid smoothly along the surface of the table was soft, but also final.

“I will destroy Mark Knight,” he stated.

No anger, no dramatics. Just a statement..

I chuckled once with a quick and empty laugh. “How will you do that?”

Aidan replied, “I do not use emotions against men like him, but rather I’m strategic in my approach towards men such as him.”

My fingers were hovering over the folder. I did not open it.

“I know that you think I want revenge,” I started. “What I want is to just live my

life.”

Aidan slightly leaned back in his chair. “Most people do not know what they want,” he continued: “most people only know what they no longer want in their lives.”

Out of his view towards the city, I could see all of the lights becoming blurred together as bright as they could be but also as clear as they could have possibly been.

Somewhere in one of those buildings was the office in which Mark had slid divorce documents across the table as if he were tossing away an invoice. “I have nothing,” I said softly. “No money. No power. No leverage.”

Aidan didn’t blink.

Chapter 7

“You have something more valuable” I stared at him. “You understand his weaknesses”

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My breath caught at the word understanding. I thought of Mark’s short temper when he thought he’d been trapped His obsession with control. His need to keep up image. How he thinks less of anyone who wasnt up to par with him.

There was no way I could have lasted in that relationship without understanding him

“I didn’t intentionally find those things.” I said.

“Of course not,” Aidan agreed. “You learned them out of necessity.”

He struck the documents lightly. “Mark Knights is very predictable. He believes power derives from position. not perception; ownership, not loyalty; he confuses silence with obedience.” I clenched my jaw.

“He believes people don’t change,” Aidan continued. “That’s his biggest flaw.”

I opened the documents. Inside were documents; graphs, names, dates, contracts I could identify and some I couldn’t. Pictures of me at various functions where I was not in the frame. Memos with the word CONFIDENTIAL stamped on them. Timelines of acquisitions by the Knight Group, many with red circles drawn around significant dates. Dates I remembered.

“You were there,” Aidan said, interpreting the expression on my face, “At the fundraiser where he lost the Baltic Islands deal, at the conference dinner, when he disrespected the Eastern Consortium without realising who they were.” I swallowed.

“He believed they were in a subordinate role.”

“They were considering closing him down.” Aidan responded, “And they did just that.”

There was a minor shake to my fingers as I turned to the next page.

“You see”, Aidan continued as he spoke softly, “You were always nearer to the truth than he was.”

I closed the file.

“You are asking me to spy,” I stated.

“I am asking you to work,” Aidan corrected me, “For Storm Industries.”

I looked up at him sharply.

“You are about to do a great deal of learning,” He continued, “You will learn about finance, negotiation and power dynamics; You will learn how to create real influence; Quietly, with purpose, and without cruelty.”

“What will happen after I have learned everything?” I asked.

“After you have learned everything, when you feel the time is right to do so,” Aidan replied, “You will strike

back.”

I felt my heart beat in my chest. “You make it sound so easy.”

Chapter 7

vourer

“It won’t be,” Aidan replied. “It will exhaust you, you will have self-doubt, and you will feel like quining”

Aidan leaned in slightly and said, “But you won’t be powerless from now on ”

1 gazed down at my fingers where my wedding ring once resided.

“What if I fail?” Linquired

Aidan raised the corners of his mouth. “If you fail you will have gained knowledge, rather than having been waiting for someone to choose you.”

Again there was a moment of silence.

I could hear a siren off in the distance and another one far away. The darkness of the night was totally unforgiving and extremely close.

“I don’t trust you.” I replied honestly.

“You shouldn’t trust me,” he answered back, “But you will eventually.”

He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a small, thin card and placed it next to the file.

STORM INDUSTRIES

AIDAN STORM

CEO

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“Come work for me or not; it makes no difference to me. You see, Mark Knight has lost more than he realises.” he said with a smirk.

Another message dinged on my phone, this time it’s a text from Mark: “Stop playing your games Lila; you owe me an explanation.”

I stared at my phone and began to respond to him out of habit, to smooth things over and keep the peace.

But then I remembered Mark telling me to stay the hell out of his life.

I turned my phone over and faced the screen down.

Aidan was watching me intently, a billion thoughts racing through his mind.

“Good,” he said quietly.

Unsteadily, I stood up from where I was sitting.

“If I accept your offer to work for you,” I continued slowly “there will be conditions.”

Aidan stood with me; even though he was taller than me by several inches, he didn’t give me an intimidating feeling. He waited patiently.

Chapter 7

“I won’t be a weapon for you,” I told Aidan firmly and sadly yet still in a confusing manner. “I’m not going to destroy him because you want revenge on him’

Aidan nodded: he understood my viewpoint

“I’m not going to be controlled by you”

Aidan smiled. he agreed.

I took a deep breath and spoke in a very honest ground level tone. “If I choose to stop at any point, you will let me walk away.

Aidan thought for a moment before answering, “You can walk away, whenever you want.”

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