My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Lila

I walk to the front of the room and conversations cease, all the cameras are pointed at me.

“Ms. Stark, are you making a statement today?”

“Did you have an affair with…?”

“Did you conspire to…?”

I hold my hand up and silence follows.

93

55 vouchers

“Mark Knight will not be holding a press conference today,” I state firmly, “he will be releasing a written statement admitting to the fabrication of all of the allegations against me and Aidan Storm. He will be apologising for lying and will fully cooperate with federal prosecutors in relation to his original crimes.”

And chaos breaks out, questions being yelled, flash photography everywhere,

“Ms. Stark, what crimes?”

“Ms. Stark, will you be able to provide proof of Mark’s lies?”

“Ms. Stark, what happened to change Mark’s mind?”

I do not respond, I walk to the exit.

A reporter stands in front of me, “Ms. Stark just one question, Did you threaten Mark Knight?”

I look at her then over her shoulder at the camera then at the many people witnessing this encounter.

“No,” I calmly respond.

I try to push past the reporter and continue out into the sunlight.

Aidan is there running toward me, his face is pale and has a wild look in his eyes.

“Lila,”

“It is over,” I walk into his arms and let him hold me while I feel the tension drain from my body. “It’s definitely over.”

“What did you…how did you …”

“I had evidence. Real evidence. Things he didn’t know I knew. Things that could put him away for decades beyond what he’s already facing.” I pull back to look at him. “I gave him a choice. Tell the truth or lose everything. He chose truth.”

“Wow you have had this the whole time.” Aidan stared at me amazed.

10:24 Wed, May 13 N

Chapter 74

2)

93

65 vouchers

“I’ve had it for months. Since before the divorce. I was… insurance. In case he ever came after me.” I touch his face. “I didn’t want to use it. Didn’t want to become someone who threatens and manipulates. But he left me no choice.”

“Lila Stark,” he smiles so widely I can’t help but smile back to him. “You are an amazing woman.”

“I’m scared.” This was the first time my voice shook while saying so. “I threatened him into begging me for mercy. I became…” I stopped to find the proper words before I finished what I was trying to say.

“You solved the problem. You fought back.” He kissed me on my forehead. “You did not manipulate him. You did what was necessary for your survival.”

Behind us, I hear shouting. Turn to see Mark being led out of the building by FBI agents.

I quickly turn back around and faced away from him. “Ms. Stark!” An aggressive reporter walked to us. “Mark Knight is being arrested…what do you think of this situation?”

“No comment,” Aidan said while sliding his right arm around me trying to guide me towards the exit, “Ms. Stark will not be making any further comments tonight.”

We got in the car and I closed the door with a thud and silence enveloped the inside of the car.

“Check your phone,” Aidan suggested.

I removed my phone from my right pocket and saw so many notifications that it resembled a fireworks display.

@BreakingNewsNow: Mark Knight confessed to creating false evidence against both Lila Stark and Aidan Storm. He also issued a public apology.#TheKnightGroupConspiracy

@WallStreetJournal: BREAKING: FBI arrests Mark Knight on charges including Securities Fraud,!”Insider Trading!”Obstruction of Justice

@BusinessInsider: Mark’s statement: “Out of jealousy I fabricated evidence against my ex wife, I have great remorse and apologize to all whom I have harmed by my crimes.”

I’m feeling shaky. This time, not from fear.

Relief.

“He really did it” I say softly to Aidan “He was telling the truth.”

“You left him no choice” Aidan says, holding my hand. “What you just did was more courageous than anything I have seen in my life. You walked into that room by yourself, faced him, and stood your ground, you were courageous.”

“I don’t feel like it was courage, I feel…” Hesitating, I think about it. “I felt strong, for once in my life I feel truly strong.” Aidan says.

“You are strong”

10:24 Wed, May 13

Chapter 74

prove myself to everyone, and that I deserve to be here.”

“You’ve already earned that right.”

(6

93

55 vouchers

“Then I will continue earning that right.”The paparazzi have vacated the house because they are hunting the larger story, which is most likely at the Knight Group.

We enter Aidan’s apartment together and ride up to his apartment in silence, and then I drop onto the couch in dead silence, and Aidan sits down next to me. He asks me how I feel and I tell him, “I feel like I was just in a battle and I won.”

“I’m free,” I tell him. “He can never do anything to me again. He can never manipulate me, control me or destroy me. He’s gone to prison and I can go on with my life and I will continue to grow as a person and become whoever I want to be.”

“Who do you want to be?” Aidan asked me.

I thought about it; I thought about it really hard.

Finally, I said, “I want to be stronger than anyone else and not shrink myself for anyone else to feel comfortable. I want to use my power but to not apologize for having it, and to be the type of person who is worthy of you.”

He replied, “Lila, you deserve to be with me. You deserve everything good, but you just haven’t realized it before.”

“Now I do.”

He kisses me with softness, gentleness, and many promises.

Then we both pull away from the kiss and I’m in tears; they are tears of happiness and of relief from the large amount of emotions I’m feeling from being a survivor.

I survived Mark Knight. I survived the abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, and the many attempts made by Mark Knight to destroy me.

Not only did I survive, but I no longer had anything to be ashamed of or to hide from.A sudden thought struck me, “I need to reach out to my attorney, just to confirm that we have complete documentation on what happened with Mark’s arrest, and no way for him to escape the consequences of his crime.”

“Our legal team was already on standby, and they’re currently working with the FBI about this situation.”

“And what about the SEC, and the stockholders, and whatever else…”

“Everything you would normally do in a situation like this is being taken care of. Marcus is overseeing the situation from a corporate perspective; the Public Relations department is releasing statements; the IT department is documenting electronic evidence of his wrongful actions. Everything is being tracked and documented.”

“So, what should I be doing now?”

10:24 Wed, May 13 N

Chapter 74

93

55 vouchers

“Now?” Aidan asked, smiling at me. “Now you rest, and breathe, and process everything that has just happened to you. And tomorrow, when you’re ready, you will step back into your life as you exist now as a woman who can never be stopped; powerful; confident; and unstoppable.”

I agree with Aidan and rest my head against his shoulder.

My phone buzzes. An unknown number has sent me the following message:

“I hope you’re happy. You destroyed me.”

Mark still wants me to feel guilty, even from federal custody.

I reply, “You destroyed yourself. I just wouldn’t allow you to destroy me.”

I block the unknown number.

Then, I delete the entire thread of text messages; emails; and any other evidence of the existence of Mark Knight on my telephone.

It feels like I can finally exhale after holding my breath for so many years.

“I’m done,” I said. “Mark is gone from my life, once and for all.”

“Good,” Aidan stood up and extended his hand towards me, “let’s order some food – we can relax and watch something silly. Forget about the world for a few hours.”

He reaches out for my hand and helps me up.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify