My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Lila

My hands won’t stop shaking.

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I stare at the press release on my laptop screen, the one that will go out in exactly three hours, and feel my breakfast threatening to make a reappearance.

Lila Stark announces the launch of the Elizabeth Stark Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing resources, legal assistance, and financial support to survivors of domestic abuse.

Thirty-seven words that represent six months of work. Six months of late nights and legal consultations and terrifying vulnerability.

Six months of turning my pain into purpose.

“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor,” Aidan says from the doorway of my officy, technically it’s still my office, even though I spend half my time in his these days.

I look up. He’s holding two cups of coffee. His tie is slightly crooked. I want to fix it but my hands are shaking too badly.

“I can’t do this,” I say.

“Yes, you can.”

“What if no one cares? What if the press tears me apart? What if…”

“Lila.” He sets down the coffee. Crosses to me. Takes my hands. “Breathe.”

I try. It comes out shaky.

“You’ve already done the hard part,” he says. “You’ve built the foundation. Set up the infrastructure. Recruited the board. Secured the funding. This is just telling people about it.”

“This is making myself vulnerable to millions of strangers.”

“You’ve done that before. You survived.”

“That was different. That was Mark exposing me. This is me choosing to expose myself.

“Exactly. You’re choosing. You’re in control. That’s the difference.”

He’s right. I know he’s right. But knowing something intellectually and feeling it emotionally are two very different things.

I look at the press release again. At my mother’s name in the foundation title. Elizabeth Stark, the woman who loved my father so completely she forgot to love herself. Who stayed through the yelling, the belittling, the slow erosion of her spirit. Who died when I was young, leaving me with a father who never cared for me and a

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Chapter 76

stepmother who hated me.

I’m naming the foundation after her because she deserved better.

Because I deserved better.

Because millions of women deserve better.

“Remind me why I’m doing this again,” I say quietly.

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Aidan doesn’t hesitate. “Because last month you got an email from a woman in Ohio who read about your story. She said watching you stand up to Mark gave her the courage to leave her husband. She’s safe now. She’s rebuilding. Because of you.”

I remember that email. I cried for an hour after reading it.

“And the month before that,” Aidan continues, “a college student reached out saying your story helped her recognize the signs of abuse in her own relationship. She got out before it escalated.”

“I remember.”

“And last week, that journalist from the Times called asking if you’d be willing to talk about resources for abuse survivors because she’d gotten dozens of emails from readers asking where to find help.”

I nod. Each story, each email, each person who reached out, they all added up to this moment. This decision.

“You have a platform now,” Aidan says. “Like it or not. And you can either hide from it or use it to help people who are where you were two years ago. Scared. Trapped. Convinced they’re worthless.”

“What if I’m not strong enough? What if…”

“Lila.” He tilts my chin up. Makes me look at him. “You walked into Mark’s office six months ago and brought him to his knees with nothing but evidence and courage. You testified at his trial. You watched him get sentenced without flinching. You rebuilt your career, your life, your sense of self. You are absolutely strong enough.”

“I’m terrified,” I admit.

“Good. It means you care. It means it matters.” He kisses my forehead. “But you don’t have to do this alone. I’m here, Marcus is here. The entire Storm Industries PR team is here. We’ve got your back.”

“You’ve already done so much.” I gesture at the funding documents on my desk. “Storm Industries’ donation alone could run the foundation for years.”

“It’s not charity. It’s an investment. In you. In the work you’re doing. In making sure other women have the resources you didn’t.”

“Thank you,” I say. “For believing in this. For believing in me.”

“Always.”

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Chapter 76

He kisses me. Soft and gentle. When he pulls back, my hands have stopped shaking.

“Better?” he asks.

“Better.”

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