My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 92

9:41 Mon, May 25

Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Aidan

I know immediately when things get out of hand,

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It happens three hours after the article comes out when one of Storm Industries oldest investors calls me directly instead of going through our lawyers.

That’s always a sign.

Not anger.

Action.

Real power doesn’t make a show. It quietly gets things done.

I stand in my office looking out at Manhattans grey and cold sky while the investor carefully dances around the question he really wants to ask.

Was there overlap?

Did your relationship start while she worked for you?

Is this going to hurt us?

I answer calmly and precisely just like I do when I’m negotiating deals.

No overlap.

No problem.

My wife was amazing at her job long before she became my wife.

The conversation ends professionally.

When I hang up the phone I’m furious.

Not at the investor.

Because somewhere downstairs Lila is probably wondering if people will see her as competent or as part of a scandal.

I know how much that matters to her.

More than what people think of me.

More than gossip.

Her dignity.

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Chapter 92

She fought hard for it. I won’t let some bitter ex-girlfriend with a big platform take it away.

There’s a knock on my office door.

Thomas comes in with a tablet.

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“We’re getting somewhere with takedown requests ” he says carefully. “The article spread faster than we thought.”

“How many reposts?”

He hesitates before answering.

“Enough.”

I swear under my breath.

Thomas watches me for a moment.

Then cautiously I reply. “She’s in the library.”

Of course she is. The library has become her personal refuge.

Thomas doesn’t leave.

“There’s something else.”

I look up at him.

His expression is serious.

“She posted some photos.”

Cold dread spreads through my chest.

“What photos?”

“The gala in Boston some time ago.”

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Lila in a silk dress her hand on my arm smiling at something we said to each other before the picture was taken.

God.

I wanted her then even if I didn’t admit it.

“She framed them carefully” Thomas continues quietly. “The implication is that there was something going on before you were married.”

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Chapter 92

I stare at him.

Then laugh softly in disbelief.

“Emotional impropriety.”

“Welcome to PR.”

Anger pulses under my skin.

Not because the accusation hurts me.

Because I know what it will do to Lila.

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She’ll replay every moment wondering if she accidentally embarrassed herself before she even knew how she felt.

The worst part is…

Some of those photos will look intimate.

Because they were.

Not cheating intimate.

Worse.

Honest intimate.

The kind that builds slowly through attention and restraint and wanting someone much while refusing to

touch them.

I rub my jaw.

“Legal?”

“Working.”

“Security?”

“We’ve increased perimeter coverage.”

“Media?”

“Mixed. Most people are waiting to see your response.”

That’s the issue.

Storm Industries can survive gossip.

If we stay silent people will speculate.

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Chapter 92

I know how that works.

I’ve built part of my career on understanding what people think before they do.

Right now people are turning on my wife like sharks sensing blood.

The thought makes me angry.

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“I want every publication connected to Evelyn’se network documented ” I say flatly. “Every editor. Every contributor. Every financial tie.”

Thomas nods. “Already happening.”

“Good.”

I head toward the door.

“Aidan.”

I pause.

Thomas rarely uses my name unless its personal.

“You should be careful with her now.”

His tone makes me look at him.

“What does that mean?”

He chooses his words carefully.

“She might not be taking this well, might be too intense, she might be angry M.”

My stomach tightens.

Because anger I understand.

Anger fights.

Withdrawal is worse.

Withdrawal means hurt has already set in.

I leave the office without another word.

The library door is open.

I stop before entering.

Lila is sitting on the floor by the fireplace knees drawn up under one of the blankets.

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Chapter 92

A book lies open beside her untouched.

The firelight shines on her skin and hair.

She looks small.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

Like shes folded herself in to take up space.

The sight hurts.

For a moment I just watch her.

She doesn’t notice me at first.

Her attention is fixed on something outside the window, where snow is still falling softly.

Beautiful woman.

Heartbreaking woman.

Then she senses me. Turns her head slightly.

No smile.

No coldness.

Just tiredness.

I walk into the room slowly.

“How bad is it?” she asks before I can speak.

Straight to the point.

Always.

I hate that she feels like she needs to prepare herself before anyone else can hurt her.

I crouch beside her by the fire.

“Manageable.”

One eyebrow lifts.

“That bad?”

I exhale softly.

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9:41 Mon, May 25

Chapter 92

“She posted photos.”

The tiny flicker across her face.

Pain trying not to become humiliation.

“Which ones?”

“The Boston gala.”

Her eyes close briefly.

Course she remembers it too.

That night is still vivid, in my mind.

Lila laughing near my ear while cameras flashed around us.

The black dress.

The way I spent six hours pretending I didn’t want to touch her.

“They’ll say it proves something she says quietly.

“They’ll say whatever gets traffic.”

“They’ll believe it.”

I study her face.

“No “I say honestly. “Some people will.”

She nods slightly like she expected that.

The fire crackles softly between us.

Then she asks the question I knew was coming.

“Do you regret it?”

I blink once.

“The photos.”

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Her fingers tighten around the blanket. “Looking at me like that before we were together. Being emotionally involved before we admitted it.” She swallows. “Do you regret any of it now that its become ammunition?”

The fact that she even thinks to ask me that.

I move before I think about it reaching for her face gently.

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Chapter 92

“Lila.”

Her eyes lift to mine slowly.

“I would survive a scandal before I would survive never having loved you.”

Emotion flashes across her face quickly it almost undoes me.

Beneath it fear still sits.

“I don’t know how to do this ” she whispers. “This part. Being watched.”

I understand that suddenly.

Lila can survive cruelty.

What unsettles her is exposure.

Being turned into property.

Speculation.

Narrative.

I brush my thumb under her eye.

“You shouldn’t have to learn.”

A humorless laugh leaves her.

“Well apparently I married a billionaire.”

“That sounded judgmental.”

“It was. Sslightly.”

I smile despite myself.

Thank God.

Tiny signs of herself returning.

Then her face shifts again.

Serious.

“Aidan.”

“Mm?”

“You have to promise me something.”

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9:41 Mon, May 25

Chapter 92

“Anything.”

“No more deciding what I can emotionally handle.”

The words land softly.

Firmly.

I nod immediately. “Done.”

“I mean it.”

“So do I.”

“You keep trying to carry everything.”

That almost makes me laugh.

Because she says it like she isn’t the same.

Instead I just look at her quietly for a moment.

Then:

“You know what my father used to say?”

Her brows knit slightly. “What?”

“That information becomes dangerous once it spreads emotionally.”

She waits.

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“He built an empire by controlling reaction speed. Problems stayed manageable long as he reached them before emotion did.” I look toward the fire. “I think I learned to approach relationships the same way.

Understanding moves slowly across her face.

“You manage pain before it becomes visible.”

“Yes.”

“You thought you were protecting me.”

“Yes.”

A pause.

Softly:

“But you don’t trust me to survive ugly things.”

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Chapter 92

The truth hits me hard.

Not because shes completely right.

Because she’s partly right.

I trust her strength fully.

What I don’t trust is the worlds ability to hurt her without anyone stopping it.

Maybe that becomes its own kind of control if I’m not careful.

I look at her for a time before answering honestly.

“I trust you to survive anything.” My voice gets a little softer. “I just hate seeing things hurt you.”

Something in her face changes away.

There she is.

That woman beneath all the fear.

The one who still tries to be gentle despite everything life has taught her.

Her hand slips quietly into mine.

Warm fingers threading carefully through mine beside the fire.

Suddenly I want this over with a level of urgency that surprises even me.

Not for my reputation.

For peace.

For her.

“I can handle people disliking me ” she says after a while.

“I know.”

“I don’t want to bring shame to you.”

My chest feels tight and painful.

I turn toward her fully.

“Has anything about the way I look at you made you feel ashamed?”

“No.”

“Has anything about the way I touch you made you feel regretful?”

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9:41 Mon, May 25

Chapter 92

A faint blush appears on her cheeks away.

“No.”

“Then stop taking on peoples shame.”

Silence.

Then quietly:

“I’m trying.”

I lean forward and kiss her forehead gently.

“I know.”

For a while we stay there beside the fire saying nothing.

Snow falling outside.

The mansion quiet around us.

Her body gradually relaxing against inch by inch.

For the first time all day I think maybe we will get through this without letting it hurt us forever.

Then my phone vibrates.

Once.

Twice.

Thomas.

I almost ignore it.

Almost.

Something in me feels tight instinctively.

I pull the phone from my pocket.

Immediately understand why Thomas kept calling.

The message contains four words.

She’s, at the gate.

Cold moves sharply through my chest.

Lila notices away.

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9:41 Mon, May 25

Chapter 92

“What happened?”

I’m already standing.

“Aidan.”

I look at the message appearing beneath the first.

Evelyn is here.

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9:41 Mon, May 25