The Billionaire's Ex-Wife (Her Ex-Husband's Regret) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17 

Kayden. 

You’re getting married to your mistress? 

But Mother just died! 

I hate you! 

I see my ten-year-old self screaming at my father after he just told me that he was going to marry the woman who was the cause of my mother’s depression and heart attack. 

I ran away crying my eyes out. My young self couldn’t understand how my father could do such a thing. Did he not love my mother at all? 

I wandered around the large lake resort owned by my family. I reached the small worn-down cottage near the lake. This used to be my playhouse when I was little. But it had been neglected for years and it looked like it was about to fall apart. 

I sat on the edge of the wooden bridge and took out a necklace from my pocket. It had two rings as a pendant. My mother gave me this before she passed away. She told me to give one of the rings to the woman I’m going to marry someday. She said that it would be a sign of her blessing. 

The ring had an inscription inside. It said “Tenshi’ in Japanese, meaning angel. The person who receives this ring will be the one my mother sent as an angel to be with me in this life. 

As I played with the necklace, it slipped from my fingers and fell on the ground at the edge of the lake. 

Rats! 

I climbed down the wooden bridge, carefully holding on to the trail wooden braces under it. But as soon as I pulled the necklace up, the wooden support I was holding onto gave a loudereak before breaking into pieces against my weight. 

With a sharp splash, I hit the freezing water. Panic gripped me as I struggled to stay on the surface, 

“Is 

“Help!” I screamed as loud as I could. “I can’t… I can’t swim!” 

I wasn’t sure how long I stayed afloat, desperately calling for the help that would not come. The playhouse was deep within the garden of our lake resort. Not many people knew about this. 

Above me, the skies turned dark and thunder crashed through the silence. 

An invisible force dragged me down towards the abyss. I fought to stay afloat but eventually succumbed, sinking into the dark depths below. 

Suddenly, I sensed a force tugging me upwards. Struggling to catch my breath, I emerged to the surface and coughed violently. 

In the shimmering light, I saw her. An ethereal figure with strawberry blond hair and piercing hazel… or was it green eyes, I couldn’t tell. She reached out a hand to help me stay afloat. 

Was she real or just a figment of my oxygen-deprived brain? She smiled at me with a warmth that chased away the chill of the water. I thought that at that moment, this girl was sent by my mother to save me. 

“Don’t worry. I gotcha. You’re going to be okay.” 

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15:43 Fri, May 17 

Chapter 17 

She pulled me toward the edge, and slowly we climbed to safety. The storm continued to rage around us, the wind howling and rain lashing against our skin. 

“Help!” my angel suddenly screamed. “We’re down here!” 

“No one can hear us here,” I told her. “Let’s find shelter there.” This time, it was my turn to lead her to the safety of my shabby playhouse, 

I managed to find a blanket in one of the cabinets and I gave it to her. 

“Thanks,” she mumbled, putting the blanket around herself. I simply nod as I sit in a corner and rub my arms to keep myself warm. “Why is there only one blanket? Do you not come here with playmates?” 

“Yeah! I’m not very friendly!” I snorted. “It’s alright. You can h-have it. Y-you save my life after a-all.” 

“But it’s useless if you die of hypothermia! 

I could tell that she’s smarter than her age, and she’s feisty. I couldn’t help admiring her instantly. 

“Come here. Let’s share the blanket,” she suggested. 

Slowly, I got up and sat beside her. The moment, she wrapped the blanket around both of us, I felt warmer and a lot better. 

“How do you know there would be a blanket here?” she asked. 

“Because it used to be my playhouse.” 

“What happened to it now?” 

“My father wanted to turn this entire garden into a mini golf course.” 

“No way! Ask him to grow a tree here and build you a tree house It would be perfect!” 

“He won’t listen to me.” 

“Did you fight? Is that why you wandered off alone here?” 

“Yes! I’m so mad at him.” 

“Is that why you dove into the water, even though you didn’t know how to swim?” Her eyes widened in shock. “Are you trying to kill yourself?” 

“I didn’t dive! I fell!” 

“You wouldn’t have fallen if you didn’t go too near the edge.” She sounded like she was scolding me. 

“It was stupid, I know! But I had to save my ring!” I fished the ring from my pocket and showed it to her “My mother gave it to me. I would trade my life for it.” 

“But if you die, your mother will be sad. Did you not think about that?” 

“If I die, then I will be with my mother.” 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know…” I felt her tap my arm to comfort me. 

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15:43 Fri, May 17 

Chapter 17 

“How about you?” I asked. “You don’t know me, and yet you jumped into the water to save me. It was too deep! You could have drowned.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please! I practically live in water. My dream is to become a mermaid!” At that moment, I believed her. She was very brave and she was a strong swimmer even at her age. 

“What were you doing here anyway? How did you even know this garden?” 

“I was just wandering around with my stepsister. And then we heard a cry for help, so we rushed off to see what it was.” 

Maybe she was sent by my mother to save me. And suddenly, I just felt that I had to give her one of the rings.” 

“Thank you, angel.” I took the smaller ring from my necklace and placed it on her hand. 

“It’s too big for me!” She giggled. 

“You can hold on to it until we’re older. By then, you can wear it 

“Are you sure we’ll meet again after this?” 

“Yes. This ring will give me a reason to find you again. Hold on to it. It belonged to my mother in heaven. I know that she sent you to save me.” 

“Anybody could have done what I did.” 

I shook my head. “Apparently, not anybody. Your stepsister didnt jump in and she ran away, didn’t she?” 

She sighed sadly. “I just hope she told our parents. So, somebody would come find us 

here.” 

But we stayed there for hours, and nobody came. We were both shivering from the cold. I wrapped my arms around her to keep her warm. It was the best I could do before darkness took over my senses. 

When I opened my eyes again, I was already in the small hospital in town. 

“The-there was a girl with me, I immediately asked the nurse about my angel. 

“She’s perfectly fine. She’s with her mother.” 

“I want to see her,” I insisted. 

“You can’t get out of bed just yet, young man. You’re gonna have to wait.” 

I did wait. And when I opened my eyes again, a little girl was sitting beside me. 

“Hello!” she greeted me. 

I blink back at her.