Chapter 10: The Price of Regret

I flew back to my hometown immediately.

When I arrived at the hospital, my brother had already been declared beyond saving.

He was twenty-four years old.

My parents knelt beside the bed, crying uncontrollably.

I stood in the corridor, completely frozen.

People walked past me, but I felt like a lifeless shell.

My mind went blank.

Tears filled my eyes, but I couldn’t cry.

Zachary stood beside me in silence.

He raised his hand slightly, as if he wanted to hug me.

But I pushed him away violently.

"Get away from me!"

"If it weren’t for you, I would have seen my brother before he died!"

If he hadn’t refused to divorce me, I wouldn’t have returned to Hoginia.

If Erik hadn’t fallen sick, I wouldn’t have stayed there for another week.

If he hadn’t interfered with my work, I wouldn’t have gone to Dustin.

If I could go back to that night when I was twenty-three…

I would have chosen a crowded street instead of that dark alley.

I would never have been blocked by Nicholas Flynn.

Nicholas was the husband of a woman I had once helped rescue.

He hated me for helping her escape.

He believed I had humiliated him and his family in front of the entire nation.

He hated me to the core.

That night, he cornered me in the alley with a knife.

I was almost killed.

But Frank rushed forward and shielded me.

Nicholas struck him with the knife.

The blow caused severe brain hemorrhaging.

Frank survived the surgery.

But his condition worsened day by day.

His brain slowly deteriorated until there was nothing left to save.

I owed him my life.

I had always blamed myself.

I was the worst sister in the world.

I couldn’t turn back time.

I couldn’t change anything.

It took me three years to bring Nicholas to justice.

In the end, he was sentenced to death.

I gave up everything.

I gave up my dreams and became a housewife in the Mason family.

All for the sake of earning enough money for Frank’s treatment.

But in the end…

It still wasn’t enough.

Frank was gone.

I could no longer hold back my grief.

I collapsed to my knees and cried hysterically.

Zachary knelt beside me and held me tightly.

No matter how much I struggled, hit him, or bit him, he refused to let go.

"I know… I understand how you feel…" he whispered.

"Don’t talk nonsense!" I shouted.

"You don’t understand anything!"

"I hate you! Get out of my sight!"

Zachary’s face turned pale, but he didn’t move.

He stayed with me in silence.

He helped handle Frank’s funeral.

After everything was over, I stood alone on the road.

I looked up at the sky, feeling completely lost.

Zachary reached out and held my hand.

I immediately pulled away.

"Don’t touch me."

He lowered his voice.

"You… you are my wife."

"Not for long," I replied coldly.

"The divorce will be finalized soon."

"Even if you don’t cooperate, I will get the decree."

Zachary spoke after a pause.

"You applied for the divorce in Hoginia."

"You’ll have to go back there to finalize it."

I didn’t want to return.

There was nothing left there worth remembering.

But when I checked social media, I froze.

Charlee had posted multiple statements about me.

She accused me of being a fake feminist.

A gold digger.

A woman who sacrificed everything for money.

She even claimed I abused Erik and worsened his condition.

It was outrageous.

Her lies were absurd.

Yet people believed her.

Before this, no one even knew who I was.

Now, I had become a target.

People cursed me endlessly online.

"I’ll remove the posts," Zachary said.

"I’ll clarify everything for you."

His face remained cold, but I could sense something different.

For the first time, he seemed… careful.

"Stephanie… can you stop being angry with me?"

"No," I answered without hesitation.

"I’m going back to Hoginia."

"And I will personally slap your beloved woman."