149 Tina’s Regret
Lucian
When she was done packing, Tina turned to face us-Mara and me.
Her eyes were swollen, red-rimmed and glassy. Her hands clutched the straps of her bag like they were the only things anchoring her to the ground.
“I’m sorry… for everything,” she said, her voice cracking under the weight of her confession. “I guess I got carried away. I wouldn’t call it love. It was… selfishness. Anger. Ego.”
She took a breath and wiped her face with trembling fingers.
“Seeing my son in the ICU made me realise just how stupid I’ve been. You treated me so well, Lucian… and I knew-deep down-I would never find someone who loved me that way. But I let the world get in my head. People talked. They said you’d never amount to anything, and I believed them.”
I didn’t interrupt. I couldn’t. The words were spilling from her now, unfiltered and raw.
“I didn’t want to be the woman who settled for the ‘nobody.’ Joey had his own business. He had respect. You were still on your father’s allowance, answering to him, and not even the heir to the Alpha title. I wanted more-money, power, freedom. And you… you tried. God, you tried. But it wasn’t enough for me.”
She swallowed hard.
“I asked that we see other people. I didn’t want to leave you, not completely-I just wanted to have both. I thought I could manage it, that I could keep you close while chasing something shinier. But when I found out your father had chosen a
wife for you, something snapped in me.”
She looked at Mara, then away, ashamed.
“You were given Steel Corp. I was furious. I thought-how could I suffer through your worst years, only for another woman
to come in and reap the benefits? So I came back… but not with dignity. I asked to be your mistress. I knew you wouldn’t
go against your father, and I figured you’d say yes. When you rejected me… I broke.”
I could feel Mara go still beside me, her body tight with restraint.
“I stayed away, but the moment I knew I was ovulating, I invited you over. I lied-I said I was safe. I knew you wanted to
end things, but I didn’t care. I thought if I got pregnant, you’d have no choice but to keep me in your life.”
Her voice crumbled with guilt now, her sobs growing thicker.
“Joey broke up with me when I told him I was pregnant. Stayed away for a month. I waited for you to come back… but you didn’t. And then I panicked. I told him you’d begged me to give you an heir because you didn’t like your wife. He believed
- That’s why he stayed. That’s why he waited.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks now.
“I used my baby as a tool. I didn’t see him as a person, Lucian. I saw him as a means to an end. And when I faked the symptoms, I searched online-convinced myself the meds were harmless. But I was just looking for permission to do something awful. I never thought it would actually hurt him. But now…”
She looked up, her eyes breaking all over again.
“He’s in an ICU. Fighting to breathe. His body, his life-forever changed because of me. And I’m the one who did this to him. I’m the biggest loser in all of this. You and Mara will go on to have strong, healthy children, and my son… my son will
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always fight to stay alive.”
I felt something tighten in my chest. Guilt? Pity? Maybe just the weight of truth.
+8 Paints
“I know Joey will leave me once he knows everything. I just want you to forgive me one day. And Mara…” she turned toward her, her voice almost a whisper, “please love him. Please raise him with kindness. Let him know he’s not unwanted, even if I failed him.”
She turned back to me.
“If I could go back and undo it all, I would. I swear. But I can’t. So… if nothing else, please tell my son I’m sorry. And that I’ll regret what I did for the rest of my life.”
Her voice finally gave out, and she collapsed into quiet sobs.
I didn’t speak. I couldn’t. It would take time-a long time-to forgive her. If ever.
Instead, I linked the staff to help with her luggage and stepped aside.
As we headed toward the exit, my father appeared at the top of the stairs. His eyes were bloodshot. His face tight and trembling.
Left to him, he’d have dragged Tina out by her hair. I knew that much.
But he looked at her, then at me. I must have said enough earlier for him to realise there was no point in breaking her further.
“Don’t come by here ever again,” he said coldly.
Lacy and Martha stood behind him, watching in silence. My father’s hands trembled at his sides. He didn’t bother to hide
the emotion swelling in his throat.
Richard’s condition had hit him harder than anyone realised.
Alpha Mark or not… that baby was still his blood.
Still ours.
There was nothing amusing about any of it.
The silence that lingered between Mara and me as we left the hall wasn’t filled with relief-it was heavy with sorrow. The
truth was glum: an innocent child had been forced to carry the consequences of someone else’s choices. Tina’s deceit
had shattered so many things, but it was Richard who had paid the highest price.
Mara and I were finally free of the chaos. Tina was gone. The house felt lighter already, like it could breathe again. We
were back to where we should have always been-together, unburdened, expecting a child of our own. A clean chapter. A
peaceful beginning. But even in that peace, a small, fragile life was fighting to survive in an ICU miles away.
I didn’t want to stress Mara more than I already had. She had carried enough of the emotional weight these past days. So,
I suggested we spend the night in the mansion. No travel. No tension. Just rest.
We returned to our room. Our meals were brought up not long after, and we ate in quiet comfort, grateful to finally share a moment that wasn’t drenched in uncertainty. Knowing Richard was in good hands, on the road to healing, allowed a little warmth back into the room. I saw her smile again-soft, genuine. And for the first time in what felt like forever, I smiled
too.
She was exhausted, though, and I didn’t need her to say it. Her body leaned into mine as we got into bed, and I simply wrapped my arms around her. Touching her that night was out of the question, not because I didn’t want her, but because she deserved peace more than passion.
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I let her breathe. Let her feel safe.
As we drifted into silence, just as my mind began to shut down, my phone buzzed on the nightstand. I reached for it reluctantly, not quite ready to leave the comfort of her warmth.
Darian.
I hesitated for a beat, then answered. “Yeah?”
“Lucian, sorry to disturb you,” he said, voice low but urgent. “Tiffany and I decided to stay the night at the mansion.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Mara and I are here too. Tina left a few hours ago.”
He let out a relieved breath. “Good. I wasn’t sure if it was safe yet.”
I sat up slightly. “What’s going on?”
“We found something,” he said, his voice tightening. “An address in Goldenpeak. It belonged to Alaric Moongrove.”
That name snapped me fully awake.
“So your mother wasn’t lying,” I muttered, my thoughts racing.
+3 Points >
“No, she wasn’t,” Darian replied. “He exists. We’re not sure what his current connection is, but it confirms part of her story.
Maybe we can meet tomorrow and talk next steps?”
“Absolutely,” I said. “It’s not Chase, but Alaric’s been a ghost in the background too long. We need to find him and shut
him down. Especially if he’s still tied to Martha.”
“I’ll brief you in the morning,” Darian promised. “Get some rest.”
I ended the call, staring at the ceiling for a moment. Another problem. Another ghost from the past rising up. But at least
now, we were finally playing offence.
I turned to Mara. She’d shifted slightly, her hair splayed across the pillow, her breathing deep and rhythmic. I kissed the side of her neck, a soft press of gratitude and affection. She stirred, letting out a sweet, sleepy moan that warmed something in my chest.
And that was all the invitation I needed.
We had faced chaos. We had chosen each other again and again.
Now, we had something worth protecting-our peace, our child, our future.
And nothing-not Tina, not ghosts like Alaric-was going to steal that from us.
