Her Regret Is My New Life

My grandmother died because of a phone call that was never answered.

Shed had a massive stroke. The kind where every second counts, where you need the best neurosurgeon in the city on the line immediately. I was desperate, drowning in a sea of hospital bureaucracy, so I called the one person who had the power to save her: Charlotte, the woman Id loved for five years, the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar empire.

But Charlotte didn't pick up. Sebastian, her "creative director" and the flame shed never quite extinguished from her past, intercepted the call. He didn't just ignore me; he blocked my number.

I raced to her office, winded and trembling, hoping to plead my case in person. I was met by a wall of security guardsmen Sebastian had personally instructed to keep me out. I begged. I screamed until my throat was raw. I was met with nothing but cold, corporate silence.

Five hours later, a nurse placed a hand on my shoulder and told me my grandmother was gone.

When Charlotte finally emerged from the building, looking radiant and polished after a long day of "closing deals," she saw me slumped on the curb. She didn't offer a hug. She didn't ask why my eyes were bloodshot. She just narrowed her eyes in distaste.

"Youre missing work to sit on the sidewalk? What is this, Nate? Some kind of performance?"

I looked up at her, and for the first time in half a decade, I didn't see the woman of my dreams. I saw a stranger. I let out a dry, jagged laugh.

"Charlotte, were done. Don't ever call me again."

--

"I just got out of a five-year nightmare," I said, looking across the small caf table. "Are you sure you want to deal with someone like me? Im still... processing."

The girl sitting opposite me, Sophie, didn't flinch. She just offered a soft, genuine smile that reached her eyes. "Its okay. Im not looking for a perfect version of you, Nate. Im looking for you. I don't care about your past."

I stared at her for a long beat, feeling a strange, unfamiliar warmth settle in my chest. I nodded, my voice thick. "Give me one week. I need to settle things there. Then we leave this city. We get married. We start over."

I waved goodbye and stepped down into the subway entrance.

It had been four days since my grandmothers funeral. Id spent them in a haze of grief, navigating the cold machinery of city departments to file the death certificate and settle her meager estate. Everyone in my small circle knew the woman who raised me was gone.

Everyone except Charlotte.

Shed never bothered to learn the details of my life. My world was a "distraction" from her trajectory. Since shed inherited her familys conglomerate, her time had become a currency too valuable to waste on someone as ordinary as me. She didn't know that while she was signing a merger, the only person who ever truly loved me was dying in a cold hospital room because I couldn't reach the "right" people.

The moment the hospital called with the time of death was the moment my heart finally went cold for Charlotte.

As I climbed out of the subway station, the sky turned a bruised purple, and a sharp wind began to howl between the skyscrapers. My phone buzzed.

It was Sebastian. Charlottes "right-hand man." Her childhood sweetheart. My constant shadow.

"Nate," he said, his voice dripping with that casual, high-society arrogance. "Were out of umbrellas at the office. Head back to the penthouse, grab two of the large ones, and get them here in twenty minutes. Its about to pour."

He always spoke to me like I was the help. Even now, with my soul feeling like it had been scraped hollow, his voice felt like a serrated blade against my nerves.

For five years, Sebastian had been the third person in our relationship. Charlotte shared everything with himincluding the intimate details of our life. He knew things he shouldn't; he made jokes about our private time right in front of me. When Id blow up at her about it, Charlotte would just look at me with that patronizing "youre so small-minded" expression.

"Hes just joking, Nate. Don't be so fragile. Its embarrassing when a man has no sense of humor. I asked him to look out for you because youre clearly overwhelmed by the city. Try to be grateful for once."

I used to apologize. I used to think I was the problemthe "country boy" who didn't understand the sophisticated boundaries of the elite. Sebastian was educated, polished, and indispensable to her business. I was just... Nate.

But today, I just smiled at the phone. If she wanted Sebastian so badly, she could have the whole package.

"Im on my way home, Sebastian. I don't have time to be your delivery boy. If she needs an umbrella, call an Uber or send an intern. You know the code to the penthouse anyway."

There was a stunned silence on the other end before Sebastian let out a sharp, nasty little chuckle. "Bold move, Nate. Ill make sure Charlotte hears exactly how much you 'care' about her comfort."

He hung up. I squeezed the phone until my knuckles turned white, forcing down the bile. I was the "official" boyfriend, yet I was treated like a footnote in my own life.

I stepped out into the rain.

Three hours later, I arrived at the penthouse, soaked to the bone and shivering. My mind was eerily calm. The grief had moved past the stage of tears and into a quiet, cold resolve.

I kicked off my shoes and headed for the master bathroom, needing a hot shower to wash away the city's grime. The door swung open before I reached it.

Charlotte stepped out, a cloud of expensive steam trailing behind her. She was wrapped in a plush white towel that hugged her curves, her skin glowing. For a split second, that old familiar ache of attraction hit me.

Then, a man stepped out behind her.

"Charlotte, babe, you should blow-dry your hair or youll catch a chill," he said softly.

The steam cleared. It was Sebastian.

He was standing there in a pair of leather slippersmy leather slippers. They were a cheap pair Charlotte had bought me during our first year together. I cherished them because they were the first gift shed ever given me. Now, they were damp and ruined, stretched out under his feet.

I actually laughed. It was the most absurd thing Id ever seen.

"I see the 'after-work' activities have already started," I said, my voice steady. "Ill leave you two to it."

I turned to walk away, but Charlotte grabbed my arm, her face twisting into an angry mask. "Nathaniel, stop it. Don't start with the jealousy. Were only here because you refused to bring the umbrellas. We got caught in the downpour, we were freezing, and I let him use the guest shower. What is wrong with you?"

I didn't want to fight. I was there to pack a bag and leave a ghost. But seeing him stand there, literally treading on the only sentimental thing I had left, snapped something inside me.

"Is that why you have those marks on your neck, Charlotte?"

Her hand flew to her collarbone. She and Sebastian had clearly been distracted. I knew those marks. Id spent five years putting them there.

Charlottes face hardened. Sebastian stepped forward, his voice a practiced silk. "Nate, I know youve always been insecure about us, but this is low. Charlotte was bitten by something at the garden party today. Don't be disgusting."

He was good. He made himself the victim and me the villain in three sentences.

Charlottes eyes flashed with ice. "Apologize to him, Nate. Right now. You have no right to slander our friendship with your pathetic imagination. If you don't, I swear, Im done with you."

I looked at her, really looked at her. "Im not apologizing. Not now, not ever."

I walked into the bedroom and slammed the door.

She didn't come to bed that night. It was her favorite weapon: the cold shoulder. She expected me to crawl to her office the next morning with flowers and a tearful apology, begging for her "forgiveness."

But she was playing a game Id already quit.

The next afternoon, she did something unusual. She brought home a bouquet of roses and left them on the dining table. She pointed to a vase, her tone clipped and haughty. "I saw them on the way back. They were pretty. Fix them."

This was her version of a peace offering. A command disguised as a gift. In the past, I would have been so relieved by the "thaw" that I would have jumped to do itignoring the fact that Im deathly allergic to pollen.

I didn't move. I called over the housekeeper. "Mrs. Higgins, could you put those in the trash? Or take them home? I don't want them here."

Charlottes head snapped up. She marched over and shoved the bouquet into my hands. "I am trying to move past your tantrum, Nate. Don't be petty. Sebastian is my most vital asset; he knows secrets that could sink this company. If your ego drives him away, do you have any idea what that would cost me?"

My heart gave one last, final throb of pain. We had met in college. She was the heiress; I was the scholarship kid with a tattered resume. Shed been kind once. Shed brought me dinner when I worked late. Shed driven me home in the rain. When I proposed a "real" relationship on Valentines Day, shed said yes without hesitation.

I thought we were building a life. But the moment Sebastian returned from his "consulting firm" in London, I became the inconvenient roommate.

I dropped the roses on the floor. "If hes so vital, marry him. Maybe then hell stop charging you by the hour for his 'loyalty'."

"How dare you"

"Charlotte, Im leaving."

My voice was drowned out by the front door opening. Sebastian walked in like he owned the place. "Charlotte, the gala starts in three hours. We need to move."

Charlotte stood up immediately, grabbing her coat. She didn't look at me. She treated me like a piece of furniture as she followed him out the door.

I waited until the elevator chimed, then I took my resignation letter to the office.

My manager looked at me with genuine pity when I walked in. "Im so sorry, Nate. I tried to fight for you. I thought for sure youd get the Director position after I moved up, but the executive board said your 'performance metrics' weren't there."

I wasn't surprised. Id worked eighteen-hour days for five years. Charlotte had told me once that if I made Director on my own merit, shed finally agree to a wedding date. Id chased that carrot until my feet bled. I was the top salesperson every single month.

But every year, my review came back "Inadequate." Id asked Charlotte to look into it, thinking it was a glitch.

Shed just looked at me with disdain. "Don't blame the system for your own lack of talent, Nate. Im your girlfriend, not your shortcut. I won't give you a handout."

Now I knew the truth.

"Its okay, Sam," I said, handing him the envelope. "Im done. Im moving on."

As I walked toward HR to finalize my exit, I heard voices around the corner.

"Nates review came back as a fail again," a voice whispered. "Hes probably going to quit."

"He should," Sebastians voice replied, sharp and mocking. "Did he really think he could climb his way into her bed and her boardroom? As long as Im her chief of staff, that social climber stays at the bottom. If he doesn't take the hint, keep cutting his year-end bonuses like I showed you. Lets see how long he lasts on a basic salary."

A hot wave of fury crashed over me. The missed bonuses, the "lost" gift cards, the snubbed promotions... all of it. Sebastian had been strangling my career while Charlotte watched, convinced I was just "untalented."

I didn't think. I rounded the corner and swung.

My fist connected with Sebastians jaw. He tumbled back, his eyes wide with shock.

"You've been sabotaging me for five years," I spat. "I don't care about Charlotte anymore, Sebastian. You want her? Take her. But don't you ever talk about my career again."

Sebastian looked past me, his expression shifting instantly from shock to terrified fragility. He dropped to his knees.

"Nate, please! I was just following Charlottes orders for the reorganization! I didn't mean to upset you! Please, don't hit me again!"

The change was so fast it made my head spin. A second later, a stinging slap landed across my face.

Charlotte stood there, trembling with rage. "Nathaniel! What is wrong with you? This is a place of business! You do not get to come here and assault my staff because you're throwing a fit!"