Regret It Now Don’t Ruin My New Wedding

Victoria was once the most ruthless queen of New York's venture capital scene. I spent ten years building her empire from scratch, surviving the cutthroat corporate wars just to watch her ring the NASDAQ bell.

I thought that was our happily ever after.

But at our engagement press conference, she abandoned me under the flashing lights of the paparazzi, all because of a text from another boy.

"He's afraid of the dark. I have to go to him."

Ten years of loyalty couldn't match a single tear from her toxic obsession.

Later, I handed over the darkest secrets of her empire to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and vanished without a trace.

She went mad searching the world for me, eventually kneeling before my new bride, begging me to come back.

I just handed her a tissue. "Victoria, don't ruin my wife's red carpet."

Victoria was famous in New York for being an iron-fisted CEO. She was ruthless, cold, and never left any room for mercy.

Tonight was the IPO gala for her core tech company, and it was also the night we were supposed to announce our wedding to the world.

The spotlights beamed down on us. I stood there in a custom haute couture suit she had personally designed for me, holding a pink diamond ring worth millions.

Just as the host smiled and invited Victoria to give her speech, her phone on the podium vibrated.

The screen lit up. There was no contact name, just a short message:

"It's thundering. I'm so scared."

I watched Victoria's usually calm, expressionless face instantly flash with panic.

Without even grabbing the microphone or looking at me, she lifted her heavy gown, stepped down from the stage in her high heels, and ran out.

The entire hall went into chaos.

Countless cameras from the paparazzi instantly turned to me, standing all alone on the stage.

I froze, listening to the whispers from the crowd. They felt like sharp needles piercing my ears.

"Why did Victoria leave?"

"Leaving Logan all by himself... is the wedding off?"

I forced a smile, grabbed the mic, and used every ounce of my strength to cover for her. "Victoria had a sudden medical emergency. Please, everyone, enjoy the dinner."

The moment I stepped off the stage, my back was drenched in cold sweat.

Back in the dressing room, I took off my suit jacket. But then, inside the purse Victoria had left behind, I found a burner phone I had never seen before.

The password was the date we first met. I unlocked it easily.

There was only one contact in the chat history, and the avatar was a cute Samoyed dog.

I didn't try to lie to myself. My hand trembled as I scrolled through the messages.

There were no explicit photos or dirty texts.

But it was filled with the details of their daily lives.

"Victoria, the medicine today is so bitter."

"Victoria, the clouds today look just like you."

"Victoria, I'm scared to sleep alone."

And Victoria, who was known for being a ruthless monster in the business world, replied with infinite patience and warmth:

"Sweetheart, I'm on my way."

"Eat a piece of candy, and it won't be bitter anymore."

"Don't be scared. I'm here."

Looking at those messages, my stomach churned, and a wave of nausea hit my throat.

At 3 AM, Victoria finally returned to our penthouse.

She smelled faintly of hospital disinfectant. Seeing me sitting on the sofa in the dark, she froze for a second.

I threw the burner phone onto the coffee table with a heavy thud.

"Explain this," I said, my voice hoarse.

Victoria didn't panic like an ordinary woman would. She just frowned and looked down at me.

"Logan, did you go through my things?"

"I asked you who he is!" I stood up abruptly, my eyes bloodshot.

Victoria was silent for a long time. She walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and lit a cigarette.

Through the smoke, her voice was freezing cold. "That's Julian. Years ago, his older brother died in a car crash to save me. Before he died, he asked me to take care of Julian. Julian has severe depression and claustrophobia."

"And?" I stared at her. "So you humiliate me at our engagement gala, turning me into the biggest joke in New York, just because he's scared of a little thunder?"

Victoria turned around, her frown deepening. "Logan, be reasonable. You're an adult. You can handle a crowd like that. But Julian can't. He self-harms when he has an attack. I only see him as a younger brother. I owe his family."

Ten years.

From the days we stayed up all night in a damp basement coding on takeout and cheap coffee, to now, where she was worth billions.

I had blocked beer bottles for her, taken the blame for her mistakes, and even had a third of my stomach removed due to stress ulcers.

And yet, she expected me to swallow this humiliation just because she "owed" his family. I couldn't do it.

"Victoria, tomorrow is our wedding," I said, taking a deep breath and pointing at the door. "If you abandon me for him again tomorrow, we are done forever."

Victoria put out her cigarette, walked over, and hugged me. Her tone softened a bit.

"Stop overreacting, Logan. The wedding will go on as planned tomorrow. I promise you, I'll keep my distance from him in the future."

I closed my eyes and didn't hug her back.

Because beneath the smell of disinfectant, I could smell the faint scent of another man's citrus cologne on her coat.

The wedding the next day was grand and luxurious.

Half of New York's elite society had gathered at the venue.

I watched Victoria, dressed in a pure white wedding gown, walking toward me step by step.

For a split second, I even had the illusion that last night was just a bad dream. We were still the power couple who had fought our way up from the mud.

The priest smiled and spoke into the microphone: "Victoria, do you take..."

*BANG!*

The heavy doors of the chapel were slammed open.

Natalie, Victoria's chief assistant, rushed in, drenched in sweat. She ran up to the altar, her voice cracking with sheer panic:

"Victoria! Something terrible happened! Julian somehow found out you're getting married today... he climbed onto the hospital rooftop! He says if you don't pick up his FaceTime, he's going to jump!"

The entire chapel fell into dead silence.

My hand, which was hovering in the air ready to slide the ring onto her finger, froze.

Victoria's face turned deathly pale. She snatched off her wedding veil and turned to run without a second thought.

"Victoria!"

I screamed, my eyes burning with tears, using every ounce of strength in my lungs.

"If you walk out that door today, we are done forever!"

My voice echoed through the massive chapel, carrying a desperate finality.

Victoria's footsteps paused.

She turned and looked at me.

In her eyes, there was conflict and guilt, but mostly, there was a cold, unyielding hardness.

"Logan, a human life is on the line. Don't be so selfish."

With that, she ran out of the chapel without looking back.

The custom diamond ring slipped from my hand, rolling across the expensive marble floor. It made a sharp, mocking sound as it stopped.

The guests below started whispering. Their staring eyes felt like poisoned needles stabbing into my back.

I didn't even know how I managed to walk down the stage.

Our parents rushed up. My mother was crying hysterically, and my father was shaking with rage.

"What is this?! What does she think our son is?!"

I bent down and slowly picked up the ring.

The sharp edge of the diamond was so fine it cut my palm. Blood seeped out, but I couldn't feel any pain.

For ten long hours.

I called her 199 times. Victoria didn't answer once.

When I tried for the last time, the call finally connected. But the voice on the other end belonged to a young man.

"Logan, I'm so sorry... Victoria was so tired, she just fell asleep next to my hospital bed. I'm really sorry for ruining your wedding today. Please don't blame Victoria. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

The voice sounded timid, carrying a cruel, innocent tone.

I didn't say a word. I just hung up.

Suddenly, the world spun around me. Everything went black, and I collapsed straight onto the floor of our empty bridal suite.

The last thing I heard was my mother's terrified screams.

When I opened my eyes again, the room smelled strongly of disinfectant.

I was lying in a hospital bed with an IV drip in my hand.

Seeing me awake, the nurse walked over with a clipboard and sighed. "Your stomach ulcers are extremely severe due to your terrible eating habits. Combined with the emotional shock, your body just gave out. Oh, by the way..."

The nurse pulled a slip of paper from her folder and handed it to me.

"Your fiance left this pregnancy report in our department last week. She was in such a rush she forgot to take it. Since you're awake, you can take it home."

I froze and took the paper.

It read clearly: *Early intrauterine pregnancy, 7 weeks.*

Looking at those words, I suddenly found it incredibly hilarious. I burst into laughter, and as I laughed, my tears fell right onto the paper, smudging the ink.

She was pregnant.

But for the past month, she had spent almost every single night at the hospital with her "brother." We had barely even seen each other.

This child really chose the worst time to come.

At 11 PM, Victoria, who had been missing for a whole day, finally appeared at the door of my ward.

She hadn't even changed out of her wedding dress. The hem was covered in dust, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Seeing me awake, she quickly walked over and tried to hold my hand.

"Logan, how are you feeling? I'm so sorry. Julian's mental state was too unstable, I really couldn't leave him..."

I coldly pulled my hand away, avoiding her touch.

"He didn't jump?" My voice was terrifyingly calm.

Victoria paused, clearly not expecting me to be this cold. Her eyebrows knitted together. "Logan, what is with your attitude? He's a sick patient! Do you really have to force him to death to be satisfied?"

"Am I forcing him, or is he forcing me?" I looked at this woman I had loved for ten years. She felt like a complete stranger.

"Victoria, let's call off the wedding."

Victoria snapped her head up, panic flashing in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it with her usual commanding tone.

"Logan, I know you feel hurt. We can postpone the wedding. In three months, once Julian's condition stabilizes, we'll fly to Bali and have an even bigger ceremony. But he just got saved from the edge. I have to stay by his side for now."

She wasn't negotiating with me. She was giving me an order.

Just like she did with every business project in our company over the last ten years.

I looked at her, my chest aching.

"Victoria, when I first met you, you couldn't even make a simple pitch deck. I stayed up for nights to fix it for you. When you got alcohol poisoning from drinking with clients, I carried you on my back for three blocks to the hospital."

"I took so many bullets for you over the last ten years. I never complained once because I thought we were in this together."

I pointed at the IV in my hand and let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"But today, I finally realized... it's not that you don't know how to care about someone. You just don't care about me."

Victoria choked up, a flash of pain crossing her eyes.

She softened her voice. "Logan, don't be like this. You're different from him. You're strong. You can take care of yourself. But Julian... he'll literally die without me."

Those words felt like a sledgehammer, completely shattering the very last piece of hope I had for her.

It turned out that in love, being strong was a crime.

"Fine," I nodded and closed my eyes. "Go take care of him then. And don't ever come back."

Victoria thought I was just throwing a tantrum. She sighed and tucked the blanket around me.

"Calm down first. I'll come see you tomorrow."

Then, she turned and left the room.

She walked out so easily, never once noticing the crumpled pregnancy report sitting on my nightstand.

On the day I was discharged, I handled the paperwork myself.

As I walked into the hospital lobby, I ran straight into Victoria and Julian.

Victoria was carefully holding him, her eyes so gentle they could melt ice.

Julian was wearing an oversized hospital gown. He looked pale and fragile, possessing a face that was highly deceptive.

The moment he saw me, Julian shrank back like a frightened deer, hiding behind Victoria and grabbing the hem of her jacket.

Victoria's face darkened when she saw me. She walked over quickly, her voice filled with accusation. "Why did you discharge yourself? Didn't I tell you to wait for me? And why are you staring at Julian like that? You've already terrified him so much he hasn't slept all night!"

Looking at her protective stance, I only found it hilarious.

"Well, you are a busy CEO, Victoria. You don't even know when your own fianc is being discharged." I glanced coldly at Julian. "And I didn't do anything. If Julian is that easily scared, I suggest you take him to the psychiatric ward instead of wasting a bed in cardiology."

"Logan!" Victoria yelled. "Do you have to be so bitter and malicious?"

Julian's eyes turned red, and he tugged at Victoria's sleeve. "Victoria, don't yell at Logan. It's all my fault... I ruined your wedding. It's only natural that he's angry at me."

What a textbook guilt trip.

I didn't even want to look at them anymore. I walked right past them and headed out.

When I got back to the penthouse we had shared for five years, I pulled out a suitcase and started packing.

Honestly, I didn't have many belongings.

Every corner of this apartment was filled with Victoria's things. I had lived here like an optional accessory.

I packed a few changes of clothes and grabbed my laptop. That laptop was my life.

While I was packing, the electronic lock on the door beeped.

My parents walked in. Seeing me pack, my mother started crying again.

"Logan, what are you doing? Couples fight, but you can't just pack up and leave!"

My father didn't say anything, but his tight frown showed he didn't agree either.

Just then, footsteps came from the hallway.

Victoria was back.

And she had brought Julian with her.

Julian was wearing Victoria's oversized trench coat, looking like a fragile porcelain doll as he stood timidly at the doorway.

The moment my mother saw this, her blood pressure spiked. She pointed at Julian, her hand shaking violently. "Victoria! What is the meaning of this?! You abandoned my son at the altar, and now you bring this home-wrecking trash into his house?! Do you think our family is dead?!"

Victoria frowned, stepping in front of Julian to shield him. "Logan's mother, don't get the wrong idea. Julian was terrified at the hospital, so I brought him here to stay for a few days. Besides, this penthouse is in my name. I have the right to decide who lives here."

Those words felt like a hard slap across my face and my parents' faces.

Right. The penthouse was hers, the company was hers.

What was I?

Julian peeked out from behind her, squeezing out a couple of tears. "Mrs. Miller, please don't blame Victoria. I can just sleep in the guest room. I promise I won't get in Logan and Victoria's way."

Looking at his pathetic, manipulative act, my mother snapped. She rushed forward, swung her arm, and hit Julian hard across the face!

"Ah!" Julian let out a sharp cry, falling to the floor and clutching his cheek as he wept.

"Logan's mother!" Victoria screamed. She violently shoved my mother away, holding Julian tightly in her arms.

My mother stumbled backward and almost fell. I rushed over just in time to catch her.

Victoria's eyes were bloodshot as she glared at me. "Logan! Have you had enough?! Julian is a sick patient! Is your entire family trying to drive him to suicide?!"

Looking at this hysterical woman, my heart completely died.

I let go of my mother and walked over to Victoria, step by step.

"Victoria, you think we are the ones pushing you?"

I unzipped my backpack, pulled out the crumpled pregnancy report, and threw it right in her face.

"Look closely at who is actually killing who!"