All Chapters of Regret Is Just The Beginning: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Henry returned home that evening with a slow, heavy step. The front door closed behind him with a quiet click that echoed faintly through the wide hallway. The housekeeper hurried forward almost immediately, appearing from the direction of the kitchen."Welcome back, sir," she said politely, reaching for his briefcase.He handed it to her without much thought, his fingers releasing the handle before she had fully gripped it. His face looked tired. "Take it upstairs," he said, loosening his tie slightly with one hand. "I'll come up later.""Yes, sir."She climbed the stairs with the briefcase while Henry remained downstairs. He stood still for a moment in the middle of the hallway, one hand still resting loosely at his collar, scanning the living room with the absent expression of a man whose mind was already somewhere else.That was when he saw Selena.She was sitting on the couch in her school uniform, her legs tucked slightly under her, her school bag resting across her lap. S

Diana shook her head slightly, as though trying to clear her thoughts, as though the sight in front of her might rearrange itself into something else if she blinked hard enough.For a brief second, she had frozen completely at the sight of them standing there — Henry in his crisp suit, perfectly pressed as always, Selena clutching his hand with that particular grip children use when they know they've done something wrong, both staring at her like they still belonged in her life, like they had some claim to the space she occupied.But something inside her hardened immediately, a door slamming shut somewhere deep in her chest.Without saying a word, she stepped backward into the apartment and pushed the glass door shut firmly.The sound of it closing echoed between them, sharp and final.Then she locked it.Henry and Selena stood there, stunned into absolute stillness.Diana didn't look back. She turned immediately and walked deeper into the house, her steps steady and deliberate, thoug

Diana's eyes stayed locked on Merlin's face.She was staring at him, her mouth slightly open, but no words were coming out. It felt like her voice had been stolen from somewhere deep in her chest, leaving only the rapid, heavy thudding of her heart. She was certain he could hear it. Certain the whole room could.For weeks now, everything in her life had been chaos: betrayal, misunderstandings, near-death experiences, separation from her child, the looming divorce. She had moved through each day with her head down and her guard up, focused only on surviving the next thing. Love was the last thing she had expected to face in the middle of it all.Yet here he was.Looking at her like she was the only person in the room. Like she was worth looking at."I know you're going through a bit of a rough patch right now," Merlin continued gently, his gaze never leaving hers, steady and warm in a way she had almost forgotten eyes could be. "And maybe you're not ready to date, but—"He paused.H

"Lauren Johnson, it was you who drugged me nine years ago."Henry's voice came out through clenched teeth, heavy with a rage that had been building for nearly a decade without ever finding the right target. He stood tall in front of her — broad shoulders squared, chest rising and falling hard. He looked less like a man and more like a storm that had finally decided to make landfall.His large hand was still wrapped tightly around her neck.Lauren's heels scraped against the tiled floor as she struggled to breathe. Her fingers clawed at his wrist, nails digging into his skin, but he didn't loosen his grip. Her eyes were wide with something she hadn't walked in wearing — fear, raw and unfiltered, every trace of the playful confidence she had arrived with completely gone.She gasped desperately."No… no, no!" she croaked when he finally shoved her away.She stumbled backward, coughing violently, one hand rubbing her neck as she fought to steady herself on her heels. Her carefully sty

Diana froze the moment she saw Henry stepping towards them.He wasn't walking calmly. He was moving with urgency, with anger, with something reckless sitting openly in his eyes that he hadn't bothered to conceal. The kind of look she had learned to read over years of marriage; the one that meant he had already decided something before arriving.Merlin felt her body stiffen beside him and instinctively tightened his arm around her waist. Emma stopped mid-sentence, sensing the sudden shift in the air the way children sometimes do before adults have even processed it."Diana, seriously?" Henry's voice cut through the morning like a blade.Before she could react, he reached forward and fiercely grabbed her wrist. The grip was tight enough to make her flinch, tight enough to leave a mark."You that desperate for the next guy?" he spat, rage dripping from every word.Diana's heart jumped, but her expression hardened instantly. She yanked her hand free from his grasp with force, pulling i