The Billionaire's Regret: Ruining My Arrogant Ex

The Last Tear

Previously on Billionaire's Regret:

Elena arrives at Ethan Thorne's party with dreams of love. But Ethan had invited her not for love, but to humiliate her. A recording of Elena's words plays in the darkness, and the entire gathering mocks her. Now on...

The darkness had barely cleared when Ethan's strong grip yanked Elena toward the edge of the stage. "Ah!" A muffled scream escaped Elena's mouth, and she landed with a thud on the cold concrete floor below the stage. Her black one-piece dress was caked in dust, and her elbows were scratched.

Just then, like the climax of a horror film, the lights throughout the mansion came back on. The brightness was so intense that it blinded the weeping Elena. When she looked up, she saw the city's richest and most influential people standing before her, their faces filled with not sympathy, but a vile, filthy smile.

Ethan stood on the stage, microphone in hand, like a king showing off a trifle to his subjects. "Ladies and gentlemen!" Ethan's voice was laced with venom. "Love... hahaha! Did you hear that? This girl says she loves me. 'She loves me!'"

Ethan burst into laughter and, pointing at Elena, said, "She thinks the master of the Thorn Empire, the one who rules this city, will melt at the sight of a mere, worthless college student. She thinks she'll come, place her cheap yellow rose at my feet, and I'll make her my queen? What the hell!"

Elena lay on the floor, trying to straighten her dress with trembling hands. Tears welled up in her eyes. She looked up, sobbing, and said, "Ethan... you... what are you saying? You were the one who called me... you said the path to your world begins here."

"The path to my world?" Ethan scrunched his face in disgust. "Oh, innocent girl, my world isn't for people who live in the gutter like you. Do you even know that even my servants live in better and more expensive houses than you? How dare you dream you could stand next to Ethan Thorne?"

The diamond-clad women and men in suits standing there whispered and laughed. "How shameless she is, still lying here after all this humiliation," one woman said.

Ethan didn't stop; his real attack was yet to come. He took a glass of wine and addressed everyone, "And you know what's the funniest thing about her? Her father... He's a lowly chef in a small hotel. He cooks for people and washes the dishes."

As soon as Ethan mentioned her father, something inside Elena broke. She loved her father very much. She was now crying not just for herself, but for her father's honor. "Ethan! Please... say whatever you want about me, but don't bring my father into the picture. He raised me with great hard work," she began pleading on the ground.

"Hard work?" Ethan taunted. "If you had worked hard, you wouldn't be begging like this today. Look at her... look at those crocodile tears! Hahaha!" Ethan's laughter echoed throughout the hall.

Just then, Ethan signaled to his guards. "Enough of this entertainment. Throw her out! Her poverty is polluting the air in my house."

Two burly guards stepped forward and grabbed Elena by her arms and lifted her up. Elena kept shouting, "Ethan, listen to me for once! Ethan!" But Ethan turned his back and went to raise a new glass with his wealthy friends.

The guards practically dragged Elena to the main gate and threw her out of the mansion's walls onto the street like garbage. "Don't show up here again, or you'll be behind bars," the guard threatened, closing the heavy iron gate.

Elena sat on the cold street. Her hair was disheveled, her dress was torn in places, and her knees were bleeding. Just a few hours ago, the girl who had been dancing in her room, her heart filled with joy, had all her dreams shrouded in a single stroke.

Just then, the sky changed. Lightning struck, and suddenly, a torrential downpour began. The thunderstorm's sounds were so terrifying that it seemed as if nature itself was mocking Elena.

Elena sat there on the side of the street and burst into tears. The rainwater flowed mingled with her tears. She remembered her father's smiling face, who had said to her as he offered her tea, "You look very happy today, my daughter."

"How foolish I was," Elena cried. "I fell in love with a stone. I placed my and my father's honor at the feet of a man who doesn't even know the meaning of humanity."

The raindrops felt like acid on Elena's wounds. She sat covered in mud on the side of the road. Ethan's words and the laughter of those nobles still echoed in her ears. Ethan had not only strangled her love, but had also publicly murdered her self-respect and her father's honesty.

Elena clenched her fists. She looked up at the sky and roared, "Ethan Thorne! You haven't just rejected a girl today; you've invited the fire that will reduce this glass palace of yours to ashes. You mocked my poverty, you ridiculed my father's hard work... I swear by this falling rain, I will avenge every single word. I will return, and on that day, your wealth, your pride, will all be dust under my feet!"

She got up with trembling steps and limped toward her home. His torn sandals and blood-stained knees revealed his helplessness, but there was no longer that innocence in his eyes.

When Elena reached her doorstep, she was drenched. Her face was swollen and her eyes were red from crying. As she opened the door, her father was standing there. Seeing his daughter's condition, his teacup fell from his hand and shattered.

"Elena! Daughter! What... what have you done?" Her father, alarmed, rushed forward and supported her. "You went to the college function, right? Then this blood? These torn clothes? What happened, my child?"

Elena hugged her father and burst into tears. Her sobs were unstoppable. Through hiccups, she told him the truth. She told him how she fell in love with Ethan Thorne, how she went to his party, and how Ethan insulted her father in front of everyone by calling him a "mere chef."

Her father fell silent. His face was sad, but not surprised. He placed his hand on Elena's head and helped her sit on the sofa.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I betrayed your honor to those wolves. Ethan said you lived in the gutter, that you were only fit to wash dishes. I'm so sorry, Dad, I couldn't do anything!" Elena cried.

A strange gleam appeared in her father's eyes. He took a deep breath and said, "Son, these rich people are like that. They have a lot of money, but instead of a heart, they have a heart of stone. They don't know what feelings and love are. Why didn't you tell me earlier that you were getting close to Ethan Thorne?"

"I thought you would refuse, Dad," Elena bowed her head.

"I would have refused anyway, but maybe this lesson was necessary for you. Sometimes life makes us fall so we can see how low those around us can fall," her father said in a serious tone. Elena stood up suddenly, her eyes burning with the flame of revenge. "No, Father! Just taking a lesson isn't enough. I want to take revenge on him for everything. I want to see the same fear and helplessness in his eyes that I saw today. But what can I do? I'm just an ordinary student. I have no money, no power. How can I bring down that towering man?"

Her father remained silent for a moment. Then he slowly stood up and walked over to his old trunk. He took out a dusty file and placed it in front of Elena.

"Dad, what is this?" Elena asked.

"Son, the world knows me only as a chef, but Ethan Thorne's father and I once started together. He was part of the business, and I was part of the taste. He betrayed me, took everything from me, and pushed me into this darkness of oblivion. I thought I would take this secret with me to the grave, but today, by insulting my daughter, he has reminded me of those wounds again."

Elena's eyes widened. "Does that mean... we also have a right to that wealth?"

"We do, but to get it, you'll have to bury your innocence here," her father said, looking into her eyes. "There's a way, Elena. I have an old friend in Switzerland who's one of the world's biggest investors. If you're willing to work hard, if you're willing to erase your identity, I can send you to him. He'll teach you everything you need to build an empire."

Without a second thought, Elena said, "I'm ready, Dad. I'll kill Elena right here. The next child born will only bring ruin to Ethan Thorne."

Her father kissed her forehead. "Alright then. From today, you're no longer Elena. From today, you're 'Elena Vaughn.' Go, and write your own destiny."

Will Elena be able to erase her identity and become a new force? Will the rigorous training in Switzerland transform an innocent girl into a 'business queen'? And the biggest question... When 'middle class' Elena appears before Ethan after 3 years as a 'multi-millionaire' Miss Wagon, will Ethan be able to recognize her?