BILLIONAIRE'S REGRET

Chapter 2: Phantom Memories

"Do you remember the first time you told me you loved me?"

Unspoken but loud in my mind's quiet as I rested on the patio railing, the inquiry stunned me. I was powerless to stop the memories from clambering to the surface and pulling me into a painfully beautiful past.

Years ago, Ethan and I sat on the porch of my boyhood home on a cool autumn evening. The world was peaceful save for the distant hum of cicadas, and the air smelled of earth and dropping leaves.

Ethan had replied in a quiet, reflective voice, "I'm going to miss this place."

In a few weeks, we will be heading to different locations and different colleges for college. I hadn't actually stated it aloud, but the idea had frightened me.

I had forced a smile in response, "You'll visit." "You won't be able to avoid my mom's food for very long."

The sound of his laughter was warm and familiar, and then he turned to face me with a solemn gaze. "I won't miss the cooking the most."

I recalled how my breath had seized in my throat and how my heart had faltered. "So, what will you miss?"

Simply, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, he had said, "You." "Amara, I—"

I was brought back to the present by a tremendous crash coming from inside the ballroom. I jerked my head toward the door, but nobody came out. There was a breezy, carefree laughter that came from those who had never experienced betrayal.

I forcefully swallowed, attempting to dispel the memory's lingering effects. But they held on to me tenaciously.

That night, Ethan had planted a timid kiss on my lips, as if he were posing a question rather than offering a response. We both believed in the promises that were made during that particular kiss.

"Stop," I muttered to myself, my lips quivering as I said it.

However, the memories persisted.

I thought back to the leisurely Saturday mornings we had spent talking about everything and nothing as our fingers were linked at the coffee shop close to the university. I recalled how his eyes would light up as he smiled and how he would c**k his head just enough to attempt to comprehend me.

I recalled how he used to gaze at me as if I were the only thing in the universe.

Then I recalled the day that everything started to go wrong.

Ethan met Liana for the first time at a family dinner. Of course, her easy humor and brilliant grin had made her endearing. Her laughter filled the room like music as she leaned into our chats and asked him interesting questions.

At the moment, I hadn't given it any thought. Everywhere she went, Liana attracted attention due to her fascinating personality. However, in retrospect, I could see the fissures already developing—the way Ethan's gaze hovered over her for a bit too long, the minute changes in his expression whenever she talked.

After that, the memories became hazy, a maze of feelings and experiences that were too terrible to sort out.

"You appear disoriented."

I tensed at the voice behind me. Evelyn was standing in the doorway with her arms folded across her chest when I turned around.

I said, "I'm fine," but it sounded phony.

Her eyes grew softer. "Amara, you don't have to act fake around me."

I averted my eyes and gripped the railing more tightly. What am I supposed to say? That I'm devastated? That I'm upset? Since I am. All of those characteristics and more describe me.

With a gentle click of her heels on the stone, Evelyn took a step closer. She said in a soft voice, "You loved him."

I gave a sour laugh. It was loved in the past tense. Isn't that how it's meant to operate?

We were silent for a long time, and she didn't answer.

"Do you believe he is content?" I asked abruptly, before I could stop the words from spilling out.

Evelyn paused. "I'm not sure," she said.

Her candor was heartbreaking as well as consoling.

"I simply..." I rambled on, trying to find the appropriate words. "How everything went so wrong is beyond me."

Warm and solid, Evelyn's hand settled on my shoulder. We can't always understand the decisions made by the people we care about. It does not imply that they were unconcerned about us. It simply indicates that they are human.

Even though her comments didn't really help with the pain in my chest, I nodded.

My jaw tensed as I turned to face the sound of laughter that was drifting through the doors once more. "I ought to return inside."

"Are you certain?" Evelyn inquired.

I squared my shoulders and nodded. Indeed. I must confront this.

The memories were like shadows that would not go away as I walked back into the ballroom. But now there was also something else—a little developing glimmer of resolve.

Both Ethan and Liana were mistaken if they believed they could take away everything we had and that she could triumph without facing any repercussions.

As I entered the room, the music changed to a languid, eerie tune that seemed to reflect the pressure in my chest. I looked around the crowd, trying to find them.

Then I noticed Ethan standing close to the room's corner, staring at me.

The world appeared to tilt for a second, the sounds and motion around us vanishing into thin air. The intensity of it took my breath away, and he looked at me the way he used to, before everything came apart.

Liana then showed up, putting her arm in his and dragging him over to the dance floor. Without hesitation, he followed her, his eyes falling to the ground.

An intense and intense wave of rage swept through me. This was not the end of it.

One idea lingered in my head as I watched them move across the dance floor: I would do whatever it took to get them to confront reality.