He Wasn't My Ex, He Was My Mistake

Has betrayal ever had a sound? Regina found out it did…she felt it crawl straight under her skin. It started as a faint rhythm, so soft she thought it was the AC in his office acting up again. The sound didn’t fade as she moved closer. It grew louder like someone was clapping with their whole body. Skin slapping against skin. Then came the moan. A breathy hungry woman’s moan so close she could almost feel the heat of it leaking through the door. Regina’s spine went cold. “No… I must be hearing things,” she whispered, because saying it out loud made it feel less real. She took one step forward, hoping…praying…it was a video. And then she heard him. Her husband groaning, the way he hadn’t groaned for her in months. It was low and deep, the kind of sound that used to make her melt. “Don’t be gentle with it boss,” A female voice moaned. “You’re only allowed to call me boss in Regina’s presence. I’m daddy behind closed doors. Imagine how wild…I’ll be in bed…when we get rid of my ugly and use her insurance money to organise the best birthday you’ve ever had.” Brey said, his voice breaking with moans. Her chest clenched so tight her breath came out broken. Her eyes blurred but she still saw everything…the half-open door, his body moving, the silhouette of another woman beneath him She froze at the doorway of his glossy, glass-walled office...the same office where she had once stood like a proud wife beside him, believing she was the woman he built dreams with. Believing she mattered. And there he was. Bret Lawson. CEO. Billionaire darling.The man who used to promise he’d “protect her forever.” He was buried between his secretary’s thighs, pounding into her like he wanted to break her spine. Regina’s throat tightened so hard she could barely breathe. The hot lunch box she’d carried...made with trembling hands, seasoned with love she foolishly still had...grew heavier in her grip. When Bret finally looked up and saw her, he only gnashed his teeth, “f**k” “How long have you been there, b***h?” “Why? Why….are you doing this to us? After all I have sacrificed for us.” Regina managed to speak. He only smirked. “Us? There was never a us. Do I need to remind you that you’re a nobody, Regina?” His voice sliced through her like a rusted blade. “If you ever worked in any company, you’d be a f*****g janitor. Get that through your thick skull.” For a second, everything inside her went numb...like her heart forgot how to exist. This isn’t the calm Bret she had always known…even though he had always been cold to her and avoids her like a plague, he has never spoken to her rudely. The secretary, sprawled on his desk like a cheap decoration, giggled and wrapped her legs tighter around him, her red nails dragging down his back. Regina’s voice trembled as she whispered, “H-How… how could you do this to me, Bret? After everything I’ve sacrificed? After...everything?” He scoffed. Actually scoffed at her. Her grip loosened and the lunch box slipped and food scattered across the polished floor like guts spilling from a corpse. Bret didn’t so much as glance at it, “I don’t know why you bother to prepare those ugly meals even after knowing I toss it in the trash can after working hours…Can you f*****g give me a breathing space, Regina?” Regina couldn’t breathe for a moment, she stretched her hand forward towards Bret for her inhaler. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed his secretary’s neck...right in front of his wife...before growling, “Relax, babe. Don’t be scared of that b***h. She’s a nobody here. She’s just my mere housewife.” The phrase shattered something inside Regina. Mere housewife. After years of building him. After years of bending herself into the shape he demanded. After being the brains behind his rise when he could barely hold a pen without shaking from anxiety. She felt her knees weaken. She tried moving, but her legs were stiff, trembling. She stumbled forward by accident...towards them...and the secretary shrieked dramatically. “Watch it!” the woman cried, clawing at Bret possessively. “Don’t let her touch me, daddy!” Regina leaned against the cool wall. She managed to pull out her inhaler from her pocket, gave it a quick shake, and pressed down. A mist puffed into her lungs, and she inhaled deeply. She let out a slow sigh, her eyes closing in relief. She opened her eyes to only to see Bret actually laughing at her. He brushed hair back from the secretary’s face. “She’s harmless,” he said mockingly. “Pathetic, but harmless. And even if she wasn’t...there’s nothing she can do.” The secretary smirked, her voice sickly sweet. “Which is why I told you, daddy, we should do these sweet things in hotels. So your little maid doesn’t catch us.” Regina felt her chest tighten. “Maid.” Couldn’t they do any better than spit on her face? But Bret shook his head. “What’s the point? She’s basically invisible.” Then the worst bomb of all dropped. Bret kissed the secretary. Full mouth....tongue to tongue like an hungry animal. Regina’s heart stopped, he has never kissed me like that… never. He said it was unsanitary. He said germs were exchanged. He said he preferred ‘clean methods of intimacy.’ She believed him like a fool. The secretary’s entire body was adorned with jewelry...expensive rings, earrings, a shimmering necklace Regina recognized instantly. She had found those items hidden weeks ago in Bret’s drawer. She had smiled like an i***t, believing he was planning a surprise gift for her. Turns out… she was just too naïve to consider the obvious. She couldn’t bear to watch another second. Her legs finally obeyed her, and she turned, stumbling toward the door. She only wanted to run...to hide...to collapse somewhere he couldn’t see her break. But then she heard Bret’s voice. “Regina.” Her heart jumped, her tears paused and her feet froze. Maybe… maybe he regretted it? Maybe this was all a horrible nightmare? Maybe the man she married still existed somewhere under that monster skin? She turned around slowly, hope clawing desperately at her chest like a dying creature. Bret wasn't looking at her lovingly, he wasn’t even looking at her with guilt. He was buttoning his shirt while the secretary adjusted her skirt and then... “Will you help us throw out the used condoms?” the secretary asked, stepping forward with a plastic bag that Bret handed her. There were several inside...used, knotted, disgusting. Regina’s breath caught in her throat, every fiber of her being felt like it was combusting into ash. The secretary extended the bag again, smirking viciously. “Come on… housemaid. You should be used to cleaning up after us, right? Oops... I meant housewife. My bad. Hard to tell the difference at this point.” Regina’s trembling hand rose. Nobody expected what came next. SLAP. The sound cracked through the office like lightning splitting open the sky. The secretary staggered backward, hand flying to her burning cheek. Regina’s chest heaved, rage pouring through her like wildfire. “You filthy thing,” she thundered. “How dare you do this to me after I helped you secure a job at my husband's office?!” The secretary gasped dramatically, then snapped her gaze to Bret as if seeking protection. “Daddy...she hit me!” Bret stepped toward Regina, eyes blazing with fury, not remorse. “How f*****g dare you?” he growled. “She’s worth ten of you. You’re a parasite, Regina. A clingy, stupid parasite. I should have thrown you out a long time ago.” Regina’s lips parted… but no sound came out. Her whole existence felt like it was cracking open like she was losing herself piece by bloody piece. “You think I owe you anything?” Bret continued, stepping closer with each word. “Everything I have, I built myself. You only cooked, cleaned, and existed. Anyone could’ve done what you did.” Her vision blurred with tears she refused to let fall. “Bret… I...I helped you. When you were nobody...” “And look where it got me,” he snapped. “Stuck with a boring, basic woman I can’t even kiss without wanting to sanitize my entire soul.” The secretary smirked from behind him, rubbing her cheek with mock sadness. “Regina, sweetie, there’s no need to cry. You should be grateful Bret kept you this long. Honestly, if I were him, I would’ve dumped you the moment I saw your fashion sense....you look so ugly....with those acne all over ur face and chest.” Regina blinked, tears falling finally, silently, heavily. Bret scoffed again. “You can’t satisfy me. You never could. So stop acting so betrayed. This...” he gestured at the secretary arrogantly, “...is what a real woman looks like and I think you should learn from her.” Regina’s fists clenched until her nails dug into her palms. The secretary moved closer, unafraid now, full of pride. “How does it feel,” she whispered in Regina’s ear, “seeing your beloved husband do things he never did with you? Things he said he found ‘disgusting’? Turns out he just found you disgusting.”