A BEAUTIFUL REGRET WITH THE RUTHLESS MR CEO

“If you ever loved me, Amelia, leave before they discover you're carrying my child.” Cassian Hale's eyes snapped open, and Amelia forgot how to breathe. She had spent forty minutes praying for him to wake up. Now, as he gripped her wrist from his hospital bed, his words terrified her more than his silence ever could. “Cassian? What are you talking about?” His face twisted with pain. “The accident wasn't an accident. And the woman they found in my car—” The heart monitor screamed. “Cassian!” Amelia grabbed his hand as nurses rushed into the room. One pulled her away while another called for the doctor. Cassian's fingers slipped from hers, his eyes closing again. She stumbled backward, one hand instinctively covering her stomach. She had discovered her pregnancy only two days earlier. She had planned to tell him when he recovered, imagining his surprise, his smile, perhaps even the beginning of the family she had secretly dreamed of. Now, he had awakened long enough to warn her to run. A nurse hurried toward her. “Miss Bennett, you must leave immediately.” “Why? Is Cassian going to be all right?” The nurse glanced toward the door. “Someone from his family is waiting downstairs. He says your life is in danger.” Before Amelia could ask another question, her phone vibrated. An unknown number had sent her a photograph of Cassian standing beside a bloodied woman outside a hospital. The message beneath it made her blood run cold. Ask your lover why he left you to die five years ago. But five years ago, Amelia had never met Cassian Hale. Had she? --- Three hours earlier, Amelia had believed she was falling in love with the right man. The Hale Foundation's charity gala glittered with diamonds, champagne, and people whose fortunes could purchase entire city blocks. Amelia, a junior financial analyst, felt out of place in her champagne-colored dress, but she refused to let her nervousness show. She had come to represent her employer, not chase wealthy men. Unfortunately, the most intimidating man in the ballroom seemed determined to speak to her. “Are you planning to spend the entire evening staring out that window?” Amelia turned. Cassian Hale stood behind her in a black tuxedo, his dark hair perfectly styled and his gray eyes unsettlingly intense. “I didn't realize I was disturbing anyone,” she replied. “You aren't. You're avoiding everyone.” “Perhaps they are avoiding me.” His lips curved. “Most people here would do anything for my attention.” “Then you should appreciate that I'm not asking for yours.” His smile widened. For the first time that evening, Amelia saw something beneath his intimidating reputation: genuine amusement. “Your name?” “Amelia Bennett.” “Would you care to dance, Amelia Bennett?” She hesitated before accepting his hand. On the dance floor, he held her with surprising gentleness. “What frightens you about me?” he asked. “Nothing.” “Liar.” She looked up sharply. “Perhaps I simply don't trust men who believe money can solve everything.” His expression changed. “And what do you believe solves things?” “Honesty. Time. Trust.” For several seconds, he studied her as though she had said something he desperately needed to hear. “Perhaps you can teach me.” Amelia should have laughed at his audacity. Instead, she found herself smiling. When the music ended, Cassian refused to release her hand immediately. “Have dinner with me tomorrow.” “Is that an order?” “A request.” “Then ask properly.” He laughed softly. “Amelia Bennett, will you have dinner with me tomorrow?” “Yes.” His gaze lingered on hers. “Good. I have a feeling one evening won't be enough.” --- One dinner became several, and soon Amelia found herself looking forward to his calls more than anything else. Cassian remembered the little things she mentioned. He knew she sent money to her mother before spending anything on herself, that she dreamed of establishing a foundation for disadvantaged children, and that she hated being treated as though her modest background made her less deserving. He never laughed at her ambitions. Instead, he asked how he could help her achieve them. That frightened her more than his wealth ever could. One rainy evening, they stood together on his penthouse balcony, watching the city lights shimmer beneath the storm. “What are you afraid of?” he asked. Amelia looked away. “Getting attached to someone who might wake up tomorrow and decide I'm not worth the trouble.” Cassian lifted her chin. “Look at me.” She obeyed. “I don't make promises I can't keep,” he said. “But I want you to know the man behind the name.” “And if that man breaks my heart?” “Then you'll have every right to hate me.” His honesty disarmed her. She kissed him first. For a moment, he seemed surprised. Then his arms circled her waist, and he returned the kiss with a tenderness that made her forget every reason to be cautious. “Stay tonight,” he whispered. “Because you want me to?” “Because I want you to choose me.” She searched his face and found no trace of mockery. So she stayed. That night, they shared whispered confessions, gentle kisses, and a closeness neither had expected to find so quickly. Amelia fell asleep against his chest, believing she had finally found someone who saw her as more than her circumstances. Cassian watched her sleep and brushed a strand of hair from her face. For the first time in years, he imagined a future beyond his business empire. Neither noticed the figure watching their penthouse from a nearby building. Nor the camera capturing Amelia's face. --- The following morning, Amelia woke to find Cassian's phone vibrating beside the bed. She had no intention of reading his messages until one appeared on the screen. UNKNOWN NUMBER: You promised you would never bring another woman home. Tell her who I am before it's too late. A second message followed. Check the hospital footage from five years ago. She isn't the first woman you've loved. Amelia's stomach tightened. When Cassian returned from the study, she confronted him. “Is there another woman?” He stopped. For a moment, fear flickered across his face. “No.” “Then why is someone threatening me?” His expression hardened. “Show me.” She hesitated, but before she could unlock her phone, his own began ringing. Cassian glanced at the screen and answered. “What do you want?” A woman's voice came through, sharp and urgent. “You need to get rid of her.” “Stay out of my private life.” “Your private life? Cassian, do you remember what happened five years ago?” His face was drained of color. “Don't call me about that again.” He ended the call, but Amelia had already noticed the tremor in his hand. “What happened five years ago?” she asked. “Nothing you need to worry about.” “That isn't your decision to make.” He approached her and gently took her hands. “Amelia, there are people who would destroy anything I care about to hurt me. I won't let them touch you.” “Then tell me the truth.” He kissed her forehead. “I will. I promise.” She wanted to believe him. Then he received another message. A photograph appeared on the screen. Cassian stood outside a hospital, his shirt stained with blood. His arm was wrapped around a woman whose face was partly hidden. Beneath the photograph were six words: SHE KNOWS WHAT YOU DID TO HER. Cassian staggered backward. A glass slipped from his hand and shattered against the floor. “Cassian?” Amelia hurried toward him. “What's wrong?” He stared at her, his eyes filled with a terror she had never seen before. A memory had surfaced. A woman's scream. The screech of tires. Blood covering his hands. And someone whispered his name. Amelia. He gripped the edge of the desk as pain tore through his head. “No,” he whispered. “That can't be right.” Amelia reached for him, but he recoiled as though her touch had burned him. “Cassian, please. Talk to me.” He looked at her, struggling to breathe. “I remember you.” Her heart stopped. “What?” “Five years ago. The hospital. The accident.” Amelia shook her head. “That's impossible. We met at the gala.” Cassian's expression crumpled. “I thought so too.”He grabbed his phone and called his private investigator. “Find every record connected to Amelia Bennett. Her birth records, hospital records, everything. I want the truth before anyone else gets to her.” He ended the call and turned back toward Amelia. She was crying now. “Did you hurt me?” He couldn't answer. Then his phone vibrated again. An unknown number had sent a final message. If you want to know why Amelia disappeared from your life five years ago, ask Victoria what happened to your child. Cassian stared at the screen. Amelia slowly covered her mouth. “My child?” His eyes lifted to hers. For the first time, neither knew which secret was more terrifying: the past they couldn't remember or the future they might already have destroyed. Then someone knocked violently on the penthouse door. A man's voice rang through the apartment. “Mr. Hale! Open up! We have a warrant for Amelia Bennett's arr est.” Cassian stepped in front of her. “On what charge?” The answer came through the door. “Murder.” Amelia's phone slipped from her fingers. Because the victim's name was the same woman in the photograph. And the police had come to arrest her for a crime committed five years before she supposedly met Cassian Hale.