The night we regretted
1282 Words
Selene POV
By the time dinner finally ended, I felt like I'd aged five years.
The house was quieter now with mum in the living room sorting through gifts she'd received from neighbors while Louis stepped outside to take a call.
Edward on the other hand was out of sight… trust me, that was such a great relief.
I was thirsty, so I headed for the kitchen to help myself.
The moment I stepped through the doorway, I froze.
Edward was standing by the counter with a glass of water in his hand.
Of course he was.
Quietly, I turned to leave, careful not to make a sound.
“Leaving already?” His voice stopped me midway.
I closed my eyes briefly before slowly turning around to look at him.
Edward looked far calmer than I felt.
“I wasn't leaving,” I lied.
He slightly raised his eyebrow.
The look on his face made it very clear he didn't believe me.
I sighed.
“Okay, you got me. Maybe I was.”
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Did he just smile?
Goodness, there's nothing fun about tonight.
“About earlier…” I folded my arms.
Edward looked at me.
“The juice disaster,” I added.
His gaze dropped briefly to his now changed shirt.
“Oh.”
“I'm sorry about that.”
“Selene—”
“No, seriously. I'm sorry.”
Heat crept into my face again. I can't believe I'm having a conversation with him. Him…
“I don't usually attack people with orange juice.”
That earned a quiet chuckle from him.
“It wasn't exactly an attack.”
“It felt like one.”
“It was just an accident, everyone could’ve been a victim.”
“Still...”
“It's fine.”
A brief silence settled between us.
“Okay.” I nodded and turned toward the refrigerator.
Just grab water.
Leave.
Pretend this conversation never happened.
Simple.
That was the plan until…
“You know,” Edward said quietly, “we can't keep pretending that night never happened.”
My entire body went rigid and it suddenly felt like there was a lump on my throat that I fought so hard to swallow.
I spun around so quickly I almost dropped the bottle.
“Are you crazy?”
His eyes widened slightly.
“Sorry, I… I mean…”
I immediately crossed the kitchen toward him. “You can't be saying that out loud. What if someone hears you?” I whispered.
Edward looked genuinely apologetic. “You're right. I'm sorry about that.”
I stared at him for a while and exhaled.
The panic in my chest eased a little.
A little.
Neither of us spoke.
The silence stretched between us.
Finally, Edward broke it.
“I never expected to see you again.”
I looked down at the bottle in my hand.
“Me neither.”
That was probably the understatement of the century.
A humorless smile crossed his face.
“I certainly didn't expect to find you at my fiancée's Christmas dinner.”
“You mean 'my mother'?” I let out a small laugh despite myself.
“Yeah.” He laughed too.
For the first time all evening, some of the tension between us eased.
Edward stared down at his glass. “I regret that night.”
Regret?
The words caught me off guard.
I blinked.
He regretted it?
Something uncomfortable twisted inside me.
I wasn't even sure why.
Shouldn't that have been a good thing?
A relief?
Maybe it was.
Maybe it made everything easier.
Edward rubbed the back of his neck. “I don't mean it the way that sounds.”
I frowned. “Then how do you mean it?”
He took a moment before answering.
“I mean I regret putting myself in a situation where it could happen.” He said with a more calmer tone, like he sincerely wished it never happened. “I was grieving. You were hurting.”
I looked away. The memory was not pleasing to remember.
“I've never been the type of man who has one-night stands.”
“Neither am I.’
The response slipped out before I could stop it.
Edward nodded with a smile.
“Exactly.”
I swallowed hard. “And now we're here.”
“And now we're here.”
Neither of us looked particularly happy about it.
Edward shook his head. “The connection between our families…” He snorted softly. “I never saw that coming.”
Something suddenly occurred to me.
I looked up sharply.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“You didn't know my mother before that night, right?”
Edward's eyes widened.
“What?”
“Please tell me you didn't.”
“Selene.” He chuckled. “No way.”
Relief flooded through me. “Thank goodness.”
He shook his head again and pointed to his chest. “I am not that cruel.”
Despite everything, I laughed.
“So that's a no?”
“That's definitely a no.”
For a second, the awkwardness between us softened. Then reality returned.
Neither of us had any idea what to say next.
“Do you…”
“How about…”
We both spoke at the same time and stopped.
Edward gestured toward me. “You can go first.”
I nodded slowly and exhaled.“I meant to say that it already happened...”
Edward listened quietly.
“We can't change it. It was just one night.” The words felt strange coming out of my mouth. “A stupid, drunken night.”
Edward studied me for a moment and nodded.
“Exactly. Just a mistake of one night, nothing we can't get over.”
I released a breath.
Good.
We were finally getting somewhere.
“So let's leave it there.” His gaze stayed on mine and that made me a bit uncomfortable. But I continued anyway. “No one needs to get hurt because of something that happened months ago.”
A muscle flexed in his jaw he nodded again in agreement. “I was actually about to say the same...”
“Oh my God!”
Mom's voice floated into the kitchen cutting him off.
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Edward stepped back immediately.
Mom entered carrying a dish towel.
Her gaze swept between us.
“Look at this.”
My heart started beating faster than normal.
“What?”
She smiled.
“I can already see the father-daughter relationship forming.”
I almost choked.
Beside me, Edward cleared his throat. “Well.” His expression remained impressively calm. “I suppose it's a formality.”
Mom looked amused.
“A formality?”
“If we're going to be together,” Edward said, “I have to win both the mother's heart and the daughter's.”
Mom burst out laughing.
I joined in immediately.
A little too loudly and a bit awkward too.
But I couldn't help it.
The alternative was screaming.
Thankfully, Mom didn't notice.
She laughed and shook her head.
“Smart answer, Edward.”
“I thought so.”
“Flatterer.”
Edward placed his empty glass in the sink.
“I'll take that as a compliment.”
Mom smiled again.
Then Edward glanced between us.
“I should leave you ladies to your conversation.”
“Running away?” Mom teased.
“We call it retreating.”
That earned another laugh from mum.
He nodded politely toward both of us and headed for the door.
For a brief second, his eyes met mine and then he was gone.
Somehow...
I wasn't sure whether I felt relieved or disappointed.
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