I Gave Him Everything, He Gave Me Regret

Caesar maintained his silence, expecting me to swallow my pride and make the first move. This tactic had been his game for eight long years.

As I set my keys down at the front desk, Caesar’s mother swept in like a whirlwind.

I opened my mouth to say hello, but she slapped me hard across the face before I could speak.

“Zelia, our family has nurtured an ungrateful snake! After eating and drinking at our table for over a decade, how could you turn on us? How heartless!”

I pressed my burning cheek, stunned, but the words caught in my throat.

She became increasingly aggressive, yanking my hair and delivering sharp slaps with a voice dripping with fury. “My son is perfect, looks, family status, everything. And you still turn him down?”

“You can leave if you want, but you’ll have to pay back every penny we’ve spent raising you!”

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Over the years, the amount Caesar’s family had spent on me seemed almost a joke.

It wasn’t that I looked down on their support, but the meager fifty dollars they provided each month barely scratched the surface of my needs, leaving me to scrape by day after day.

Later, I discovered that the Wallace family offered support to students like me for the sake of publicity, inflating expenses to lure in more business partners.

When I failed to respond, Caesar’s mother dragged me outside and seized a nearby stun baton, striking me sharply across the head.

With each blow, warmth trickled down my face. Just as I was about to beg for mercy, a pair of strong arms enveloped me in a familiar embrace.

The scent of smoke surrounded me, and Caesar said, irritation lacing his voice, “Enough! She’s my woman!”

Then, unexpectedly tender, he lifted me and placed me gently in the passenger seat. “Zelia, don’t you see? No one will ever love or care for you the way I do.”

As he reached for some rubbing alcohol to disinfect my wounds, the sight of Gaia’s personal stickers adorning the dashboard made me recoil in disgust.

I instinctively shifted away, earning a warning look from him. “Go apologize to Gaia. Act like none of this ever happened, and you’ll remain the lady of the Wallace family.”

I let out a derisive snort; his so-called kindness was the very thing I longed to escape.

He fancied himself my savior, blind to the suffering he had caused.

Once, I had imagined a lifetime together, willing to manage every aspect of his life.

He had never been my hero; only I could rescue myself.

With steely determination, I replied, “Caesar, you’re fooling yourself. I won’t apologize, nor will I make amends with you.”

I flung open the car door and strode away, refusing to look back.

Behind me, Caesar’s furious voice erupted as he honked the horn frantically. “I’m warning you, Zelia! You’ll regret this!”

I didn’t glance over my shoulder, muttering under my breath, “You’re the one who’ll regret it.”

Exhaustion weighed heavily on me as I checked into a nearby hotel. After tending to my injuries, my phone buzzed with a call from Zephyr Collins.

“How’s the investigation progressing? There’s a banquet at the Wallace family tonight. Send me the address, and I’ll arrange for a dress to be delivered. Join me there.”

I nodded, signaling my agreement.

Zephyr’s voice brimmed with satisfaction as he hung up.

When the dress arrived, I took my time putting it on.

It was clear this was no ordinary garment—a striking contrast to Caesar, who had never offered me anything of such elegance.

Clothes had the uncanny ability to transform a person. Once I dressed and adorned myself, I marveled at how enchantingly different I appeared.

The moment I entered the banquet, all eyes gravitated toward me.

In the center of the room, Caesar and Gaia flirted openly, their playful banter making everyone around them squirm. “Mr. Wallace, stop tickling me! I don’t want to play anymore!”

“Oh, come on, Gaia. Stop acting coy. Isn’t this what you love most?”

Just then, Caesar's assistant broke in quietly. “Miss Reeves has arrived.”

Caesar turned to me, his eyes wide with disbelief.

For a moment, he seemed stunned, as if struggling to recognize the elegantly dressed woman before him. “Zelia? What are you doing here? Who invited you?”

His frown deepened, filled with disdain. “That dress, who bought it for you? Was it that guy from the last photo?”

I brushed him off, lifting my dress as I walked away.

Frustrated, Caesar clutched my wrist, ignoring Gaia’s irritation. “Didn’t you hear? Who bought that dress for you?”