
Regret's Late Arrival: When Apologies Come Too Late
Chapter 2
Emma looked at the food I had already touched, her face full of hesitation. It was obvious she was truly disgusted with me.
Without a word, I saved some for my lunch tomorrow and dumped the rest into the trash can.
Emma looked as if she had seen a ghost and immediately grabbed my wrist.
"Are you crazy? I haven't eaten yet, and you're throwing it away?"
Emma quickly packed the dishes Kellen liked into the thermos box, even carefully arranging them.
As for herself, she just made do with some soup and managed to put together a meal.
The look she gave me was full of resentment.
But I pretended not to notice.
If she wanted to sacrifice herself for Kellen, it was none of my business.
I used the excuse of going for a walk and left the house.
Sure enough, I hadn't been downstairs long before Emma hurried out with the lunchbox in hand.
I hailed a taxi and had the driver take me straight to the orthopedic hospital.
I knew the way too well, and when I reached Kellen's ward, even though I had mentally prepared myself, the scene in the room still stung.
Emma was tenderly feeding Kellen in small bites, her expression soft as if she were handling a rare treasure.
"Ah, open your mouth. You need to eat more; it's all your favorite food."
"I specifically asked Bernard to make it. Do you like it?"
As soon as Kellen heard Emma mention me, he immediately pouted and refused to eat any more.
"Emma, you're constantly talking about Bernard. Have you fallen for him? What about me? I'm all alone..."
Emma immediately raised her hand to clear up any misunderstanding.
"I swear, there's nothing between us. We're absolutely innocent, no romantic feelings at all."
Just then, a loud thunderclap roared outside.
Emma's face was full of panic.
"I'm not lying to you! If I am, may I never die a good death!"
As she spoke, she pressed her entire body against Kellen.
Kellen buried his head in her ample chest for a while and lost interest in continuing to eat.
The two of them were soon entangled in a passionate kiss, oblivious to the world around them.
The netizens weren't wrong—when the shower alternated between hot and cold, it only meant someone else was also using the water.
My fists clenched and relaxed repeatedly, struggling with whether to push open the door.
"Young man, are you envious?"
"Let me tell you, I've never seen such a loving young couple. This girl is not only beautiful in appearance but also in heart!"
"Oh? Why don't you tell me more?"
One of Kellen's ward mates, probably lonely from being in the hospital, pulled me aside to the corridor and started sharing his thoughts while munching on sunflower seeds.
"You don't know, but this girl takes care of her husband with all her heart and soul. She does everything—feeding, cleaning, even wiping his body—better than a professional nurse. The most important thing is that even when her husband's legs were rotting with sores, she didn't flinch at the smell."
"They even often... well, you know..."
Unconsciously, my nails dug deeply into my palms, causing a sharp pain.
Emma and I had been betrothed since childhood by our families. Urged by our elders, I married her as soon as I returned home.
Because Emma's parents deliberately kept it from me, no one told me that they were in a hurry for me to marry her to drive Kellen away.
On our wedding night, I was so drunk that when I woke up, all I saw was a soft, warm body in my arms.
The marks on Emma's body and the disheveled bed made me think that the vivid dream I had was real.
I didn't stop to question how I could perform so well despite being so drunk; I just assumed I was naturally gifted.
When I tried to kiss her out of satisfaction, she pulled herself into a fearful ball, staring at me with tearful eyes.
"Bernard, stay away from me! You... you're terrifying!"
I blushed with shame and apologized for my roughness.
Since then, she has always claimed psychological trauma and refused any real intimacy.
As a healthy young man, it was hard to resist when lying next to her, but every time, she would stop me with tears in her voice.
To avoid taking too many cold showers, I agreed to her request to sleep in separate beds.
If I hadn't heard the truth in my previous life, I would have believed that Emma gave her virginity to me.
Just thinking about how she drugged me on our wedding night, lying beside me while she and Kellen were passionately entangled, made me almost want to storm into the hospital room and confront them.
Seeing my clenched teeth and furious expression, Kellen's ward mate teased me.
"At first, I was so jealous I wished I were the one being taken care of. But too bad, that's someone else's wife!"
I laughed coldly inside. My wife has been taking care of Kellen like this for seven years!
Calculating the time, I knew I needed to get a divorce as soon as possible to cut my losses.