Swallowed by the Flames of Regret

I had been engaged to Atlas Payne, a powerful CEO, for five years. This was the 21st time he had canceled our wedding ceremony.

The first time, his secretary, Jasmine Scott, sprained her ankle. He left me by the roadside and rushed to the hospital.

The second time, Jasmine cried and made a scene on the eve of our wedding, so he left me alone on the red carpet.

The Payne family was powerful, while I was merely the daughter of a housekeeper. Therefore, everyone advised me to just deal with his mood swings.

Every time Atlas left me behind, he would solemnly apologize and promise me that the next wedding attempt would definitely go smoothly.

I kept believing him. Even though I was not the family's legitimate mistress, I still handled all the family affairs for him. I waited and waited, but the wedding ceremony never came. All I received was news that Jasmine was pregnant.

This time, I had no reason to convince myself to stay.

"I will never let you leave my side. If you ever disappear, I’ll make sure to use my family's influence to find you."

The sweet words he once said to me were now a cage that trapped me.

On Christmas Day, I prepared to leave him for good. I started a fire at home. Even the most powerful family would not be able to find someone who was supposedly dead.

Years later, I unexpectedly came across Atlas kneeling at my ‘grave’. He was always so stern, but now, he was crying and begging me to come home and see him again.

Today was the 21st time Atlas Payne had promised me that we would have a wedding ceremony. He had arranged the church, flowers, and fine wine, yet I did not even want to change into my wedding dress.

He had broken his previous promises twenty times. I was not the only one smiling mockingly—the guests were, too. However, they were afraid to show it because of Atlas's power.

"Mrs. Payne, it's time to get dressed up." The butler, Alfred Dane, handed me the wedding dress. When he touched my hand, he was startled to feel my burning-hot skin.

A few days ago, Atlas' secretary, Jasmine Scott, called him. He left me by the roadside to go meet her.

By the time Alfred picked me up, all my clothes were soaked through. I still had a high fever to this day. I sighed and dizzily went to get changed, but a cold voice came from behind me.

"Don't rush to get changed yet. Jasmine is in the hospital, and I'm planning to see her first. I'll try my best to come back for the wedding dinner. If I don't make it, you can handle things like you did before."

After saying that, Atlas kissed me on the cheek and left in a hurry.

Usually, at times like this, I would hold his hand, begging him not to leave with red eyes. Now, I simply kissed his cheek in return and smiled slightly. "Be careful on your way there."

Atlas looked at me with surprise before noticing my flushed cheeks and frowning. "Why is your face so red? Are you feeling embarrassed?"

Before I could explain, he smiled slightly and put on a rare look of satisfaction. "Naomi, don't worry. I'll be back very soon."

He then drove off as fast as the wind. It was unclear whether it was to see Jasmine as soon as possible or to get back for the wedding as fast as he could.

It was probably for the former. After all, between Jasmine and me, he would always choose Jasmine.

For example, he would unhesitatingly give her my haute couture gown at dinner if she liked it. He would also refuse to drink a drop of the coffee I poured for him when he worked the night shift, but he drank all the milk Jasmine poured for him. Atlas disliked milk and always complained about it smelling fishy and unpleasant, but it did not matter when Jasmine was the one giving it to him.

While thinking about that, I felt a small ache in my heart.

After calming myself down, I forced my weary body into the church to apologize to the guests waiting at the wedding venue.

Feeling their teasing glances, I silently returned home.

As soon as I entered the door, I collapsed to the floor. I did not have the strength to get up, so I just lay there.

Just as I was about to faint, a message popped up on my phone. It was a picture from Jasmine.

It was a pregnancy test report, and it was positive.

There was also a short caption.

Jasmine: [Ugh, I wish you could’ve seen Atlas's expression when he found out I was pregnant. It was unforgettable.]

My heart felt like it stopped beating when I read her message.

Atlas and I had never tried for children during our five years together, simply because he disliked kids.

He always used condoms. Though he took it off when things got intense a few times, he would make me take the morning-after pill. He knew I liked children, but it did not make him change his mind.

Now, Jasmine had gotten pregnant with his child so easily. It was not that he disliked children—he just disliked me.

My phone slipped from my hand and fell to the floor.

Even though the heater was on, the floor was still freezing cold.

I looked at the message again, feeling like I really should give up this time.