Too Late For Regret: The Surgeon's Escape

A harsh, disbelieving laugh escaped Brody's lips.

He crumpled the agreement in his fist, the thick paper crinkling in protest. The knuckles of his hand turned white. This wasn't real. It was a joke. A desperate, pathetic cry for attention.

He tossed the wadded-up papers back onto the table.

She was playing a game. That's all this was. A childish tantrum because he'd shown concern for Carly. He'd ignore it. She'd come crawling back in a day or two, full of apologies. She always did.

"Mommy?"

Leo's small voice came from the top of the stairs. He was rubbing his eyes, his favorite stuffed dinosaur tucked under his arm.

"Where's Mommy? Auntie Carly said Mommy would make pancakes."

The mention of Carly's name grated on Brody's already frayed nerves.

"She's out," Brody snapped, his voice sharper than he intended. "Stop whining, Leo. She'll be back."

He pulled out his phone and dialed Kayli's number. It went straight to voicemail. He cursed under his breath and stabbed out a text message.

"This isn't funny, Kayli. Stop being childish and come home."

He hit send and waited.

Nothing.

The silence from his phone was unnerving. Throughout the day, an unfamiliar restlessness took hold of him. At a board meeting for Bonner Pharmaceuticals, he found his mind drifting, his arguments unfocused. He was used to Kayli managing his schedule, reminding him of key details, laying out his suit in the morning. Without her, his well-ordered world began to fray at the edges.

The house was too quiet. The staff tiptoed around him. His life, which he'd always considered self-sufficient, suddenly felt chaotic and empty.

That evening, after another fruitless attempt to call her, a cold knot of something that felt dangerously like panic began to form in his gut. He used his credentials to log into the hospital's scheduling system.

Kayli's name was on the roster. Day off.

She wasn't at work. She hadn't been home. She was actually gone.

He drove to the few places he could think of-a bookstore she liked, a small cafe-but there was no sign of her. The panic tightened its grip. This was no longer a game.

Finally, swallowing his pride, he called his assistant.

"Find my wife," he ordered. "I want her phone's current location. Now."

Twenty minutes later, an address appeared on his screen. A high-rise in the city center he didn't recognize.

Fury surged through him, hot and cleansing, burning away the fear. She had a secret apartment? The deceit of it was staggering.

He drove recklessly, his tires screeching as he pulled up to the gleaming glass building. He buzzed the apartment number from the directory.

Her voice came through the intercom, impossibly calm.

"Yes?"

"It's Brody. Let me up."

A pause. Then, "Is there something you need, Mr. Bonner?"

Mr. Bonner.

The formal address was like a slap in the face. It ignited his rage. The door buzzed open, and he stormed into the elevator, jabbing the button for the penthouse floor.

The apartment door was slightly ajar. He shoved it open with his good hand.

The sight that greeted him stopped him cold.

Kayli was curled on a plush white sofa, wearing soft-looking gray sweats. A pair of reading glasses were perched on her nose. An open medical journal lay in her lap. The room was filled with the soft strains of classical music.

She looked... peaceful. Content.

She looked up at him, her expression as mild as if he were a deliveryman who'd gotten the wrong address.

He strode forward and slammed the crumpled divorce agreement down on the table in front of her.

"Explain this," he snarled. "What kind of sick game are you playing?"

She carefully placed a bookmark in her journal and closed it. She took off her glasses, folding them neatly. Her gray-blue eyes, when they met his, were clear and cold.

"It's not a game, Brody. It's exactly what it looks like. I want a divorce."

Her calmness was more infuriating than any tears or shouting could have been.

"Because of yesterday?" he roared, gesturing wildly with his good arm. "Because of a car accident? Don't be so dramatic, Kayli. You're overreacting."

"It wasn't just yesterday," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "Yesterday was just... the end."

She stood up and walked to a bookshelf. She pulled down a leather-bound photo album-one he'd never seen before-and brought it back to the table. She opened it to a specific page and pushed it toward him.

It was a printout from a social media page. A photo of him, Carly, and Leo at Disneyland. They were all wearing Mickey Mouse ears. Carly was holding Leo on her hip, and Brody's arm was around her shoulders. They looked like a perfect, happy family.

The date stamp was from last month. A weekend he'd told Kayli he was at a conference in Chicago.

"This picture," Kayli said, her voice still unnervingly level. "And the hundred other nights you were 'working late.' And the scene in the emergency room. You already have a family, Brody."

He stared at the photo, speechless. It was damning.

"I'm just making it official," she continued. "I'm setting you free. The agreement is simple. I walk away from all marital assets. I just want a one-time payment to start over."

He seized on that, a sneer twisting his lips. "So that's what this is about. Money. I knew it. How much is your little fit of pique going to cost me?"

"That's not the most important clause," Kayli said, her eyes locking onto his. She spoke each word with deliberate, chilling clarity.

"I'm also waiving my rights to custody of Leo."

The words hit him like a physical blow. He actually staggered back a step, his mind reeling.

He stared at her, his anger dissolving into pure, unadulterated shock.

Leo. He had always assumed Leo was his trump card. His unbreakable chain. The one thing that would always keep her tethered to him, no matter what he did.

He never imagined she would simply hand him the chain and walk away.