Wasted Love, Regret for Eternity

To everyone else, I was Mrs. Finck. In reality, I felt more like his on-call, unpaid maid.

A moment later, my phone buzzed with a location pin. I sighed, grabbed my keys and headed out the door, pushing through the pain to drive.

When I arrived at the private lounge, I found Magnus slumped on the couch, looking utterly defeated. For a man as ambitious and composed as he was, that was a rare sight.

One of his friends handed him another drink. “Come on, Magnus. She’s just an assistant. If you want a woman, it’s not that hard.”

“Seraphina turned you down? Big deal. There are a dozen women dying to throw themselves at you.”

Someone in the corner snickered and added under their breath, “Like Eve.”

Laughter erupted from the room.

So this was why he was drinking himself into a stupor. It was over Seraphina turning him down.

My hand froze on the doorknob. For a long moment, I just stood there, my jaw clenched. Then I pushed the door open and walked in.

The room went quiet in an instant.

One of his friends looked up, startled, then forced a smile. “Well, look who’s here—Mrs. Finck.”

I didn’t even acknowledge him. I looked straight at Magnus. “I’m here to take you home.”

Magnus stood slowly, his face unreadable. He staggered a little as he approached, then casually draped his arm around my shoulders, leaning into me without a word.

Before I could leave, a voice cut through the silence.

“Mr. Finck,” Seraphina said, standing just inside the doorway. “If you were going to have your wife pick you up, why did you message me?”

I turned to look at her. Her face was scrunched up like she was wounded. “You didn’t have to go this far just to humiliate me.”

Magnus’s expression changed immediately. He was furious. He turned to his friends and barked, “Who used my phone to message her?”

The silence in the room thickened.

“I said, who did it?” His voice rose.

No one dared speak. No one moved.

He looked like he was ready to explode. “If any of you think this kind of prank is funny, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Stay the hell away from Sera.”

Seraphina stood frozen, her cheeks burning red, her eyes full of unshed tears. She spun around and rushed out, barely holding herself together.

Magnus panicked. He could barely walk straight, but without a second thought, he let go of me and stumbled after Seraphina.

“Sera, don’t be upset… wait, please—just wait!”

I stood there watching the two of them disappear down the hallway. Strangely, I didn’t feel much of anything. Maybe because deep down, I’d always known I was the one he’d drop the second someone else called.

Once Magnus was gone, the room slowly came back to life. Voices returned, low at first, then louder.

“Jesus, I’ve never seen him that angry.”

“Think he’s serious about her this time?”

“Obviously. Anyone can see it. People who throw themselves at him just come off cheap.”

More laughter broke out.

They didn’t bother lowering their voices. Magnus didn’t care about me, so they didn’t have to either.

My shoulder, already fractured, ached badly where he had leaned on me earlier. I reached up to press against the pain, ready to leave.

Then I heard Sven’s voice behind me. “Eve.”

I turned.

Sven's expression was tight, like he was holding something back. “Let me drive you home.”

He must’ve been in the room the whole time. He saw everything, heard everything.

I didn’t know what he thought about any of it. I wasn’t sure I cared anymore.

Sven had always been there—Magnus’s best friend, from the very beginning. From the moment I fell for Magnus, Sven had been at his side. He’d seen every pathetic moment of mine. And I wasn’t going to pretend cover it up.

***

The ride home was quiet. Sven didn’t say a word the entire way.

Right before I opened the car door to leave, he finally spoke. “You really sure you want a divorce?”

I nodded.