A Regret too Late

Maria's breathing grew heavier as her hands trembled.

Right at that moment, Richard instinctively pulled his phone away, as if he was afraid she would see the screen. "Mari…"

"You should answer your call first," Maria said, not wanting to look at him anymore.

Richard frowned, turning away to take the call. On the other end, the designer's voice came through. "Mr. Shaw, I've sent the initial wedding dress styles to your email. Let me know if you want any changes."

Richard replied quietly, "I'll get back to you. Please don't call me directly next time. I want to surprise my wife."

When he hung up and turned around, Maria was already gone.

Catelyn stopped Richard and wouldn't let him leave. "Did Eleanor stay in the hospital last night? Hurry and come with me to buy something for her. If it wasn't for her saving your grandma, she wouldn't have this heart problem!"

Richard looked around for Maria, but she was nowhere to be found, so he had no choice but to go with Catelyn.

From a gift shop nearby, Maria watched them leave before stepping out herself. She calmly picked up her gift and headed to the hospital to deliver it to her doctor.

As she passed by the inpatient department, she happened to see Catelyn coming out of a hospital ward. It was clearly Eleanor's. Maria's fingers curled tight, but she couldn't help but glance inside as she walked by.

What she saw stopped her in her tracks.

Eleanor was leaning weakly against Richard's shoulder, hand pressed to her heart like she was truly in sorrow. Richard's back was to the door, so Maria couldn't see his face, but his motionless posture said everything about how much he cared for her.

At that moment, Maria's heart went completely cold.

She left quickly, not wanting to look back. Just as she stepped into the elevator, she bumped into Catelyn again.

Catelyn folded her arms, smirking. "They really are made for each other. Got that?"

Maria blankly pressed the elevator button, ignoring Catelyn. Whether they were a perfect match or not had nothing to do with her. She could leave for good in ten days, anyway.

On the way back, Maria had the driver take her to the company.

Whenever Richard wasn't around, the secretary Ivy usually took care of things. With Ivy being away, the only one who could approve of her resignation was Mr. Wright from the board.

Maria went straight to him and said she wanted to resign. Mr. Wright was unsurprised, but curious.

He smiled and said, "Did you and Richard have a fight? Why resign so suddenly? Your position is just a title anyway, and you don't need to come to work. Whether you resign or not doesn't matter, right?"

Everyone reacted this way and said the same things.

Maria kept her face calm, hoping that she could cut herself clean from Richard's life. "I just don't want to be too involved with the company. Some rumors are going around, and I don't want people to get the wrong idea. It's better for me to step down, focus on my family, take care of our son, and not get involved with anything else."

Mr. Wright didn't suspect a thing and stamped her resignation with the board's seal. "Alright, just bring this to HR. But why the rush? Did you tell Richard?"

Maria nodded with a hum. "He'll see the paperwork when he comes to the office. He's busy lately, and I don't want to bother him. Thank you, Mr. Wright."

With that, she dropped off the form at HR and left.

After finishing everything behind Richard's back, Maria finally felt a bit of relief. By the time she left the office, it was already quite late.

Outside, the city lights reflected on every hurried face. Everyone had somewhere to belong, but Maria had none. She was just drifting by, with all her family and her family's company overseas.

If it hadn't been for Richard, she never would have come back here, never would have given up her career to become a housewife.

And what did she get for it?

She gave everything, only to end up abandoned without a care.

Everyone saw her as a joke. Everyone knew she and Richard weren't really married. They toyed with her like a fool.

Silent and lost in thought, Maria wandered down the street until her phone rang. Seeing Trent's name, she remembered the things he had said to Richard in the office and clenched her phone. The disdain on his face when he mentioned her stabbed in her chest.

Maria hung up without hesitation.

But the phone kept ringing persistently, as if he wouldn't stop until she picked up.

Taking a deep breath and calming down her beating heart, she finally answered.

Trent's loud voice came through, "What are you up to, Maria? Come to the bar! We're drinking, but Richard's already drunk. No one's taking him home."

Maria used to think of Trent as her closest friend here. He was Richard's best friend, and had always made her feel welcome. His warmth made her feel like he was family.

Now, to realize she had ever thought of him as a real friend made her sick.

Her voice turned cold and distant, "Just get a driver for him. I'm busy."

Trent sounded surprised; obviously, he didn't expect her to say that. He chuckled again. "You'll have to do it. There's no one else to drive him home. You should come over. If Richard doesn't get home, you and Jonny will be worried, right?"

Before she could reply, Trent hung up, making it clear he expected her to come.

Maria hadn't planned to care, but then she remembered how Trent and his girlfriend had come to her and Richard to settle a breakup not long ago. During their argument, his girlfriend had left her necklace behind at their house. Maria had picked it up.

Richard wouldn't think about giving Trent's girlfriend back the necklace.

Maria had no choice but to go home, grab the necklace, and set out to deliver it to Trent so he could give it back to his girlfriend.

At home, as soon as Jonathan saw Maria, he put down his handheld console and ran to her. "Mom!"

Maria ignored him, walking past him like the wind. Jonathan was stunned, then hurried after her to the door. He watched Maria walk away; she refused to look back.

Frustrated, he yelled, "Mom, I'm starting to hate you! I like Eleanor more!"

Maria paused for a moment, but kept going.

"If Eleanor were my mom, I'd never bother with you! You're the worst!"

Maria finally stopped, took a deep breath, and turned around. She looked at Jonathan, her face cold. Jonathan's eyes lit up, a little smug.

Whenever he had said he hated her before, Maria would always get flustered and upset, rushing to comfort him and explain.

He was sure she would do the same now.