Too Late For Regret, Mr. Spencer

Lydia had just left her lawyer's office, a file folder containing divorce consultation documents tucked under her arm. The New York sun felt harsh.

She stepped into a corner café she used to frequent, needing a moment to breathe.

She ordered a black coffee and sat by the window, watching the city's hurried pace.

A moment later, a figure sat down opposite her, bringing a cloying, sweet perfume. It was Danica Richmond.

Danica wore a white sundress, looking pure and innocent, her face etched with a perfectly practiced expression of concern.

"Lydia, I know this is a bad time, but I'm really worried about Blake," she began, her voice soft and caring.

Lydia looked at her coldly, saying nothing. She took a sip of her coffee. The bitter taste spread across her tongue.

"Why are you doing this to him? He's under so much pressure, with the company, the children..." Danica's eyes reddened, as if Lydia were the one being unreasonable.

Lydia finally spoke, her voice calm but icy. "What happens between him and me is none of a stranger's business. If you're so worried about him, you should stay away from him."

A crack appeared in Danica's innocent mask. Her eyes flickered to the file folder on the table, noting the law firm's logo.

She let out a small, condescending laugh. Her tone shifted, now laced with pity and a hint of triumph. "A stranger? Lydia, are you still living in a dream?"

"Do you really think this is just about him falling out of love with you?" Danica leaned forward, her voice a low, conspiratorial whisper. "You think he just got tired of a boring housewife? How simple your world is."

She paused, letting the words hang in the air. "Lydia, some things are far more complicated than love. Some things... some debts... are for a lifetime. You think his coldness started randomly? Think back. Think about what happened three years ago."

Lydia's heart hammered against her ribs. Three years ago. The car accident. Blake had been in a coma for three days. During that rainstorm, Danica had been in the passenger seat of Blake's sedan when a truck crossed the centerline. Danica took the brunt of the impact maneuver, sustaining injuries that required months of rehabilitation. When Blake woke up, he was different—colder, more withdrawn. The doctors had called it post-concussion syndrome, but Danica's words painted a more sinister picture. A debt? What debt?

Danica savored the sight of the blood draining from Lydia's face, reveling in her control.

"You see?" Danica's voice dripped with false sympathy. "You're finally starting to understand. You think you lost him, but you can't lose something that was never truly yours to begin with after that day. For the past three years, he's been making it up to me. All his tenderness, all his patience... he believes he owes it all to me."

The world started to spin. The café's noise faded into a dull roar in Lydia's ears.

So the coldness of the last three years... it wasn't a slow decay of love, but a sudden, secret event that changed everything? A debt? Why would Blake owe Danica anything?

Why had no one told her? Did Eleanor know?

As if reading her mind, Danica's voice filled with a victor's glee. "Don't blame Eleanor. And don't blame Blake. They were just protecting you from a reality you couldn't handle. Some things... you're simply better off not knowing."

Her words were like venom, seeping into Lydia's mind, each one implying a vast conspiracy that excluded her, with Danica at its very center.

"He's been trying to compensate me for all the pain he caused. He feels he owes me everything."

Danica lifted a hand to touch a diamond necklace around her neck. "He gave me this last week. He said it was a small token for all my suffering."

Lydia's gaze fell on the necklace. It was so bright it hurt to look at.

It wasn't just a failing marriage. It was a secret. A conspiracy orchestrated by Danica, condoned by Eleanor, with her as the unsuspecting victim. The coldness, the distance, the preference for Danica—it all stemmed from something that happened three years ago, something they deliberately hid from her.

What she thought was a marriage crisis was, from the very beginning, a carefully planned replacement built on a secret she couldn't comprehend.

Danica stood up, looking down at her, a triumphant, undisguised smile on her face. "So, Lydia, just let go. You're fighting a battle you lost three years ago. For his sake, and for the last shred of your own dignity. The position of Mrs. Spencer was never meant for you."

Danica turned and walked away gracefully, leaving Lydia sitting alone, her hands and feet ice-cold, as if she had been plunged into a frozen lake.