He Called Me Ugly. I Became His Biggest Regret. Chapter 07
He lunged — hands reaching for my arms — then stopped mid-air. Remembered my warning. Shook his head in desperate protest.
“Val means nothing! Nothing! But those words must have hurt you so much. Lucy — I can explain. Yes, I said those things to get her into bed — but my feelings for you — those have always been real. Always.”
I laughed.
“You deliberately hurt me — strategically — to get another woman into bed. And in the same breath you’re telling me your feelings for me are ‘real.’ Do you even hear yourself?”
“From start to finish — the only person you’ve ever thought about is yourself. Did you ever — even once — think about ME?”
He stared at me, blank. “I didn’t realize it bothered you that much. I thought with my explanation — you wouldn’t take it seriously. Besides, you know what you look like. You have a mirror. Why would you believe one stupid comment?” His voice softened. “My Lucy. Since when are you this fragile?”
He actually smiled at me. With fondness.
“And even if the gala hadn’t gone well — so what? Our Families both have resources. I can take care of you. I’ll support you. I’ll handle everything for the both of us. The sky could fall and I’d still be there to hold it up for you.”
He still believed — genuinely believed — that I’d failed at the gala. That this was why I was angry.
He had no idea. I had never performed better.
I smiled. Shook my head at him.
“I don’t need you to choose my future. And I don’t need you to support me. I have my own path. My own plan. And if you can destroy me publicly — deliberately, knowingly — without a shred of genuine remorse — then my only intelligent choice is to remove you from my life.”
“Sunk cost does not factor into major life decisions. That’s basic economics.”
“Marco. Remember I asked you — could one wrong choice send us down different roads forever. That afternoon — when you chose to publicly destroy me to get into Valentina’s bed — you answered the question yourself.”
“Different roads. No shared path. I will not walk beside someone who does not respect me.”
“Loving you. Trusting you unconditionally. That was my mistake. But you don’t have to keep making it. I’m correcting my choice. I’m leaving you.”
“Every word I am saying right now — I mean it. This has never been about anger. Never.”
“When I told you our road ends here — I meant it. When I wrote that I have no feelings for Marco DeLuca — that was also the truth.”
Desperation and panic crept up his face. He was nearly weeping. “Lucy. Don’t fall out of love with me. Please. I know now — I know how badly I hurt you. Give me another chance. I’ll spend my whole life making it right. You can hit me. Curse me. Scream. Anything. Just — please — don’t leave.”
“I’ve never once imagined a life without you. I can’t. I CAN’T.”
I took a deep breath. Speaking of cursing — I did have three words I wanted to return.
“You asked for this.”
“You’re filthy.”
Three words. Same structure he’d used on me. Same devastating simplicity.