CEO's Regret After I Divorced-Chapter 358 Leave Her

Ryan’s POV

She actually stood there and pretended she didn’t know me.

I watched Serena’s face shift back then—first a flicker of panic, then this icy, almost defiant calm. That change had always fascinated me and pissed me off in equal measure.

"Mr. Blackwood," she snapped, voice way too measured—like she practiced it before a mirror. I knew that tone. She used it for clients she hated. "I thought I made myself perfectly clear during our last encounter."

She edged closer to Cedric Lancaster, her every move drawing a line I wasn’t supposed to cross. Her chin tipped up. "We agreed to stay out of each other’s way. I’d appreciate it if you’d honor that agreement."

Honor? She really tossed that word around like it meant something.

Too late for that, Serena.

"Your husband," I said, making the word sound as filthy as it deserved, "has been obsessed with my wife, Serena, for years. Let me guess, he left that part out when he proposed?"

Her jaw flexed. Got you, didn’t I?

"If you care to dig, ask anyone in here about the Lanscaster and Quinn families. They go way back. Cedric and Serena? University together. Family friends. He’s been lying in wait for his shot with her since we were all barely legal adults."

I let it hang there. Just long enough for her to realize I meant every syllable.

"Enough!" That voice whipped out and cut through the noise. Even more eyes turned. "Whatever happened in the past is none of your business, Mr. Blackwood."

She hooked her arm through Cedric’s, one of those practiced moves meant to say "we’re in love"—but really, to cut me deeper. "We’re leaving."

Like hell they were.

But she steered him away anyway, head high, every inch the elegant Mrs. Lancaster. I had to just stand there and watch it—the way she fit at his side, like they’d always belonged together.

Three years. I spent three years convinced she was dead, grieving like an idiot, while she played family with him.

The rage felt molten in me, almost choking.

"Well, well," Sophie suddenly materialized, voice cold and sweet. "That was... illuminating."

I didn’t bother with her. All I could do was watch Serena disappear into the glittering crowd—memorize her gait, the way she rubbed her temple out of habit. She still did it... Christ, that nearly broke me.

"Mrs. Lancaster could be Serena’s double," Sophie kept talking, totally missing my mood. "But they’re not the same, are they? Face it, Ryan, you could be wrong. Maybe that’s some random woman. You’ve got to admit, plastic surgery’s gotten impressive—"

Was she being serious?

My patience snapped. "What’s it to you? Stop following me."

Sophie’s lips did that familiar pinched thing. Didn’t stop her. "All I’m saying is, Cedric Lancaster’s got plenty of tricks. Maybe you’re getting played—"

"Shut up." Louder than I meant, and the pitying look she gave me made it worse.

I found a spot with a clear line of sight to Serena and Lancaster, nursing my whiskey instead of my pride. If they wanted to whisper, fine. Let everyone talk. I didn’t care anymore.

She started laughing at something Cedric said—real laughter, head tossed back, face bright. I could actually feel the jealousy twist inside me, sharp as barbed wire.

Then I heard steps. "Mr. Blackwood?"

I turned. A petite woman, nervous, eyes soft. Took me a second to place her—Sally. Serena’s assistant. Maybe her only real friend in this town.

"Ms. Sally." I kept my voice flat, all business. "What is it?"

She darted a glance at the crowd. "Could we talk? Privately. It’s about Serena."

Of course it was.

"She told me about your history," she admitted, holding her champagne like a shield.

I smirked. "Right. I bet she gave you her side. So? I’m the monster, right? The guy who ruined her?"

She looked startled, but shook it off. "I—well—"

"So, you think I’m the crazed man she says I am?" I sounded bitter. Couldn’t help it.

But she squared up like she’d practiced this. "Mr. Blackwood, whatever happened between you and Serena, it’s over. She has amnesia. There’s a blood clot in her brain the doctors can’t touch."

That landed like a punch. A blood clot?

I almost choked. "From... the car accident?"

She nodded. "Every time you show up, you make it worse. You could push her over the edge—give her a stroke, or a brain hemorrhage. Can you live with that?"

Brain damage. Three years of complications I’d never even heard about. I felt the heat in my chest freeze to something cold, clawing—fear.

"This is what she wanted you to tell me?" The words sounded weird, almost mechanical.

Sally shook her head. "No. This is me, as her best friend. Serena doesn’t even know I’m talking to you."

She stared me down, defiant. "I’ve had maybe one real friend in my life, and it’s her."

"I don’t care if you blacklist me. I’ll go back to Thailand, restart my life, whatever it takes. But I won’t let you hurt her."

And oddly? I felt grateful. At least someone stood in her corner.

"Ms. Sally," I managed, voice quiet, "you’re wrong about me. I never wanted to hurt her. I’m probably the only one who never did."

She gave me a pitying look that made it worse. "What you think you’re doing and what you’re actually doing?"

"Everything you think you know about our story—it’s a lie. Carefully built, just to keep her from me."

Sally laughed. "It doesn’t matter what I believe. What matters is, Serena thinks those memories are real."

She waved at Serena and Lancaster, still acting like the world’s happiest couple. "Look at her. Successful, respected, adored by her husband, with a daughter she loves."

A daughter.

I needed to breathe. Not here, not like this.

"She’s happy," Sally pressed. "Really happy. Isn’t that what counts?"

I killed the rest of my whiskey in a single, burning swallow. She’s happy. Not with me.

"So if you ever loved her at all, let her go. Let her keep her new life."

She set her glass down and fixed me with a look that felt older than both of us. "Give her that—the chance at peace."

Peace. With Cedric, with my daughter, in a world where I didn’t exist.

Sally turned, walking away on steady feet, probably feeling she saved the day. Some small, protective friend, keeping the villain away.

If only she had any idea what the real story actually was.