Ex, Regret All You Want, I’m the Tycoon’s Wife Now!

Gavin Darnell and I were reborn together.

When the fire came roaring back to life, just like it had in the past, he didn't make the same choice.

This time, he bent down and scooped up his childhood sweetheart, Kierra Myers.

"In my past life, I regretted it countless times," he said. "Not reaching out when Kierra needed me the most. Because of that, she was disfigured in the fire and died young, sick, and depressed. This time, I'm staying with the woman I love. I won't waste another second on you, Celine."

I let out a bitter, breathless laugh as I watched him walk away with Kierra in his arms.

So I wasn't the only one who'd regretted that marriage.

Apparently, he had too.

He just got to rewrite the story.

Meanwhile, I was still stuck in its ashes.

——

Celine's POV

The fire was still raging when Gavin left.

My left leg was pinned under a collapsed beam, and blood streamed from my arm.

I could hardly move, and all the strength I had was gone.

And he knew that. He knew I was trapped, yet he walked away without so much as a glance back.

I was adopted into the Darnell family. In our previous life, Gavin and I married under his grandmother Eleanor's arrangement. From an outsider's perspective, we appeared to be the perfect, loving, and stable couple, even enviable.

But now, to make up for the guilt he carried over Kierra, Gavin wasn't just leaving me.

He was leaving me to die.

Pain pierced my chest. I let out a sharp and bitter laugh, directed entirely at myself.

In that last life, I gave Gavin everything—my time, devotion, and health. I poured every ounce of energy into helping him build the Darnell Group, but in return, he betrayed me.

And so, I pushed myself to the limit until my body finally collapsed.

All that loyalty, all that love—worthless. Worse, it made me look pathetic, like a joke.

Smoke coiled thicker around me. My lungs burned. I coughed hard, choking.

Above me, the chandelier creaked.

A moment passed, and it creaked, began to lean, and looked ready to fall.

A shadow appeared in the blink of an eye, moving quickly and recklessly. Whoever it was didn't hesitate. They threw themselves over me and pulled me out of the way just as the chandelier crashed down.

I didn't get a chance to see their faces.

Everything went black in their arms.

...

When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed.

No one from the Darnell family was there.

The only person in the room was Ben Lennox, Gavin's assistant.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Nicholson," Ben said stiffly. "Mr. Darnell has been with Ms. Myers this whole time. He couldn't come."

He looked at me, at the bruises and bandages, his face tight with discomfort. Then he cleared his throat and kept going.

"There are two documents here. Mr. Darnell instructed me to make sure you signed them the moment you woke up. No delays."

A heavy feeling settled in my chest, cold and familiar.

I stayed calm, took the papers, and opened them.

The first one was exactly what I expected: Gavin wanted to dissolve our engagement.

Without hesitation, I picked up the pen and signed my name silently.

Ben blinked, clearly stunned.

He hadn't expected me to agree so easily.

But I felt strangely light, like a weight had finally been lifted.

Even if Gavin hadn't sent the paperwork, I'd already made up my mind. There was nothing left to hold on to.

But when my eyes moved to the second document, my breath caught.

It stated that, as the Darnell family's adopted daughter, Gavin had already made decisions on my behalf. He was marrying me to Maxwell Pierson, heir to Pierson International in Riverton Heights.

Maxwell Pierson.

A man known for being cold-blooded and brutal. His business rivals called him ruthless.

His enemies called him worse.

In my past life, it was Kierra who married him. Not long after, she withered away. Rumor had it she wasted until she was skin and bones—miserable, hollowed out, unrecognizable.

Gavin would sigh about it, blaming her tragedy on the fire that disfigured her—and on the marriage that ensued, calling Max a living devil.

And now, knowing exactly what kind of man Max Pierson was, Gavin was throwing me into that same pit.

All to save Kierra from it.

The pain of that truth burned hotter than the flames I'd just escaped.

A sharp, metallic taste flooded my mouth. I swallowed it down.

Ben hesitated before speaking again.

"Ms. Nicholson, if you really don't want to marry into the Pierson family, maybe you could talk to Madam Eleanor. She's always had the final say. She might not let Gavin force you into marrying Maxwell Pierson, the reigning king of Hell."