His Regret
Remi’s POV
My heart was beating so fast against my ears.
I gripped the edge of my seat, my nails digging into the fabric.
I didn’t blink.
Didn’t breathe.
I just stared at him.
At Rowan.
The man who had forgotten me.
The man who had broken me.
The man who was now asking about my children.
His children.
I swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper.
“What did you just say?”
Rowan’s knuckles were white against the steering wheel.
His entire body was tense.
But his voice?
It was calm. Too calm.
“I said,” he repeated, his gaze locked on mine, “the twins. They’re mine, aren’t they?”
A sharp exhale escaped me.
I tried to keep my face neutral, to hold onto the control I was quickly losing.
I needed to lie.
Deny it.
Act like he was crazy.
Because if I didn’t—
I didn’t know how I’d survive this conversation.
I forced out a dry laugh. “Rowan, are you—”
His hand slammed against the dashboard, startling me.
“Don’t lie to me.”
His voice was low. Rough.
Dangerous.
My chest tightened.
“You don’t get to come into my life after all these years and start making accusations.” My voice shook, but I lifted my chin. “What makes you so sure they’re yours?”
His hands clenched into fists, his breathing heavy.
He ran a shaky hand through his hair, then turned to face me fully.
“Because I ran a DNA test.”
The world stopped.
My stomach dropped.
My pulse roared in my ears.
He knew.
He knew.
There was no denying it now.
My fingers curled into my lap. “You—how?”
His eyes didn’t waver.
“The plane crash. The suit I wore. Your DNA was on it.” His voice was steady, but his throat bobbed. “So was Larry’s. So was Laura’s.”
I looked away, staring at the passing buildings.
I could hear my own shallow breaths.
He knew.
Seven years.
Seven years of hiding them.
Of keeping them safe from him.
And now—
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Rowan…”
His hands tightened around the wheel again.
“Tell me the truth, Remi.”
I turned back to him, my throat burning.
And then I said the words that would change everything.
“Yes. They’re yours.”
The silence that followed was heavy.
Rowan’s jaw clenched. His shoulders were rigid.
His breathing turned uneven.
He looked…pained.
Like I had just stabbed him in the chest.
His hands dropped from the wheel, falling into his lap.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Why?” His voice cracked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I clenched my fists. “Because you didn’t deserve to know.”
His head snapped toward me, his gaze burning.
“You didn’t even give me a chance.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “A chance?”
I turned in my seat, my nails digging into my palms.
“You want to talk about chances, Rowan? You married me and treated me like garbage. You humiliated me on our wedding day. You made sure I knew—every single day—that I was nothing to you.”
His brows furrowed.
“I—”
“You don’t remember, do you?” I whispered, a tear slipping down my cheek. “You have no idea what you did to me.”
Rowan’s hands shook.
His lips parted, like he wanted to say something.
But I didn’t let him.
Because this time, he was going to listen.
“You don’t know what it was like to carry your children while you slept with other women. To cry myself to sleep, knowing I was just an inconvenience to you.” My chest rose and fell, my vision blurring.
Rowan’s face drained of color.
His breathing grew heavier.
I wiped at my face, my throat aching.
“And then, when I found out I was pregnant? I had to make a choice. Stay with a man who would eventually throw me away, or leave to give my children a better life.”
Rowan’s hands gripped his knees so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
I laughed bitterly. “So yeah, Rowan. I left. I ran. And I never looked back. Because you didn’t deserve to know them. You didn’t deserve to be their father.”
The words hung between us, heavy and suffocating.
I braced myself for anger.
For shouting.
For anything.
But Rowan just stared at me.
And then—
Slowly—
His expression broke.
And my entire world tilted.
Because Rowan Vaughn—
Fell to his knees.
Right there.
In the car.
His head dropped, his hands pressing against the floor.
And then—
His voice cracked.
“Remi…”
I froze.
My heart stopped beating.
Because I had seen Rowan angry.
I had seen him cold. Indifferent.
But I had never seen him like this.
Shattered.
Like he had lost something he could never get back.
Like he was breaking apart right in front of me.
And for the first time in years—
I didn’t know what to do.
Rowan was still on his knees, his hands gripping his thighs so tightly his knuckles were white. His head was bowed, his chest rising and falling in uneven breaths.
I should have felt satisfaction.
I should have been relieved.
For years, I had imagined what it would be like if he ever found out. If he ever realized what he had done to me.
I had thought I would enjoy this moment.
But all I felt was exhausted.
The pain in his face, the raw devastation—it didn’t fix what had already been broken.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself.
“Rowan,” I said, voice quiet.
He didn’t move.
I tried again. Firmer. “Rowan, get up.”
He finally lifted his head.
And my breath caught.
His eyes.
They weren’t cold or unreadable.
They weren’t filled with arrogance or control.
They were haunted.
Regretful.
And worst of all—
They held the kind of pain that only came from knowing it was too late to fix what had already been done.
But that wasn’t my problem.
Not anymore.
I squared my shoulders. “You wanted the truth. Now you have it.”
Rowan’s lips parted, but no words came out.
I shook my head, biting back the lump in my throat. “I wasn’t going to raise my children in a house where their mother wasn’t respected. I wasn’t going to let them grow up watching me be treated like an inconvenience.”
Rowan flinched.
Good.
“Do you know what it was like?” My voice cracked. “To be your wife? To be nothing more than a name on a paper? To be the woman you cheated on, ignored, discarded?”
He inhaled sharply, like my words had physically struck him.
I didn’t stop.
“I worked three jobs before I even met you. I took care of my cousin. I had dreams, Rowan. And marrying you? It wasn’t one of them.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Then why—”
“Because your family forced me.”
His head snapped up.
I laughed bitterly, swiping at my face.
“They came to me. I said no. But they backed me into a corner. Used my cousin’s life against me. And you know what the worst part is?” My voice wobbled, but I held on. “You never even asked why. You never once wondered if I wanted to be there.”
Rowan’s throat bobbed.
I crossed my arms, stepping back. “So don’t you dare sit here and act like I robbed you of something. You weren’t a victim, Rowan. I was.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Unbearable.
Then—
His voice broke.
“I’m sorry.”
The words were barely above a whisper.
I stilled.
I didn’t think I had ever heard Rowan Vaughn apologize in his entire life.
I blinked. “What?”
He lifted his head, his expression raw.
“I’m sorry, Remi.”
The air left my lungs.
Rowan Vaughn didn’t say sorry.
He didn’t look at people like this—with regret, with guilt, with something terrifyingly close to grief.
And yet—
Here he was.
I swallowed hard. “It doesn’t change anything.”
“I know.” His voice was quiet, broken. “But I need you to know I mean it.”
I hated the way my chest ached.
The way some part of me wanted to believe him.
But I couldn’t.
Because I had believed him once before.
And it had almost ruined me.
Rowan took a deep breath, running a hand down his face.
Then he finally stood up.
He was still close.
Too close.
His eyes searched mine. “What can I do?”
I scoffed. “You can leave me alone.”
His jaw tightened. “That’s not going to happen.”
Of course, it wasn’t.
I shook my head. “Rowan, you don’t get to come back after all these years and decide you want to be a father.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “They’re my kids.”
“And you’re a stranger to them.”
He exhaled sharply, stepping closer. “Remi—”
“No.” I cut him off. “You don’t get to fight for something you never wanted.”
His face hardened.
“That’s not fai
r.”
I laughed bitterly. “Life isn’t fair. You of all people should know that.”
His fists clenched at his sides.
But for once—
He didn’t argue.
Didn’t try to control the situation.
Didn’t try to twist my words.
Instead, he just stood there—looking at me like he had already lost.
And I didn’t know why—
But that terrified me more than anything else.
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