Too Late for Regret novel Chapter 87

That’s Her Decision to Make

Chapter 87

Holden’s POV

Things were falling apart quickly. I can now see my mother’s actions for what they were. Ana exposed my mother, and we all knew it was the truth. My mother did that to this day. They would go out for a meal, and

my mother would always let Alicia pay. My mother would willingly spend her money on Tiffany for anything.

But she would always let Mrs. Caldwell buy her something when they were out.

There was a large gap between the Caldwell family’s wealth and our family’s. I guess my mother thought it

was better to get what she wanted from her friend than spend her own money. My mother stood there with

tears shining in her eyes, but she wasn’t willing to back down. She was going to try to manipulate and guilt

Alicia into backing down. The truth was out. It couldn’t be taken back.

She wasn’t going to admit what she had done, but it didn’t matter; we all knew that it was the truth. No wonder she pushed me so hard, threatening my inheritance like she had. It made perfect sense why she had

insisted that I keep Ana happy. She forced it down my throat so much that I started rebelling against her

wishes. I blamed Ana for being trapped. When my own mother was the one who was actually forcing me into

1. it.

That realization made me feel even worse about how I treated Ana. I was consumed by guilt. My actions

towards her had been unforgivable, yet I didn’t want to let her go. She was always supposed to be mine. It

was a running joke between our families when she was born. Just like Seth had been ‘promised‘ to Tiffany,,

as well.

Tiffany’s behavior made more sense now, as I watched my mother trying to twist things around right in front of me. Tiffany learned it somewhere. Mom never liked that Ana was younger than Tiffany, but so much more

talented. Ana picked up on things quickly, where Tiffany never did.

“It’s time to leave, Ana. Nothing good can come out of this conversation. They refuse to see reason, and I can understand how Tiffany turned out the way she did now. Mr. Vaughn, you and your wife need to leave Ana alone from now on. Do not try to speak to her for any reason. If you have questions or comments, please relay them to her attorney, Rodney Briggs. I promise you that if you continue to try to advocate for Tiffany to my wife. I will consider that to be harassment and act accordingly. You’re not welcome at our home or businesses. If you show up at either of those places, you will face trespassing and harassment charges. Ami

clear?” Charlie asked.

He was serious. It was almost like he was daring them to cross him. I wished for the hundredth time that he had been just some random guy. I would have loved to have crushed him and taken Ana back. He was speaking down to my parents, which rubbed me the wrong way. I went off, trying to defend my parents and put him in his place.

“Don’t talk to them like their stupid. They understand. They won’t be coming to her home; they don’t even know where she lives,” I snapped back.

“Yet you managed to find out where we live, didn’t you, Holden. You even bought a home near us. I just assumed since your whole family is literally unhinged, they needed me to be as clear as possible. I don’t want them to misunderstand what I was saying to them, and you,” he replied. i wanted to punch that smug smile

That’s Her Decision to Make

right off his face.

More Remmers &

I knew what he was doing now. He was reminding me that it wasn’t just her house, it was theirs. He also outed me for buying a house near theirs. It’s a matter of time before he mentions what I had done. I need to leave before he ends up humiliating me, like my mother had been. Before I could take a step away, Ana spoke.

“Holden, I appreciate the heads–up you gave me about what Roger was planning. But that is as far as my feelings go. I married Charlie because I love him. Please, just let us be happy. Don’t drop in on us again. I won’t apologize for what you saw, as you shouldn’t have been there in the first place. You need to stop trying to tear us apart. I know you sent Samantha to Charlie. Stop now, or I will end up losing what little respect I still have for you.” Ana’s gentle voice was a welcome relief from Charlie’s obvious threat.

“I didn’t expect to catch you two…together. I was about to leave for work and just wanted to know how you like things decorated for my designer. I wanted to make my home similar to yours so you would be comfortable when you decide to come over. That was it. It was an accident. I was frozen in place and couldn’t leave. I’m sorry. I couldn’t look away. It will never happen again, Ana, I promise,” I replied to Ana. I was earnest, and I hoped that she saw the honesty reflected in my eyes.

“Whether you meant to or not, Holden. You had a gate built for you to be able to enter our backyard illegally. That’s trespassing, no matter how you want to sugar–coat it. You’re not welcome on our property. Please don’t continue to try to win me back. I can promise you it will not happen. At one time, I thought you were the best man I knew, other than my father and brother. But then I saw the real you, Holden. A man who is happy to cheat. A man who looked down on me because of my weight. Your only concern was to keep me from finding out about the girls you were with,” Ana responded. Anger was evident in her eyes as she looked up at

1. me.

“They meant nothing to me, I only care for you. Why are you still punishing me? Can’t you see that you’re hurting me? I would do anything to go back to that day and refuse Gretchen’s advances. It makes me sick

that I fell for her plans. She was just trying to break us up. I was angry that Mom kept threatening me, and I

took my anger out on you. I’m so sorry for doing that to you, Ana. You didn’t deserve it. I know my words hurt you, but I’ve told you repeatedly how much I care for you. I told you how much you mean to me. Why haven’t you heard those words? You’re focusing on just the bad things that happened, not on how much you loved

1. me. I love you, Ana. I screwed up. I would take you away from here, to start a new life together, if you would

just divorce him. I want you, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make this right. Please give me the

chance to do so. My foot will never slip again,” I earnestly told her.

“Holden, don’t get mad at me for doing exactly what you wanted me to do. Years of lies were told, with your only concern being that I didn’t find out about what you were doing behind my back. But I did find out,

Holden. Your precious sister made sure to show me the pictures of you in action at college. You were sleeping with her friends. Correction, people she knew. Tiffany really doesn’t have friends. I knew exactly what you were doing after I caught you with Gretchen. Knowing what you were doing helped me get over you. I may not have known about all of them, I’m sure. But don’t worry, Tiffany and Gretchen made sure that I was well aware, as they showed me each week who you had been with, They never let me forget that I was never going to be good enough for you,” Ana advised.

“Ana, I didn’t know what I had in you. Lalready admitted that I was wrong. I know you could find a way to forgive me. You’ve only known him for a little over a month. You barely know him. I don’t see what’s so good about him at all. You don’t have to settle for him anymore. I want you, and I am absolutely serious about that,

That’s Her Decision to Make

Ana. I will love you and treat you the way I should have all along. Ana All I need is a chance to prove to you that I mean what I’m saying,” I assured her. I meant that with every fiber of my being

“Holden, you only want me now, just to keep someone else from having me. You left for years, all in an effort to avoid me. I got the message. I moved on. You need to move on, too. You only came back here to try to stop the wedding, despite deciding that I was unworthy of being with you a long time ago. Yet, all of a sudden, fm ‘worthy‘ of you now. Did you honestly think I was just waiting around for you to return so I could fall to you arms? I hadn’t voluntarily spoken to you for quite a while. I blocked you for a reason. Your opportunity to be with me passed a long time ago. You showed me repeatedly just how unwanted I was, but I recently realized something, Holden. You’re the one unworthy of me. You’re the one who doesn’t deserve me. You’re incapable of loving anyone but yourself, and I see why now,” Ana replied.

“You don’t mean that, Ana. You’re just angry with me and lashing out. I came back for you. That has to mean something to you. You wouldn’t still be angry with me all this time if I weren’t still in your heart. Just give me an opportunity to prove myself. You don’t even have to divorce the jerk. Just let me take you out once a week, to show you that I’ve changed. It’s been almost six weeks since I’ve had sx. I’m patiently waiting for you to accept me again. I’m not the man I used to be. I want to do better, be better, so I can become the husband you deserve. I see that all our problems were because of me,” I responded.

I was worried that if she left here today, I wouldn’t know when I would have the chance to see her again. I didn’t want to lose her. I refuse to lose her over what happened that day. I was venting out of frustration. Gretchen led me like a dog on a leash, and I made the worst mistake of my life. I made a mental note to deal with her for her part in this. Gretchen made sure that Ana wouldn’t look at me again after the trap she laid for me. She and my sister had started this, but I was going to finish it.

Her jerk of a husband stepped in front of Ana, blocking her from view. “I know I didn’t just hear you suggest to my wife that she allow you to date her. Not when I’m standing right here in front of you. You really have some gall, Holden. But there is no way in hell that I’m going to allow you to do that. Not while I’m still breathing. Ana is my wife, my everything. She’s right. You’re totally unworthy of her,” Charlie stated with enough ice in his voice to freeze the room.

“Well, that’s her decision to make, not yours, isn’t it?” I replied.

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