A Billionaire's Regret For A Ghost

Two years after my death, I was a ghost trapped beside my grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer's. She still thought I was alive, still trying to contact my ex-boyfriend, Liam.

"Do you regret it, Chloe?" Liam's voice was biting and cold. "It's useless. Even if you got down on your knees and begged me, I would never give you another chance."

He thought I was still alive. He thought I was manipulating my grandmother to get to him.

But I was a ghost, and nothing more. I had left this world a long time ago.

Liam was supposed to hate me forever, right up until someone told him the truth.

"She's dead! She's been dead for two years. And you killed her."

Liam's world shattered.

He came looking for me in the most extreme way possible.

Chapter 1

I was dead.

My soul went neither to heaven nor to hell. I was trapped in the realm of the living, tethered to my grandmother's side.

In her wrinkled hands, she clutched my battered, worn-out cell phone.

She dialed Liam Hayes's number over and over again. It would ring and ring, but no one ever answered.

She wandered into a sleek, glass-walled plaza in a Silicon Valley tech park, asking everyone she met, "Excuse me, have you seen my precious girl and her boyfriend?"

Most people ignored her-some shooting her impatient glares, others offering polite but dismissive apologies. Yet, Nana didn't give up. She kept asking, moving from one person to the next.

My heart ached for her. I wanted so badly to tell her to stop looking, to just go home. But no one could hear the words I spoke.

Just then, a large crowd surged out of the company's main building.

I turned my head instinctively and caught sight of a familiar figure.

It was Liam.

Maybe it was because I had been dead for so long that I almost didn't recognize him at first. Or maybe he had just changed that much.

The man who had once struggled bitterly for startup funding was now a billionaire. Flanked by a beautiful, young executive assistant, he was wrapping up a high-profile product launch.

Facing the swarm of reporters, the soft, youthful vulnerability that once marked his face was gone, replaced by sharp, hardened angles.

He was no longer the struggling entrepreneur hunched over a keyboard writing code, surviving on lukewarm coffee and big dreams.

He was a tech titan now.

Seeing the commotion, Nana pointed a trembling finger at Liam and excitedly told a passerby, "Look, that's my Chloe's boyfriend. Isn't he handsome?"

Then, she noticed the woman beside him and muttered in confusion, "Why isn't my Chloe with him?"

Grandma suffered from Alzheimer's. After I died, her condition deteriorated rapidly. She frequently forgot that I had passed away.

Seeing the news of Liam's company going public triggered an episode, driving her to this tech park. Deep in her fragile mind, she still believed that the startup Liam and I founded together had finally made it.

"Chloe! Look! It's Liam! I told you he would come!" Her voice was bright and touching, carrying pure, unadulterated joy.

Her eyes were unfocused as she looked left and right, searching for me.

Even though I was standing right beside her, she couldn't see a thing.

"Sweetheart, why aren't you answering? Come on, let's go see him. He'll be so happy," she murmured to herself.

Her memory was like a tattered tapestry, frayed at the edges-bright in some places, entirely blank in others. She remembered the good times, the easy laughter, and the dreams we had built with Liam.

She forgot that I was dead.

She remembered us as a deeply loving couple.

She thought Liam still loved me. She thought we were still together, building our future side by side.

She had no idea that the empire he built was erected upon a grave. In a way, it was mine.

Gazing at Liam's stoic face, I felt a mix of joy and sorrow. In that moment, I knew for certain: he had made it.

His achievements far exceeded anything we had ever imagined. The company we founded together, the ideas we shared-they had culminated in today's glory. And me? I was just a forgotten ghost, a stepping stone.

Nana's excited shouts drew the attention of the crowd, including the reporters.

Liam noticed her, too. But he ignored her, shooting her a cold, indifferent glance before walking on.

Seeing him leave, Nana suddenly panicked and pushed her way through the crowd, trying to run toward him. Blocked by his bodyguards, she cried out in alarm, "Liam! Why didn't Chloe come with you?"

She tried to shove the guards aside. "He's my granddaughter Chloe Miller's boyfriend! They love each other deeply. Why are you stopping me?!"

Liam stopped in his tracks. He turned his head to look at my grandmother, his eyes freezing cold.

After a moment of silence, he replied coldly, "I don't know her. Nor do I know a Chloe Miller."

Those words dropped like lead weights, shattering my heart into a million agonizing pieces. The suffocating pain made me realize that Liam's hatred for me ran far deeper than I could have ever imagined.

It was a searing, visceral pain, more real than anything I had experienced in life. It was a phantom ache, yet it tore at my very soul.

His hatred was like a living thing-it had grown, festered, and ultimately mutated into a truly terrifying monster.

He hadn't just forgotten me; he had completely erased my existence, denying what we once had. He wanted me gone forever.

Because from his perspective, three years ago, I had "betrayed" him.

Nana froze. "Don't you remember me? Chloe's grandma!"

She reached into her worn leather purse.

She pulled out a faded photograph.

It was a picture of Liam and me from many years ago. We were smiling, arms wrapped around each other, his head resting on my shoulder. We were so young back then, so full of hope.

"Look, Liam," she whispered, her voice trembling. "It's Chloe. It's us." She tried once more to push past security.

The guards, though relatively gentle, held her back. The crowd surged forward, eager to catch a glimpse of the billionaire, boxing her in.

Grandma stumbled. With a cry of pain, she fell to her knees. Her purse gaped open, its contents spilling onto the cold pavement.

The photograph tumbled out along with her tattered wallet, coming to rest right next to Liam's polished leather shoes.

A ripple of laughter spread through the onlookers. People whipped out their phones, ready to record the old woman's public humiliation.

Grandma lay there, frail and dazed, stripped of her dignity. No one offered a helping hand. In the vast crowd, there was nothing but a sea of apathetic faces.

Liam's eyes were icy as he stared down at the scattered items. His gaze lingered on the photograph for a moment. In that split second, I saw a flicker of something cross his eyes. A fragment of memory. A shadow of emotion.

He bent down.

The crowd gasped as camera flashes went off in rapid succession. He picked up the photo, his finger lightly brushing across my smiling face.

My heart-the heart that had long since stopped beating-hammered in my chest.

He remembered. He had to remember.

Grandma looked up, hope glinting through her tear-blurred eyes. A small smile touched her lips. She thought he was finally reaching out to her.

But then, with a sharp flick of his wrists, Liam tore the photo in half. Then into quarters. He kept going until it was nothing but tiny, irreparable shreds.

He let the pieces flutter to the ground, scattering them around Grandma as she knelt there.

"That's what I think of your Chloe," he said. "Lies, betrayal, and nothing but opportunistic trash."

I was already dead, but hearing those words still made me feel like I was suffocating.

The person you love most always knows exactly how to cut you the deepest.

Those words burned hotter than any fire. They ripped through my spirit, stinging my soul like the death of a thousand cuts.

He was trying to erase me completely, piece by piece, with shards of pure hatred.

Grandma stared at the photo that now looked like confetti, her trembling hands trying to gather the torn pieces. Her face contorted, an old woman's raw despair laid bare for the whole world to see.

The reporters swarmed, their lenses hungry. They aimed at Grandma, at the scattered fragments of our past, eager to capture the perfect shot of her agonizing struggle.

I wanted to throw myself in front of them, to shield her, to make them stop. But I was like air-I could do nothing. I was utterly powerless.

Liam watched expressionlessly, without a shred of remorse or an ounce of pity.

"Liam, stop!" my spirit screamed. "Don't let them do this to her! Don't let them hurt Grandma!"

Of course, he ignored me. He couldn't hear.

His gaze locked onto Grandma, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. "Isn't it a bit too late for Chloe to feel regret now?"

"Tell your 'Chloe' to give me a proper apology. If she really wants something from me, she knows what she has to do. If she gets down on her knees and apologizes, I might consider forgiving her."

Grandma looked up, her eyes vacant.

"Apologize?" she murmured, looking lost. "But Chloe... she didn't do anything wrong."

She didn't understand. She couldn't understand.

My heart-an organ that no longer existed-ached with an unbearable longing. Oh, how I wanted to hold her, to comfort her.

My transparent body passed right through hers. I couldn't touch her, couldn't comfort her, couldn't be there for the only person left who still loved me.

Seeing Grandma's bewildered silence, Liam let out a scoff. He turned on his heel and walked away, his entourage parting to make room. His point had been made.

Suddenly, a flash of clarity sparked in Grandma's eyes.

She jerked her head up. For a brief second, her mind cleared, and a painful memory pierced through the fog. Her lips trembled. Scalding tears rolled down her wrinkled cheeks.

"No," she choked out, "Chloe can't. She can't apologize. She can't come from anywhere."

A cold smirk tugged at the corner of Liam's mouth. "I knew it."

He thought I was playing tricks on him again.

"No," Grandma shook her head, her red eyes welling with tears as she desperately tried to explain. "Chloe... she's already..."

Watching her choke on her words, unable to speak, I knew she had briefly regained her lucidity. The agonizing truth had resurfaced: her beloved granddaughter was dead.

"Whatever manipulative tricks Chloe picked up from Sebastian, they won't work on me," Liam interrupted, his tone dripping with malice.

Liam had always believed I abandoned him out of greed, chasing after a life of luxury.

Because three years ago, I married Sebastian Cole, the sole heir to the wealthiest family in San Francisco.

Liam and I had met entirely by chance.

Our story began in college, when things were simple. Liam came from a humble background and attended on a scholarship. He was incredibly brilliant, yet socially awkward. He poured all his energy into coding, his mind overflowing with innovative ideas.

He was shy and often stumbled over his words, especially when presenting his projects. Even back then, Sebastian Cole looked at him with a hint of mockery. In Sebastian's eyes, Liam was nothing but a comical, inferior outcast.

During a college pitch competition, Sebastian publicly ridiculed Liam's stutter and unpolished presentation. He intentionally made things difficult for Liam, trying to break him.

I stepped in to help. I didn't know Liam well at the time, but I saw his raw talent and the pure heart hidden beneath his timid exterior.

I helped him refine his pitch, and he won.

That was the beginning of our story. I became his sounding board, his confidante, the only person he truly trusted.

At the same time, Sebastian developed a simmering resentment toward Liam-and a strange, highly possessive interest in me.

We spent countless nights in tiny dorm rooms, mapping out our future. In our world, our ideas, my designs, and his code were going to change everything. He would talk for hours, his eyes practically glowing with passion. I would listen, sketching out user interfaces and branding logos.

Sometimes, he'd get so absorbed in his work that he'd forget about me, forget about the world. Then, suddenly realizing it, he would look up, and his expression would soften. "Sorry, Chloe," he'd say, wearing a rare smile. "I got carried away. But it's all because of you. You make our future look so clear to me."

He remembered everything. My favorite coffee-extra sugar, no milk. The way I hummed when I was deep in thought. He would bring me that coffee and quietly set it on my desk.

We built our startup from scratch, fueled by nothing but passion and an unwavering belief in each other. "We're going to be billionaires, Chloe," he whispered, tracing patterns into the palm of my hand. "I'm going to buy you the world. You'll never have to worry about a thing ever again."

I remember my birthday during the early days of the company, when we were practically penniless. He bought me a delicate little silver necklace. He had saved up for months.

"Chloe, you deserve the best," he said, his eyes utterly sincere. "One day, I'll give it to you."

He protected me like a fiercely loyal lion. He would never let anyone hurt or insult me. His love for me was steadfast, seemingly boundless. It was a love that defied logic, and I had thought it would last forever.

The memories flooded in, sharp yet hazy. My numb mind desperately tried to cling to them, trying to reconcile them with the man standing before me.

But my heart grew colder and colder. Now, all I could feel was his hatred.

Grandma struggled to stand up. She was completely exhausted, her frail frame a heartbreaking sight. She stared at Liam, but ultimately swallowed her words.

Some truths just lodge themselves deep in the throat, too difficult to speak. Like the fact that I had been dead for two years.

It was a memory Nana's mind fiercely suppressed, a coping mechanism to survive the grief.

She would often sit at my old desk at home, staring at my laptop, whispering, "My sweet Chloe, why won't you come home to see Grandma?"

If I could, I would rather she live in a fantasy forever than have to face this kind of pain.

"That's enough, Nana," I practically begged. "Stop remembering the pain. Just remember the good times."

Losing patience with her silence, Liam turned and walked toward a car parked by the curb.

Nana gave his retreating back a sorrowful look. Limping forward, she muttered to herself, "I'm sorry, Chloe. I shouldn't have come. You'd be so heartbroken if you heard what Liam just said."

My phantom tears poured down like rain.

Just as Liam reached to open the car door, Nana suddenly swayed and collapsed onto the sidewalk.

I screamed in terror. "Please! Someone help her! Save my grandma!"

But my cries dissolved into the wind. No one moved.

Then, Liam turned and started walking back.

In that split second, I thought the remnants of his humanity had returned. I thought he was going to help her.

For the first time, a flicker of emotion other than contempt crossed his eyes. But then he took a step back, maintaining a studied, deliberate apathy on his face.

He'll come back to save her, the foolish part of me hoped. He couldn't be that cruel. He knew her. He knew Grandma.

I even pictured him kneeling beside her, checking her pulse, calling for help.

"Is this another one of Chloe's tricks?" he said, his tone flat and rigid. "She's using you to get to me, to win my sympathy? Could she be any more despicable?"

"You only blocked my path because you want money, right?" Liam took a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills from his assistant and threw them over Nana's body.

The bills fluttered down like a rain of green insults, landing on her chest and face.

"Liam!" Rage flared up inside me like a blazing inferno.

I lunged at him, wanting to tear him to shreds, but I only phased right through his tailored suit.

Tears of sheer fury blurred my vision.

Liam, she's as pale as a ghost! Can't you see she's passed out?!

Seeing that Nana didn't react, Liam frowned, his face twisting with disgust.

"Drop the act. Tell Chloe that if she wants to see me, if she wants my money, she can crawl here herself."

The cash scattered around Nana's collapsed body pierced my brain like needles.

Even in death, some memories are branded deep into the soul.

When Liam's startup finally began to take off, I gave everything I had to support him. I even cashed out part of the life insurance my parents left me just to keep the company afloat.

Things seemed to be looking up. A major tech conglomerate offered to buy his core algorithm for a lucrative price. Liam was tempted.

Then, the world caved in. Lawsuits. Patent infringement. Allegations of stolen tech. It was a meticulously orchestrated attack, corporate sabotage designed to cripple us.

Up against a corporate behemoth, Liam was like a minnow. He had neither the legal funds nor the ironclad evidence needed to win. The lawsuit eventually drained the company dry.

Legal notices piled up like death warrants. We were walking on thin ice, every day feeling like a year. At our lowest point, we squeezed into a damp basement apartment in Oakland, surviving on instant noodles and stale bread.

Under the stress, my hair fell out in clumps.

He held me tightly, his voice hoarse from exhaustion. "Don't worry. We'll get through this. We'll bounce back. I promise. I'll give you the life you've always dreamed of."

He'd talk about our future, painting vivid pictures: a cozy house, a dog named Pixel, two kids with my eyes and his stubborn jawline. "Chloe, you won't ever have to work again. I'll take care of everything."

Whenever he thought I was asleep, he'd slip out of bed and code until dawn.

I watched helplessly as he wasted away day by day.

The stress was going to destroy him. Our love, our future-it had all turned into a crushing weight on his shoulders.

He was working himself into an early grave.

He was going to die because of his sense of responsibility, because he loved me.

I couldn't bear to watch him destroy himself. I knocked on the doors of every venture capitalist I could find, but no one wanted to touch a startup mired in litigation.

Just when we were pushed to the absolute brink, Sebastian Cole stepped in.

He said he could solve all of Liam's problems. He could make the lawsuits disappear and inject the necessary capital.

But he had one condition: I had to marry him.

On a muggy, suffocating summer night, I broke up with Liam. He stood outside his dilapidated office building, drenched in sweat, begging me not to go.

"Chloe, please don't give up on us," his voice cracked. "I'm figuring it out, I swear I'll turn things around. Just give me a little more time, please."

I pulled my hand from his grasp, forcing my voice to sound icy. "Let go of me, Liam. I'm dead tired."

"What kind of future will I have with you? Can you give me stability? Can you even make rent?"

"I'm sick of struggling. I'm sick of being poor. Sebastian can give me what you can't."

I let Sebastian pull me into his arms, intentionally avoiding Liam's shattered eyes.

I knew that if I looked, my resolve would crumble, and Liam would end up in jail for debts he could never repay.

I thought my harsh words would make him leave in anger. Instead, he stumbled forward, grabbed my hand, and pressed it against his wet cheek.

"Chloe," he pleaded, his voice so low it was barely a whisper. "Please don't abandon me."

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted copper, fighting back tears. My hand trembled against his face.

Sebastian sneered. He swatted Liam's hand away, then intertwined his fingers with mine.

Sebastian had despised Liam since college, infuriated that Liam had beaten him to winning my heart.

"Kiss me, Chloe," Sebastian demanded. I knew he was doing this purely to humiliate Liam. He had waited years for this very moment.

"No," Liam shook his head, his eyes wide with horror. "Don't do this, Chloe. Please."

But I moved anyway. I wrapped my arms around Sebastian's neck and kissed him, forcing myself to look passionate.

It was a kiss born of pure self-loathing.

Sebastian gripped my waist so tightly it knocked the wind out of me.

When I finally pulled away, the light in Liam's eyes had vanished completely. It was dead.

"Do you see now, Liam? I don't love you anymore."

"I love money. I love power. Sebastian can give me those things, and you can't."

Sebastian smiled triumphantly. As he led me away, Liam remained frozen on the sidewalk, completely motionless. The sweltering heat of the night seemed to swallow him whole.

Liam stood there for a long time, like a statue of despair, even long after we had gone.

I sat in the backseat of Sebastian's car, watching him until the building disappeared from sight.

After that, he vanished-from our city, from our lives.

Later, I heard he had gone overseas to start over.

Three years. It had been three years since I last saw him. It had been three years since I was last truly alive.

And now, I was a ghost, a silent spectator trapped in this cruel farce of a life.