Thin Line Between Love And Hate: Ex-Husband's Regrets

David.

A name who once caused butterflies in her belly felt like thorns struck into her heart.

The only sound in the room was the soft clink of cutlery.

David was late again. It wasn't his first time but today meant a lot to them, it seems it meant a lot to one than the other.

Her phone buzzed, and her heart jumped.

David: Caught up in something, don't wait for me.

That was it. No apology. No heart. No "Happy Anniversary."

It was their third wedding anniversary.

And she was alone again.

The lights above flickered with a warm glow, casting long shadows across the table set for two. Alina sat alone at the dinner table, fingers nervously smoothing the tip of her glass cup.

One plate untouched. One candle burning low, one heart breaking quietly.

The wine glass stood untouched.

The food had gone cold. And Alina sat at the edge of the dining table, still in the red dress he once said made her look like temptation.

The silence in the house was thick, like a fog that wouldn't lift. Her eyes stayed fixed on the front door, as though sheer willpower could summon David through it even while told not to wait for him, she couldn't help herself.

Each tick of the clock felt like a hot slap across her soul that she was willing to endure.

He'll come, she told herself. He always does...eventually.

But deep down, she already knew.

He wasn't coming.

Alina checked her phone for the fifth time in the last three minutes hoping to see any other message from him.

Her hand trembled as she picked up the phone again and texted:

"Happy Anniversary Love"

In hope it'd cause him to remember if he had forgotten it was their big day.

She waited... ten minutes passed. Then fifteen.

The screen lit up with a single message:

"Don't disturb me woman, l told you I'm busy"

The dam broke.

Tears spilled without warning, hot and angry, trailing over her carefully applied makeup like shame. She'd spent hours trying to be beautiful for him tonight, worn the dress he once said made him want to devour her, cooked the meal he used to beg for.

And still, she wasn't enough.

That night she thought she could save her husband's heart and have his child.

Tracking her cycle and learning it's on the same day as her big day made her heart flush.

But everything washed down as the rain that fell outside.

She curled her arms around herself at the head of the table, alone under the romantic chandelier.

Three years ago today, she had walked down an aisle believing she was stepping into forever.

Now, she was in a cold house, wearing a red dress that made no difference, waiting for a man who had already emotionally left her months ago.

Was it always this empty? Or had she been too in love to notice?

...

The front door creaked open a little past midnight.

Alina looked up from her place on the couch, her eyes puffy and rimmed with dried mascara. Her heart thudded in her chest, a strange cocktail of hope and dread swirling in her veins.

David stepped inside, his face half-covered in the shadow. Rain clung to his coat, but there was no urgency in his stride. No apology in his expression.

"Finally," she breathed, standing to meet him. "I've been waiting for hours."

He didn't look at her.

Barely glanced at the untouched dinner table.

Didn't ask why her eyes were red. He just pulled a thin envelope from his coat pocket and set it on the glass coffee table like he was handing over a receipt.

Alina blinked. "What's that?"

"Read it," he said flatly, stepping back like the conversation was already over.

She slowly opened the envelope with trembling fingers. Her heart beat louder with every second. The moment her eyes landed on the header, she froze.

DIVORCE PETITION.

Her hands shook. "You're divorcing me?"

David exhaled like she was being too dramatic. "I don't want to do this tonight."

"Too bad, David, because you already did."

He rolled his eyes, loosening his tie with the same casual indifference he used on their second anniversary when he forgot her gift. "I'm tired, Alina."

"Tired?" she echoed, voice rising. "You're tired? I planned this night for us. I waited here, in that red dress you used to love, with your favorite wine, your favorite food and you couldn't even send more than "caught up in something, don't wait for me?"

"You're making this harder than it has to be."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I thank you for waiting until after dessert to throw my life away?"

His jaw tightened. "We haven't been working for a long time."

"You haven't been trying for a long time," she snapped. "You don't talk to me anymore, you don't even look at me. Am I not beautiful enough? You sleep in the guest room. You come home late and lie about where you've been!"

"I don't need to explain myself to you," David snapped, his calm mask cracking for just a second.

That one sentence, those words stabbed deeper than any silence ever could.

"You don't need to explain yourself?" she repeated, stunned. "I'm your wife!"

"Not for much longer."

The room went still. The air suddenly felt cold but heat rushed down Alina's spine.

Alina felt her breath catch in her throat. Like something inside her chest had just been ripped out by hand.

She stepped toward him. "There's someone else."

He didn't answer.

She laughed bitterly, tears threatening to fall again. "Of course there is. Is it her? Your precious Sofia? The one you said you barely talk to? The one l was told "not to worry about"?

His silence was an answer.

"You're a coward," she hissed.

David's eyes snapped to hers, cold and sharp. "Watch your mouth."

"No, I won't. Not anymore. I watched myself for three years. I stayed quiet, obeyed, smiled at everything while you ignored me. I gave everything I had to a marriage you were already halfway out the door from."

"You're overreacting."

That was the final straw.

Alina picked up the divorce papers and threw them back at his chest. "You don't get to gaslight me after destroying my heart."

"They're already signed. Just sign yours and file them."

She stared at him in disbelief. "You already signed them?"

His shrug was casual, heartless. "It's just a formality now."

That's when her voice broke. "Did you ever love me, David?"

A pause. Then:

"I think I loved the idea of you. But you're not her, you could never fill the void she left."

Alina recoiled like he had slapped her.

Her throat dried and closed. Her heart shattered into a billion pieces.

There it was.

The truth, the truth she had always turned away from.

He never loved her. Not really.

She couldn't stay in that room another second.

"Go to hell!," she yelled. "And take your lies with you."

He said nothing and did nothing.

Just stood there like she was no longer his problem.

Her heels clicked like gunshots across the marble floor as she grabbed her coat, her bag, and her pride.

Then she slammed the door behind her shaking the very walls of the mansion she once called home.

...

The cold air slapped her face as she stepped outside, but it couldn't numb the burn inside her chest.

Alina walked blindly, the chill eating deep into her bones, but she didn't care. She needed to breathe, needed to feel something other than betrayal or heartbreak.

The glittering nightlife of downtown buzzed in her ears like static. Neon lights flickered on wet pavement, and loud music throbbed from the line of clubs that pulsed with bodies escaping their own realities.

That's exactly what she needed.

She didn't remember hailing the cab.

Didn't remember what she said when the driver asked, "Where to?"

But she remembered walking into Club Halo, the blur of light, sound, and heat swallowing her whole.

The bass thundered like a second heartbeat as Alina pushed past the crowd. Inside, bodies moved like smoke. No one looked. No one asked questions. It was the perfect place to disappear.

She ordered something strong and unfamiliar at the bar, downed it too fast, then asked for another. The burn didn't stop the ache in her chest but it blurred the edges. Just enough.

She was on her third drink when a deep voice broke through the haze.

"You look like you're trying to forget something."

Alina turned slowly, glass in hand.

He stood tall, dressed in black, with eyes like storm clouds, calm, but dangerous. His presence wrapped around her like heat, slow and deliberate. Not the kind of man you meet by accident.

"And what if I am?" she said, her voice hoarse.

He gave a ghost of a smile. "Then maybe I can help."

Alina studied him. He wasn't flirty. Wasn't pushy. Just... still.

A man used to being obeyed. But not tonight.

Tonight, she didn't want control.

She wanted escape.

From David, from the lies, from herself.

She tipped her head. "Then help me forget."

The man held out his hand. She didn't even ask his name and he didn't ask hers.

They left together, past the flashing lights, past the stares, past the judgment.

...

The Morning After

Sunlight leaked in through the sheer curtains.

Alina's head pounded and her throat was dry. Her limbs were tangled in silk sheets that didn't belong to her.

She blinked blearily, sitting up slowly.

This isn't my bed. She looked around.

It was a luxury suite, one that screamed wealth and power. There were fresh lilies in a vase by the bed, a tray of breakfast untouched on the table, and a folded robe on the nearby chair.

The man... was gone.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Hello?" she called.

But she was met with silence.

She scrambled out of bed, wrapped herself in the robe, and searched the suite. No note. No number. Nothing.

Her stomach twisted as she spotted her dress neatly folded, her heels set beside it.

Was this planned?

She rushed to the front desk on shaky legs, the receptionist smiling politely as she approached.

"Excuse me... who paid for the room?"

The woman tapped on the computer. "It was prepaid by Mr. Black."

"Mr. Black?" Alina echoed. "No first name?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am. That's all we have on file."

Alina stepped back, the nausea rising.

Who was he?

She left the hotel still dazed. She couldn't really remember a lot from yesterday as she was far gone but his voice, something about his voice felt tender yet cold and it kept replaying as she made her way to her room.

She didn't even know his name.

...

Home was no longer home

She slipped into the house like a thief, half-hoping David wouldn't be there.

But he was. He stood in the living room, hands in his pockets, jaw clenched. "Where the hell were you?"

Alina stood still.

"You don't get to ask me that," she said tightly.

"I'm still your husband."

Alina rolled her eyes and scoffed, "my husband? You stopped being that a long time ago".

His eyes narrowed. "You spent the night with someone."

She didn't answer. That silence was her rebellion, her only power.

David stepped closer, furious. "Who was he?"

she spat,"Isn't that poetic? You destroy our marriage and l find comfort in somebody else."

"It's a win win for everyone"

"You're unbelievable," he growled.

"No," she snapped. "I just finally stopped being your doormat."

He took a step back, like her words slapped him.

She didn't wait for a fight. She walked past him, head high, even though her heart was in ruins.

...

The most unthinkable thing happened

It's been two weeks since that night.

The nausea at it again.

Alina dropped the brush she was holding and bolted for the bathroom.

Not again...no no no.

She stared at the test on the counter, her hands trembling.

Positive.

Her world tilted.

"No," she whispered. "No, no, no..."

She stumbled to her feet, staring at her reflection.

Tears rolled silently.

She was pregnant.

Not with David child. They haven't been intimate for a year.

But for the stranger. For a man she didn't know. A man who had vanished.

Her lips trembled and her chest ached.

This was the last thing she ever expected.

But the tiny spark growing inside her, this was real.

And it was hers.

No matter what David said, no matter what the world thought.

She pressed her hand to her stomach, breath shaky.

Everything was about to change.

That night she made her choice. She packed everything that belonged to her.

Took the divorce papers, signed it. After signing it, threw it on the bed.

David wasn't home that night.

"He must be wrapped around his mistress," she said with disgust.

It was the perfect escape.

Zane Blackwell never made mistakes.

Every deal, every calculated risk, every business move, he ruled his world with precision. Power wasn't something he inherited; he built it, brick by every bloody brick.

But that night...

That night in the club...

That woman...

She was his one mistake and he couldn't stop thinking about her.

Not her name, he never asked.

Not where she lived, he never cared.

But her eyes, haunted and stormy. The way her body trembled like a woman unraveling. The way she clung to him like he was her last breath.

It wasn't supposed to mean anything.

He hadn't planned on staying. Hadn't expected to linger in that hotel room long enough to watch her sleep, her lashes wet with tears even in her dreams.

He was supposed to disappear before dawn.

And he did. Because if he didn't...

He would've stayed.

And Zane Blackwell didn't do staying especially not when he had a war to win.

...

He stood at the top floor of his skyscraper, city lights sprawling beneath him, the morning sun slicing through glass.

His assistant, Gregory, hovered by the door. "Sir, David Cross's merger with the Easton Group just fell through."

Zane's jaw ticked. "Good. Make sure it stays dead."

"Yes, sir. But there's... something else."

Zane turned, impatient.

Gregory hesitated. "A source from the club identified the woman you were with that night... she might be David's wife."

Zane's body went still.

"What did you just say?"

"She's been seen with him before. There's speculation they were married. Public record is sealed...he must've used legal force to keep it private."

Zane stared out the window, his mind spinning.

David's wife?

That broken, desperate woman who clung to him like the world had ended?

His fingers curled into fists.

That changes everything.

...

Zane and David weren't just business rivals. Their feud ran deeper than corporate takeovers or media headlines.

Years ago, David had humiliated Zane's family, exposed his father's bankruptcy, crushed the company Zane would have inherited, and forced them into ruin.

Zane didn't just lose wealth.

He lost respect.

He swore he'd get it all back and bury David in the process.

He had built his empire in the shadows, quietly becoming the name no one saw coming.

Now fate handed him David's weakness.

His wife or ex-wife, if the rumors were true.

The irony almost made him laugh.

Zane wasn't a man who believed in fate. But this...this was a weapon handed to him gift-wrapped.

...

"Find out everything," he ordered Gregory. "Her name, her past, where she lives. I want eyes on her, but no contact. Not yet."

Gregory nodded and left.

Zane poured a glass of scotch and sat behind his desk.

He could use her, play her, make David bleed where it hurt most, emotionally, publicly.

And he would. That was the plan but as he sipped the drink, her face flashed through his mind again.

The way she looked up at him that night. Not like he was rich. Not like he was a means to an end. Just... a man. Someone to hold onto.

Someone to break with.

Zane had never been needed like that before.

And for one night, he gave her something real...something raw.

It hadn't felt like revenge then. It had felt like escape.

His brow furrowed. She didn't know who he was. She'd walked away without a name. She hadn't even tried to find him.

That should've made this easier.

But it didn't.

...

Miles away, in a quiet room, Alina sat with a trembling hand over her stomach, staring at the soft flicker on the ultrasound screen.

A heartbeat. She hadn't expected it to make her cry but it did.

The nurse smiled gently. "You're about eight weeks along."

"Who knew one night could change things?" She muttered under her breath to herself.

The night and the man...

Alina left the clinic, wrapping her coat tighter as the world spun around her. She hadn't told anyone yet. Not even Maya, who hadn't returned her calls for weeks now.

She was alone again. But this time, it wasn't just about her.

A tiny life fluttered inside her. Someone innocent. Someone hers.

She was willing to fight the world to protect the little life in her.

And no matter how the father disappeared, no matter how confused and afraid she felt...

She wouldn't let this child feel unwanted.

Not like she had not like she still did.

...

That night, Zane stood in the shadows of a building across the street from Alina's apartment. He didn't know why he was there.

Just watching.

She stepped out with a bag of groceries, moving slower than before.

She looked... tired.

She looked pale and beautiful in a way that twisted something deep in his gut.

Gregory's voice came through his earpiece. "Are you sure about this? If she's pregnant, things would get really messy."

Zane's jaw tightened. "I know."

"You could walk away. Still get revenge the usual way. Buy out Cross Tech's partners. Gut his board."

But Zane kept watching Alina.

She dropped her keys. Paused. Pressed her hand to her stomach.

Zane's breath caught.

"She's pregnant! And it's mine."

That truth hit him harder than any business deal.

This wasn't just revenge anymore.

Not just David. This was real and now, he had a decision to make.

...

He turned from the window and spoke coldly into the mic.

"Tell the press: David Cross is having an affair. Leak the story. Let it burn."

"And the girl?" Gregory asked.

Zane stared into the night, voice low.

"She's not ready to know who I am yet. But she will."

He didn't know if he wanted her forgiveness or her fear.

But one thing was clear.

She would never forget him.

And neither would David.